珠寶專(zhuān)業(yè)英語(yǔ)

Lesson1WhatIsAMineral

BecausetheMajorityofgemstonesaretraditionallyminerals,theirhistoryis

intimatelyandinextricablyassociatedwiththehistoryofminerals.Earlyman

undoubtedlydiscoveredbyaccidentthatquartzandflintcouldbebrokentoproduce

sharpcuttingedgesthatcouldbeusedastoolsorweapons.Itwasthroughtheuseof

mineralsthatbebeganhislongjourneytocivilization.

Sincemostgemmaterialsareminerals,itisimportantatthebeginningofastudy

ofgemologytounderstandthetermmineral.Itisimpossibletogiveabriefdefinition

thatisacceptabletoallmineralogists.Yetwithminorqualificationsmostofthem

agreewiththefollowing:

Amineralisanaturallyoccurring,crystallizedchemicalelementorcompound

havingeitheradefinitechemicalcompositionorrangeincompositionandusually

formedasaproductofinorganicprocesses.

Letusconsidereachofthepartsofthisdefinitionandpointouttheexceptionsor

qualifications.

Naturallyoccurringimpliesthatmineralsareproductsofnature.However,many

compoundsthatarefoundasmineralshavebeenpurposelysynthesizedbymanand

haveessentiallyidenticalproperties.Strictlythesearenotmineralsbutmaybe

consideredsyntheticmineralstodistinguishthemfromnaturalproducts.

Acrystallizedchemicalelementorcompoundimpliesthatmineralsaresolids

composedofatomsorionsarrangedinaregularthree-dimensionalpattern.Such

solidshavecompositionsexpressiblebychemicalformulas.Somemineralshave

definitecompositions;forexample,quartz(rockcrystal,citrine,andamethyst)is

silicondioxide,SiC)2,andcorundum(rubyandsapphire)isaluminumoxide,AI2O3.

Othershavearangeincompositioninwhichatomsofoneelementsubstitutefor

atomsofanotherelementinthecrystalstructure.Forexample,themineralgroup

olivinehasasone-memberpuremagnesiumsilicate,MgzSQ；butironusually

substitutesforsomemagnesiumasinthegemvarietyperidot,andtheformulais

written(Mg,Fe)2SiC)4.

Therestrictionthatmineralsbecrystallineexcludesliquidsandnoncrystalline

solids,althoughtheyarelikemineralsinchemistryandoccurrence.Inarigorous

classificationsuchsubstancesarecalledmineraloids.Althoughopalisessentially

noncrystallineandthusfallsinthisgroup,itistreatedinthetextasamineral.

Thereareafewnaturalnoncrystallinesolidscalledmetamictmineralsthatare

classedasmineraloids.Whenoriginallyformed,thesewerecrystalline,butthecrystal

structurehasbeendestroyedbyradiationfromradioactiveelements.Theonly

importantmetamictmineralusedasagemisonetypeofzircon.

Usuallyformedasaproductofinorganicprocessesimpliesthatsubstances

formedunderbiogenicprocessesarenormallyexcluded.Afewnaturalsubstancescan

originatethroughbothorganicandinorganicagencieswiththetwotypeshaving

identicalproperties.Suchorganicallyproducedmaterialsarehereconsideredminerals.

Thetwomostimportantgemmaterialscontainingamineralhavingthisdualorigin

arepearlandmother-of-pearl.

Vocabulary

mineral礦物crystallize結(jié)晶

majority大多數(shù)，大半composition成分

gemstone寶石inorganic無(wú)機(jī)的

traditionally傳統(tǒng)地imply含有…的意思；暗示

intimately密切地synthesize合成

inextricably分不開(kāi)地atom原子

byaccident偶然ion離子

quartz石英three-dimensionalpattern三度（維）模型

flint燧石rockcrystal水晶

gemology石英鐘citrine黃晶

mineralogist礦物學(xué)家amethyst紫晶

qualification保留；資格silicon(Si)硅

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dioxide二氧化物crystalline晶質(zhì)（體）

