Until recently only emerald ruby and sapphire were officially called precious gems.
Ruby sapphire emerald gemstone.
The traditional classification in the west which goes back to the ancient greeks begins with a distinction between precious and semi precious.
This distinction reflects the rarity of the respective stones in ancient times as.
The precious categorization is a reference to value.
Gem materials found in north carolina include aquamarine beryl citrine emerald garnet moonstone rose quartz ruby sapphire smoky quartz staurolite topaz tourmaline and many others.
Though diamonds are one of the most valuable gemstones the finely cut ruby sapphire and emerald top the list of precious gemstones.
Everything else was called semi precious.
Similar distinctions are made in other cultures in modern use the precious stones are diamond ruby sapphire and emerald with all other gemstones being semi precious.
The reasons for which are stated below rarity.
Diamond ruby sapphire and emerald are considered precious stones while the other stones fall in the category of semi precious ones.
Ruby is the most popular red gemstone and sapphire is the most popular blue gemstone.
Members of the north carolina legislature declared emerald the state s official gemstone.