Articles

This article is a brief survey of the historical methods of describing and assessing the quality of coloured gemstones, tracing these from ancient times to the end of the 18th century. Examining historical texts and inventories reveals how features and flaws of gemstones were observed and used to determine their value. The article considers various historical periods, including the ancient world, medieval Muslim world, early India, and medieval Europe, highlighting the changing criteria and expertise involved in judging gems. This study demonstrates the historical depth of gem connoisseurship and its influence on modern gem assessment practices.

During the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), court artisans carved agates with a high degree of technical ability and inventiveness. Agate wares produced during the reign of the Yongzheng (1723–35) and Qianlong (1736–1795) emperors exploit the full breadth of chromatic effects and degrees of translucency offered by these silicate stones. During this period, agate carvings were produced in high numbers, and imperial commissions made conscious use of the stone’s unique material qualities. Because the geological environment in which agates are formed affects their pigmentation, the range of agate colors recorded in historical documents and seen in surviving objects reflects a variety of geographical origins. This paper considers how agates were understood by scholars and appreciated by emperors at a time of territorial expansion and interest in new minerals.

Throughout the history of gemology, quartz has been a main target of gemological microscopists. A detailed study of the wide variety of inclusions in quartz is as complex an earth-science related mental exercise as any gemologist would ever care to undertake. This is not surprising, as quartz occurs in a wider range of geologic environments than any other mineral species, and the inclusions it holds testify to this.

East Africa's Mozambique orogenic belt stretches from Eastern Antarctica through East Africa to the Arabian penninsula. The highly mineralized zone is the source of many rich gem deposits, one of which is detailed in this article.

This article traces the shift in Sino–Burmese gem exchange from a Ming-era emphasis on baoshi (寳石; rubies, sapphires, tourmalines and others) to the Qing embrace of Burmese jade, or fei cui (翡翠). Using Yunnan-centered sources, it argues that the term fei cui was first applied to Burmese jade in 1719 (Ni Tui), marking a conceptual turn that paralleled a market one: by the late 18th century, fei cui trade through Tengyue/Dali expanded rapidly, values soared, and top fei cui surpassed Xinjiang yu (nephrite) in price. Court taste—especially under Qianlong—accelerated demand, reorienting extraction and commerce in northern Burma. The study highlights evolving terminology, monopolies over ruby/sapphire, and growing jade-working industries, concluding that Chinese consumer preference was the primary external force shaping Burmese gem mining and exports from the Yuan–Ming through the Qing and into the modern era.

An introduction to the articles in this special issue of the Chinese Journal of Gems & Gemmology, edited by Lotus Gemology's Richard W. Hughes and first published in May 2026.

Gemmology in China has existed for many millennia, but has undergone rapid change and development in the past three decades. Today China is training more gemmologists than the rest of the world combined and has become the leader in the field.

The earliest known emerald mines are thought to have been in Egypt. However recent discoveries suggest that emerald may have also been known from Central Asia.

Thin films create a bouquet of color inside a Russian emerald.

A strikingly textured crystal is suspended within a pink spinel.