corundum岡lj玉rigorous嚴(yán)格的，嚴(yán)密的

ruby紅寶石classification分類(lèi)

sapphire藍(lán)寶石mineraloid似礦物

aluminum(Al)鋁metamict蛻晶質(zhì)

oxide氧化物noncrystalline非晶質(zhì)

crystalstructure晶體結(jié)構(gòu)radiation輻射

olivine橄欖石radioactiveelement放射性元素

magnesium(Mg)鎂zircon錯(cuò)石

silicate硅酸鹽biogenic生物的

variety品種；異種；亞種organic有機(jī)的

peridot橄欖石agency作用力，營(yíng)力

restriction限制，限定dual雙重的

exclude排除pearl珍珠

ReadingMaterial1GemMinerals

Becauseamineralmusthavecertainqualificationstobeplacedinthespecial

categoryofgemminerals,thenumberislimited.Ofmorethan3000knownmineral

species,approximately70meettherequirementsandoftheseabout15canbe

consideredasimportantgemminerals.

Intheabovelist(seeTable1-1)thesemineralsarearrangedbychemicalgroups,

theorderinwhichtheyaredescribedonmineralogy,withthenameofthemore

importantgemmineralsinboldfacetype.However,itshouldbepointedout,thatthe

listisnotall-inclusiveandthatotherrarermineralsoccasionallyappearasgemstones.

Thegemologistisfrequentlycalledupontoidentifythemineralsfromwhich

ornamentalobjectshavebeencarved.Therefore,includedinTable1-1(GemMinerals)

aresomemorecommonlyusedforcarvingsthanforcutstones.

