Precious Stones

Precious Stones

Precious stones is a name that is usually used in reference to four types of gems: diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. Some people have included opal, jade or pearls in the "precious stones" class, but these have not received persistent and widespread use. Separating stones into "precious" and "semiprecious" classes has led many people to believe that "precious stones" are more important and more valuable than "semiprecious stones." This idea has somewhat been supported by the fact that diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds account for over 98% of the dollar value of U.S. gemstone imports for consumption reported by the United States Geological Survey