Mini assortment box with 10-12 clusters of fluorite. 95x80x40 mm.

Gemstones are rare minerals that are often used in jewellery and decorations. They are characterised by beauty, including visual aspects such as colour, shine, fire, transparency, and lighting effects. Durability is also an important characteristic, with attention paid to hardness, fragility/cleavage, and chemical resistance. The rarity of a gemstone influences its frequency in nature. There are many cutting shapes for gemstones, with the basic distinction being the cabochon, a spherical cutting method, and faceted, where the surface of the gemstone is cut in different facets. The cutting process considers properties such as colour, colour distribution, inclusions, special light effects, dispersion, fracture, and grinding surfaces. Necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and other jewellery pieces incorporate gemstones, and they also find industrial applications. Some well-known gemstones include diamond, ruby, emerald, sapphire, aquamarine, topaz, tourmaline, amethyst, citrine, carnelian, opal, onyx, turquoise, lapis lazuli, and garnet. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, it was fashionable to make jewellery with a person's name or initials incorporated. The choice of gemstones was guided by the first letter of the gemstone name, which led to the gem alphabet. People also made acrostic jewellery in the 19th century, expressing sentiments through gemstones. The best known of these is the English 'regard' ring, an engagement ring in which the word 'regard' was formed from the gemstones ruby, emerald, garnet, amethyst, and diamond.