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Table1-1GemMinerals

Nativeelements1Diamond

Sulfides2Sphalerite,Pyrite

Corundum,Hematite,Rutile,Quartz,Anatase,Cassiterite,Spinel,

Oxides9

Chrysoberyl,Opal

Halides1Fluorite

Carbonates6Calcite,Rhodochrosite,Smithsonite,Aragonite,Malachite,Azurite

Sulfates1Gypsum

Tungstates1Scheelite

Beryllonite,Apatite,Amblygonite,Brazilianite,Turquoise,

Phosphates6

Variscite

Phenacite,Willemite,Olivine,Garnet,Zircon,EuclaseAndalusite,

Sillimanite,Kyanite,Topaz,Staurolite,Dalolite,Titanite,Benitoite,

Zoisite,Epidote,Vesuvianite,Axinite,Beryl,Cordierite,

Silicates39Tourmaline,Diopside,Enstatite-hypersthene,Jadeite(jade),

Spodumene,Rhodonite,Tremolite-aclinolite(nephrite-jade),

Serpentine,Talc,Prehnite,Chrysocolla,Dioptase,Feldspar,

Danburite,Sodalite,Lazurite,Petalite,Scapolite,Thomsonite

Total66

Vocabulary

category種類(lèi)sphalerite閃鋅礦

species種,物種pyrite黃鐵礦

approximately大約，大致hematite赤鐵礦

boldfacetype粗體字，黑體字rutile金紅石

gemologist寶石學(xué)家anatase銳鈦礦

ornamental裝飾的cassiterite錫石

carve雕刻，切割spinel尖晶石

carving雕刻品chrysoberyl金綠寶石

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opal歐泊，蛋白石zoisite黝簾石

fluorite螢石epidote綠簾石

calcite方解石vesuvianite符山石

rhodochrosite菱鎂礦azinite斧石

smithsonite菱鋅礦beryl綠柱石

aragonite文石（霰石）cordierite堇青石

malachite孔雀石tourmaline電氣石，碧璽

azurite藍(lán)銅礦enstatite-hypersthene頑火輝石一紫蘇輝石

gypsum石膏diopside透輝石

scheelite白鴿礦jadeite硬玉，翡翠

beryllonite磷鈉被石jade玉

apatite磷灰石spodumene鋰輝石

amblygonite磷鋁鋰石rhodonite薔薇輝石

brazillianite磷鋁鈉石tremolite透閃石

turquoise綠松石actinolite陽(yáng)起石

variscite磷鋁石nephrite軟玉

phenacite硅被石serpentine蛇紋石

willemite硅鋅礦talc滑石

garnet石榴石，紫牙烏prehnite葡萄石

euclase藍(lán)柱石chrysocolla硅孔雀石

andalusite紅柱石dioptase透視石

silimanite矽線石feldspar長(zhǎng)石

kyanite藍(lán)晶石danburite賽黃晶

topaz黃玉，托帕石sodalite方鈉石

staurolite十字石lazurite青金石

datolite硅硼鈣石petalite透鋰長(zhǎng)石

titanite楣石scapolite方柱石

benitoite藍(lán)錐礦thomsonite桿沸石

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Lesson2GemQualifications

Thetermgem(orgemstone)isappliedtothesematerials,usuallyaftertheyare

cutandpolished,thataresufficientlyattractiveanddurabletobeusedforpersonal

adornment.

Oftheseveralattributesofgemstones,beautyisthemostimportant.Thatbeauty

isintheeyeofthebeholderisastruewithgemsaswithmanyotherthings.Toone,

beautymaybeinthecolor;toothers,itmaybeintheluster,transparency,or

brilliancyandthefireresultingfromskillfulcuttingbythelapidary.Thebeautyof

mostgemsresultsfromacombinationoftwoormoreoftheseproperties,butinsome

nontransparentstones,suchasturquoiseandmalachite,itliesincoloralone.Allthe

factorscontributingtobeautyarefoundinafewgemstonessuchasfancycolored

diamondsanddemantoidgarnet.Opal,oneofthemostbeautifulgems,owesits

attractivenesstoflashesofspectralcolorsdiffractedfromthestone'sinterior,a

phenomenonknownasplayofcolor.

Becausemostgemstonesareusedforpersonaladornment,theyshouldbeableto

resistscratchingandabrasionwhichwoulddulltheirlusterandmartheirbeauty.Thus

durability,whichdependsonhardness,toughnessandstability,isthesecondrequisite

ofagemmineral.Itisgenerallyconsideredthatagemstonehardenoughtoresist

abrasionshouldhaveaminimumhardnessof7,thatofquartz.Only10or12gems

satisfythisrequirement,butothersfashionedfromsoftermineralswillretaintheir

lusterformanyyearsifwornwithcare.Thehighhardnessofdiamond,ruby,sapphire

andemeraldisamajorfactorinplacingthemamongthemostprizedofgems.

However,somehardmineralsarebrittleandcanbechippedorfracturedifstrucka

sharpblow,whereasothermineralsoflesshardnessmaybethoughandresist

fracturing.Thelattercaseisparticularlytrueofnephritejade,whichiscomposedofa

feltedaggregateoffibrouscrystals.Theblowthatwouldshatteradiamondwould

havelittleeffectonthefarsofternephritejade.

Stabilityisagemstonesabilitytoresistlossofcolorduetoheat,light,or

chemicalattack.Whileitisafactortoconsider,italonerarelypreventsamineral

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frombeingusedasagemstone.

Beautyanddurabilityarethetwoinherentpropertiesofamineralonwhichits

useasagemdepends.Comparedtotheseproperties,otherqualificationsarerelatively

superficialanddependmostlyonthewhimsofman.Sinceitishumannaturetodesire

somethingrare,rarityisanothercriterionofagemsvalue.Ifthereisonlyalimited

quantityofagemmineralreachingthemarket,thepriceishigh,andbecauseofthis,

thegemisconsidereddesirablebythefewwhocanaffordit.Withthediscoveryof

newsources,resultinginagreatincreaseinsupply,thepricefalls.Itlosesitsappeal

tothefewwhoformerlycouldaffordit.

Thedesirabilityofgemsisalsosubjecttothevagariesoffashion.Forexample,a

darkredvarietyofgarnet-pyropewasextremelypopularduringthenineteenth

centuryandisseeninmanypiecesofjewelrydatingfromthattime,butisinlittle

demandtoday.

