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NOVEMBER 2014 -
SEXY GLAM
MAGAZINE -
7
Myth and Reality
most traditional precious
stones with a history
going back to an-
cient Greece is
amethyst.
Amethyst
was re-
classi-
fied as
semi-
pre-
cious
after
large
de-
pos-
its
were
found
in Brazil
and Uru-
guay in the
first half of
the nineteenth
century.
The introduction of
the term semi-precious
into the English lexicon corre-
sponds with the new amethyst discov-
eries.
Of all the precious stones, diamond is the most
subject to myth. It is interesting that the myths are
of modern rather than ancient origin. Historically,
colored gemstones such
as ruby and sapphire
were more highly
valued than dia-
mond, mainly
because
diamond
was not
particu-
larly
rare.
But
the
twen-
tieth
centu-
ry saw
a major
change.
The first
thing that
happened is that
very large finds in
South Africa created an
even more abundant sup-
ply of gem-quality diamond. At
the same time, the perceived value of
diamond has risen to the point where it’s fair to say
that diamond is at the top of the list of the precious
stones in the mind of the buying public. What hap-
pened? Aren’t precious gems valued particularly for
their rarity?