Guilding the Stone Trivia

1. Turquoise is a hydrous phosphate of two minerals. One is copper. Which is the other?

From Quiz Guilding the Stones: December

Answer: Aluminium

The colour of turquoises can vary from white to sky blue. They can also be blue-green to a greenish-yellow. The green colour might be the impurities of iron, which sometimes replaces aluminium.

From Quiz Guilding the Stones: November

Answer: Quartz

Citrine is indeed a quartz - along with such popular gems as tiger's eye amethyst. Now for the scientific bit - citrine is SiO2, silicon dioxide with colloidal iron hydrates. If you have never seen a citrine, although it is named after the French for lemon, it can range from the palest yellow in many shades through to brown.

From Quiz Guilding the Stone: October

Answer: Common Opal

Before the invention of the electron microscope it was not possible to discover how the structure of common and precious opals differed, as the degree of magnification required was beyond the limits of the optical microscope. Once it was possible to examine the opal's structure it was discovered that it was made up of small spheres of silica surrounding a central nucleus. The difference between common and precious stones was that common opals had an irregular structure with spheres of varying sizes, whereas the precious opals had regular stacks of similar sized spheres. The "play of colour" refers to the display of colour that can be seen inside an opal. This colour is produced by the diffraction of light as it travels through the silica and the areas between the spheres and the refraction of light from the surface of the gem. The colour that is displayed can change with the angle that the stone is viewed at. The irregularity in the common opals, combined with some smaller sized silica spheres, means that the light cannot be diffracted in the way that it is in precious opals. The colour displayed by precious opals is partially dependent on the size of the spheres it contains. The smallest spheres produce a violet colour, the largest produce red. Black opals are the most valuable of precious opals as the darker background of the stone makes the play of colour stand out more. Crystal opals are precious opals with a lighter background. A boulder opal is precious opal set in firestone.

From Quiz Guilding the Stone - August

Answer: green

Peridots come in various shades of green, from a pale yellowish-green to olive green to a bright green that is roughly the same shade as new grass or new leaf growth. The purer the colour of the stone, the higher its value. While other gemstones come in a variety of colours, peridot is the only gemstone that comes in only one colour, albeit in varying shades.

From Quiz Guilding the Stone: September

Answer: Red

Despite the name sapphire being derived from "sappheiros", a Greek word meaning "blue stone", sapphires can come in any colour except for red. Red corundum are known as rubies. Corundum is its purest form is almost without colour; the colour of the stones that you see in jewellery stores comes from trace elements in the sapphire crystal. The blue sapphires get their colour from the presence of Titanium Oxide; add Ferric Iron Oxide and the gem becomes green, whilst with Chromium Oxide (which on its own would produce a ruby) it creates a purple sapphire. Sapphires are often heat treated to accentuate their natural colour.

From Quiz Guilding the Stone - June

Answer: calcium carbonate

Between the shell and the body mass of an oyster is a layer of tissue known as the mantle. If a grain of sand, parasite or other irritant gets inside the shell, the mantle secretes nacre (also known as mother-of-pearl), a chalky substance which eventually hardens into a pearl. Pearls also contain conchiolin (a protein) and a small quantity of water.

From Quiz Guilding the Stone - May

Answer: Johnny Cash

This was probably one of the most hackneyed questions to appear on the Irish pub-quiz circuit. Countless new quizmasters thought it a clever trick question, only for it to be met with groans from experienced quizzers who had heard it a dozen times. The story was that Johnny Cash was inspired to write the song on a tour of Ireland in the 1960s. While flying between gigs, he looked down to see a patchwork of fields all of varying shades of green.

From Quiz Guilding the Stone - February

Answer: Dionysus

The Greek myth has it that Amethyst was saved from this grisly fate by the Goddess Artemis, who turned her into a lump of pure white quartz. Dionysus wept tears of red wine (apparently of remorse rather than frustration) which stained the quartz purple - creating the coloured gemstone which bears the name of Amethyst. There are a number of variations of this myth, but the innocent maiden's transformation into quartz, and its staining - by either wine or tears - are constant elements.

From Quiz Guilding the Stone - April

Answer: Rattlesnake

Western Diamondbacks are found in the United States and Mexico, and have a reputation for aggressiveness if they feel threatened. Statistically they account for the most snakebite fatalities in North America, but when not biting careless humans they prefer to feed on small amphibians, birds and rodents.