Afinalfactorthatcanbeaddedtothedesirablepropertiesofgemsisportability.

Thisisparticularlyappealingforpeoplelivinginpoliticallyunstablecountriesfrom

whichtheymaybeforcedtofleeonshortnotice.Gemstonesareuniqueincombining

highvaluewithsmallvolumeandweightandcanbetransportedeasilyfromone

countrytoanotherduringperiodsofpoliticalunrestandeconomicinstability.Itis

interestingtonoteinthisregardthatevenmanyoftheleastexpensivegemmaterials

are,byweight,morecostlythangold.

Althoughquiteunrelatedtotheintrinsicpropertiesofagem,rarity,fashion,and

portabilityplayalargepartindeterminingitsvalue.

Vocabulary

sufficiently足夠地beholder觀看者

attractive有吸引力的luster光澤

durable耐久的transparency透明度

adornment裝飾brilliancy光亮，光彩

attribute特質(zhì)，屬性skillful巧妙的，精巧的

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cutting琢磨lapidary寶石工，玉工

lie在于aggregate集合體

demantoid翠榴石shatter打碎

attractiveness有吸引力inherent固有的，本來(lái)的

flash閃光superficial淺薄的

interior內(nèi)部whim好奇

spectralcolors光譜色彩rarity稀罕，珍奇

diffract分解afford能買(mǎi)得起

phenomenon現(xiàn)象appeal引起…共鳴，投合…心意

playofcolor變彩desirability合意性

scratching刻劃vagary變幻，幻想

abrasion擦磨，刮削fashion潮流，風(fēng)氣

durability耐久性pryope鎂鋁榴石

hardness硬度jewelry珠寶飾物，首飾

toughness韌性portability輕便

stability穩(wěn)定性flee消失，消散

requisite要素，必需品unique唯一的

fashioned制作unrest不安定

emerald祖母綠instability不穩(wěn)定

brittle脆的intrinsic(al)內(nèi)在的，本質(zhì)的

chip破碎determine確定，鑒定

blow打擊

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ReadingMaterial2ClassificationofGems

Thesystemusedbygemologiststoclassifygemstonesisbasedonafewgeneral

categories.Anunderstandingofthesecangoalongway,therefore,tounderstanding

thedescriptivenamesusedforgems,whethertheyarenaturalorman-made,organic

orinorganic.

Thebasiccategoryisthegemspecies.Themajorityofgemspeciesareminerals,

thatisdefinedbyadefinitechemicalcompositionandusuallyacharacteristiccrystal

structure.Corundumandberylaretwosuchmineralspeciesthatarealsogemspecies.

Inaddition,thereareanumberoforganicgemmaterialsthatarealsoconsideredgem

speciesalthoughtheywouldnotbeincludedassuchinastrictmineralogical

classification.Amongtheseorganicgemspeciesarepearl,coral,shell,amber,jet,and

ivory.

Gemologicalspeciesarebrokendownintovarieties.Thesearesubdivisionsof

speciesbasedincolor,colordistribution,transparency,andopticalphenomena.The

followingexamplesmayhelptoclarifythisconcept:Corundumisagemspecies,the

gemmineralcomposedofaluminumoxidecrystallizinginthetrigonalsystem.The

mediumtodarkorangeredtopurplishredvarietyiscalledruby,thebluevarietyis

calledsapphire,andallothercolorsaretermedfancysapphiresanddesignatedby

theircolor,forexample,pinksapphireandgreensapphire.Inberyl,anothergem(also

mineral)species,thesaturatedmediumtodarkgreenvarietyiscalledemerald,lightto

mediumblueisaquamarine,pinkismorganite,andyellowisgoldenberyl.With

respecttocolordistribution,chalcedony(afine-grainedvarietyofquartz)with

straightblackandwhitebandingiscalledonyx,whereasitiscalledagateifthe

bandingiscurvedorangular.Asfortransparency,atranslucentreddishchalcedonyis

calledcarnelian;anotherfine-grainedvarietyofquartzthatisredandnearlyopaqueis

calledjasper.Finally,somegemmaterialsexhibitunusualopticaleffectscalled

phenomena.Onesuchphenomenonisthestar-effect,orasterism.Starstonesexhibit

interestingbandsoflightintheircurvedsurfaces.Ifasapphireexhibitsthiseffect,it

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isthestarsapphirevariety;ifarubyexhibitsthiseffect,thenitiscalledstarruby.The

