Earth and Environmental Science

The department recently received a generous donation of a wide variety of stones from Nathan Herrick Jewelers in Toronto. These stones include seconds of rough and cut stones used for jewelry and range from well known gems like rubies, emeralds and sapphires to less commonly seen semi-precious stones that will significantly improve our collection of gem materials. The range is large: turquoise, garnet, topaz, kunzite, tourmaline, tanzanite, peridot, morganite, coloured zircon, several varieties of quartz (amethyst, citrine, rock crystal, prasiolite, smoky quartz, rose quartz), alexandrite, malachite, onyx, chalcedony, carnelian, labradorite, moonstone, kyanite, apatite, aquamarine, hematite, opal, pearl and coral. Here is a small sample of the materials:

Clockwise from upper left: kunzite, kyanite, smoky quartz, blue chalcedony, opal, citrine, ruby, emerald, blue zircon, and in centre, turquoise and malachite (I think!)

Now we need to figure out how to put this donation to the best possible use!