From Quiz Guilding the Stone-January

Answer: Plato

The engraving was made by a Roman artisan. The ancient Greeks believed the garnet had properties that would ensure lovers are safely re-united, prevent children from drowning, keep away nightmares and provide guidance at night. Garnets also have been said to symbolize purity, truth, love and passion, and to increase one's sense of security, spiritual awareness and success in business.

From Quiz Guilding the Stones: December

Answer: Iran

Iran used to be called Persia. It has been well known for turquoise for over two thousand years.

From Quiz Guilding the Stone - August

Answer: Arizona

Arizona has the highest production levels of peridot, although the stones found there are not of the highest value. The most valuable peridots are found in Pakistan, Egypt and Myanmar.

From Quiz Guilding the Stone: September

Answer: Oriental

An example of such naming is the green sapphire which was called an oriental emerald. This nomenclature was considered confusing so eventually in the early 21st century it was finally abandoned and sapphires of all colours were named as such. Only a blue sapphire can be called a sapphire without a colour prefix. A sapphire of another colour will often be called a "fancy" sapphire in the gem trade.

From Quiz Guilding the Stone - February

Answer: They believed it prevented intoxication

The name amethyst comes from the Greek a- ("not") and methustos ("intoxicated"). Both the Greeks and Romans believed that that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness, and that wine drunk from cups of amethyst would stop them getting intoxicated. Since, presumably, they continued to get drunk regardless of the material of which their cups were made, one wonders why the ancients continued with this odd belief. Another possible reason for carving wine goblets from amethyst was because its purple colour meant that good wine could not be distinguished from that which had been watered down.

From Quiz Guilding the Stone - March

Answer: Anselmus de Boodt, "Gemmarum et Lapidum Historia" 1609

The "Gemmarum et Lapidum Historia" (1609) of Anselmus de Boodt (1550-1632) was the first known catalogue of mineral elements known to the European world. His "catalogue" provided the first systematic description of 600 different types of metals and crystals. He and Georg Pawer [also known as "Georgius Agricola"] (1494-1555) are considered the founders of modern mineralogy. Agricola's "De Re Metallica" (1556) described the process of mining as well as a rudimentary explanation of the geology of the earth. Interestingly, "De Re Metallica" was translated into English in "Mining Magazine" (London) in 1912 by Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover, the future President and First Lady of the United States. Aristotle and Pliny the Elder voiced their opinions and theories as to the composition of the earth and its resources, but neither provided a systematic or comprehensive study of metallurgy or mineralogy. George Frederick Kunz (1856-1932) was a noted US mineralogist who became a vice president of the New York jeweller Tiffany & Company. His many articles and publications fanned popular interest in the purchase of gems at the turn of the 20th century. Many of his writings were intended more as a merchandising ploy than a serious discussion of mineralogy.

From Quiz Guilding the Stones: December

Answer: Green

This is due to dehydration. Iranian turquoise has been mined and traded for centuries.

From Quiz Guilding the Stones: November

Answer: Artificially heated

Most citrine that you can buy commercially is heat-treated amethyst or smokey quartz. (Smokey quartz itself is often irradiated quartz!) Gamma rays are also used to enhance gems - brilliant blue topaz or diamonds for example. Heat can change a yellow aquamarine into a blue one. Always buy from a reputable jeweller and ask if the gems have been enhanced. As minerals get more and more scarce, the practice will become more widespread. Gems have also been filled or coated with oil, wax, glass, resin or other coloured or clear material to improve appearance or make them tougher. They have even been bleached or dyed! Many of these changes can only be detected with scientific analysis. Are you all now looking at your jewellery with suspicion?

From Quiz Guilding the Stone - August

Answer: The French

Perhaps the name was changed when it was discovered that peridot and topaz do not have the same chemical formula. Topaz is an aluminum fluorite silicate with the formula Al2F2SiO4, while peridot is a magnesium iron silicate bearing the formula (MgFe)2SiO4.

From Quiz Guilding the Stone - June

Answer: Husband E. Kimmel

The Pacific Fleet's headquarters moved from San Diego to Pearl Harbor early in 1941, and Kimmel was appointed Commander-in-Chief. Following the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941, he and Lieutenant-General Walter Short were relieved of their commands and found guilty of dereliction of duty. The true extent of Admiral Kimmel's responsibility for the disaster has always been a matter of debate, but attempts to rehabilitate him officially have had little success.