othergems,suchasrosequartz,almandinegarnet,anddiopside(anearlyblack

variety),frequentlyalsoshowstareffect(asterism),andoccasionallyberylandspinel

exhibitasterism.

Agemologicalgroupisdefinedastwoormorechemicallyrelatedgemmineral

speciesthataresimilarinstructureandproperties.Thegarnetsandfeldsparsaretwo

importantgemgroups.Thegarnetgroupincludesthatthegemmineralspeciesand

varietyarepyrope,almandine,grossularite(hessoniteoressonite),tsavolite,andradite,

demantoid,spessartine,uvarovite,etc.Thefeldspargroupincludesthatthegem

mineralspeciesandvarietyarealbite,labradorite,moonstone,sunstone,amazonite,

oligoclase,orthoclase,etc.

Vocabulary

trigonalsystem三方晶系spessartine鋪鋁榴石

tsavolite銘銳鈣鋁榴石almandine鐵鋁榴石

oligoclase奧長(zhǎng)石uvarovite鈣銘榴石

morganite鈉綠柱石grossularite鈣鋁榴石（綠榴石）

andradite鈣鐵榴石albite鈉長(zhǎng)石

orthoclase正長(zhǎng)石hessonite鈣鋁榴石（黃榴石）

diopside透輝石labradorite拉長(zhǎng)石

demantoid翠榴石essonite鈣鋁榴石（黃榴石）

pyrope鎂鋁榴石amazonite天河石

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Lesson3GemologyandMineralogy

Gemologyisarelativelynewsciencethatissodeeplyrootedinmineralogyitis

impossibletodrawalinebetweenthem.Thegemologistcanbeconsideredinsome

respectsamineralogistspecializingingemminerals.Inthebroadsensetheseinclude

thenaturalornamentalmaterialsusedforcarvingsanddecorativepurposes.In

addition,today'sgemologistmustdealwithanumberofareasbeyondtheconcernof

themineralogist,includingthegradingandevaluationofgemsandeventheir

marketingandsale.

Mineralogyisnotafundamentalsciencebutasynthesisofchemistry,physics,

andgeology.Asaspecializedmineralogist,thegemologistmustdrawonthese

sciencesforacompleteunderstandingofthesubject.Thephysicsandchemistryof

mineralsareintimatelyrelated,forthecomplexphysicalandchemicalpropertiesthat

characterizeamineraldependonthechemicalcompositionandthearrangementof

theatomsinthecrystalstructure.Fromgeologycomesanunderstandingofthe

physicochemicalconditionsunderwhichmineralsform.Furthennore,onlywiththe

knowledgeofgeologycantherebeanintelligentapproachtoprospectingforgemsor

anappreciationoftheproblemsofextractingthemfromtheenclosingrock.

Althoughsimilarequipmentandsimilarmethodsofstudyareusedbyboth

mineralogistandgemologist,thereisafundamentaldifferenceinapproach.The

mineralogistcanscratch,powder,ordissolveinacidtheobjectsofstudywith

impunity.Thegemologistpresentedwithavaluablefacetedstoneisrestrictedto

nondestructivetestsandmeasurements.Togathersufficientdatatoidentifysucha

gemstone,thegemologisthasdevelopedspecialinstrumentsandtechniques.Inthe

textthesedevicesandmethodsareemphasized.