From Quiz Guilding the Stone - February

Answer: Aaron

Aaron, the brother of Moses, was appointed High Priest by God, and Exodus Chapter 28 contains instructions given by God for how to make the breastplate and precisely where to place the precious stones. The reference to amethyst is in verse 19. The twelve stones represent the twelve tribes of Israel, although authorities disagree over which stands for which (the Bible unhelpfully does not make this explicit). Amethyst has been linked with the tribes of Dan, Issachar and Gad (to name but three). The tradition of allocating birthstones to each month is believed to have its origin in this biblical passage.

From Quiz Guilding the Stone - March

Answer: Jesus Christ

Belief in the Middle Ages was that bloodstone was formed when drops of Jesus' blood fell and stained some jasper at the foot of the cross. This may in turn have led to the tradition of using bloodstone in sculptures showing flagellation and martyrdom, hence its alternative name of "The Martyr's Stone".

From Quiz Guilding the Stone - April

Answer: King Mongtut

Lou Diamond Phillips may be best known for playing Ritchie Valens in the 1987 film "La Bamba". He also played another royal role - King Arthur - in a 2007/08 touring production of the Lerner & Loewe musical "Camelot".

From Quiz Guilding the Stone-January

Answer: Slovakia

Garnet mines are located in the mountainous region of Slovakia, the southern portion of the former Czechoslovakia. Prague and the Pilsen (beer making) district is in the north and now apart of The Czech Republic. With the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the forming of formerly Communist states into independent states, the Czechs formed a democratic government. The Communists put up no resistance, so the revolution was nonviolent, or velvet. Czechoslovakian President Vaclav Havel led the country through a peaceful partitioning period from which two distinct nations emerged.

From Quiz Guilding the Stones: December

Answer: Sinai Peninsula

The Wadi Maghareh is believed to be one of the important turquoise mines together with Serabit el-Khadim. There is a temple near the Wadi Maghareh mine which is dedicated to Hathor.

From Quiz Guilding the Stones: November

Answer: Manipura: The Solar Plexus Chakra

The solar plexus chakra apparently relates to the stomach, liver, digestion, nerves, muscles and gall bladder. Citrine is meant to be good for all these.

From Quiz Guilding the Stone - August

Answer: Married happiness

Those who are fortunate enough to have the peridot/sardonyx as a birthstone are assured of a happy marriage. I'm not superstitious, but my marriage was very happy, so maybe there's something to that superstition. On the other hand, my husband's birthstone for June was the pearl (or the moonstone or the aquamarine), any one of which was supposed to guarantee him health and longevity. In his case, that wasn't true, since he died in his mid-sixties after 13 years of chronic illness! Just in case you're interested, the other birthstones offer these gifts: January's garnet - constancy; February's amethyst - sincerity; March's bloodstone or aquamarine - courage; April's diamond - innocence; May's emerald - love and success; July's ruby - contentment; September's sapphire - clear thinking; October's opal or tourmaline - hope; November's topaz - fidelity; December's turquoise or zircon - prosperity.

From Quiz Guilding the Stone - June

Answer: London

Wearing clothes covered in small mother-of-pearl buttons, the Pearlies have been part of East End life since the nineteenth century. Their origins are vague. The earliest Pearlies are generally thought to have been chosen by the costermongers to protect their interests, and there are several differing explanations of the origin of the costume. Today they are concerned mainly in charitable work.

From Quiz Guilding the Stone - February

Answer: Finland

Run by Arctic Amethyst Ltd, Finland's amethyst mine (located on the Lampivaara fell in Pyhä-Luosto) has recently been marketed as a tourist attraction, helped by its picturesque location in a national park. Outside Europe, the majority of gem-quality amethyst is mined in Brazil, although it is also found in parts of Africa (notably Zambia) and Russia.

From Quiz Guilding the Stone-January

Answer: Demantoid

The Demantoid, a green garnet, was first thought to be an emerald as it was found in the Bobrovka region along the River Tschussawaja in which emeralds were already being mined. It is sometimes mistakenly referred to as an "Uralian emerald." The presence of byssolite, or asbestos, accounts for its color and particular radiance.

From Quiz Guilding the Stones: December

Answer: Homemade gunpowder

The colour of Sinai turquoise is usually greener than the Iranian material. It is usually the most translucent of the turquoises. Miners risk the danger of flash floods in the rainy season.

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Last Updated Apr 22 2024 11:06 AM

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