Vocabulary

mineralogy礦物學(xué)grading分等級(jí)

specialize專(zhuān)門(mén)研究evaluation估價(jià)，評(píng)價(jià)

decorative裝飾的marketing營(yíng)銷(xiāo)，市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷(xiāo)

ii

sale銷(xiāo)售equipment設(shè)備

fundamental基礎(chǔ)的，根本的scratch刻,劃

synthesis合成powder磨碎

geology地質(zhì)學(xué)impunity無(wú)慮，無(wú)患

characterize特征restrict限制，禁止

physicochemical物理化學(xué)的nondestructive無(wú)損害的

intelligent有理解力的measurement測(cè)定，測(cè)量

approach門(mén)道，手段gather搜集

prospecting尋找，探查sufficient充分的，充足的

appreciation評(píng)價(jià)，判斷device手段

extracting提取，選出emphasize強(qiáng)調(diào)

ReadingMaterial3OriginandOccurrenceofGemstones

Althoughgemologyisarelativelynewscience,gemshavebeenknownforalong

time.Eversincethefirstchancediscoveriesbyearlyman,gemshavebeeneagerly

soughtandhighlyvalued.Gemstonesaretraditionallyminerals,thatistheyare

elementsorinorganiccompoundsformedasproductsofnature.Withadvancing

technologyandabetterunderstandingofnature'sgem-formingprocesses,manhas

beenabletomanufacturesubstancesthatareusedasgems,someidentical,ornearly

identical,tomineralsandothershavenonaturalcounteiparts.Therefore,acomplete

discussionoftheoriginofgemmaterialsmustincludethemethodsusedbymanas

wellastheearthprocessesthathavebeenworkingthroughoutgeologictime.This

lessongivesabriefaccountoftheoriginandoccurrenceofgemstonesinnature.

Todiscusstheoriginofgemstonesistodiscusstheoriginofminerals.Many

mineralsoriginateinavarietyofways,anditistheexceptionalmineralforwhicha

singleexplanationcanaccountforalloccurrences.Soitiswithgems.Butinthe

limitedspaceavailable,onlytheprincipalprocessesresponsibleforgemformation

areconsidered.

Onlysixoftheapproximately3000mineralsareuniversallyabundant.These

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majorrock-formingmineralsormineralgroupsthatmakeup95%oftheearth'scrust

arelistedinTable1.Withtheexceptionofquartz,thenamesinthetableareof

mineralgroups,eachofwhichhasseveralmembersthatdifferchemicallyfromeach

other.Butallthesecommonandabundantminerals,andquartzaswell,havevarieties

that,becauseofunusualconditionsofformation,occuringem-qualitymaterial.Even

thesoft,platymineralstalcandmica,whenfinegrainedandcompact,aresometimes

fashionedintoornamentalobjects.

Table1MajorRock-formingMinerals

MineralPercentageofEarth'sCrustPrincipalElements

Feldspar60Na,K,Ca,Al,Si,0

Quartz13Si,0

Pyroxene12Mg,Fe,Ca,Na,Al

Amphibole5Ti,Mn,Si,0

Mica4K,Mg,Fe,Al,Si,0

Olivine1Mg,Fe,Si,0

Thematerialsavailableformineralformationarethe92elementsfoundonearth

ofwhichonly8makeupnearly99%oftherocks.Abouthalfofthegemmineralsare

alsocomposedwhollyofthesesame8elements.Ifweexpandthelisttothe20most

abundantelements,allbut6areincludedthataremajorconstituentsofminerals

normallyproducinggem-qualitymaterials.These20elementsarelistedinTable2in

orderofdecreasingabundanceintheearth'scrust.Alsolistedareafewoftherarer

elementseitherpresentingemmineralsorotherwiseofinteresttothegemologist.

Whenoneoftherarerelementsispresentinmorethantraceamounts,itindicates

thatsomenaturalprocesshasbroughtaboutaconcentration.Suchconcentrationdo

occur,resultinginrareandunusualminerals,andtheirexplanationformsa

fascinatingchapterinthescienceofgeochemistry.Gemvarietiesofsomeofthese

minerals,althoughrare,mayinplacesoccurinappreciableamounts.Thus,in

consideringtheoriginofgemminerals,wemustaccountforboththeunusual

conditionsunderwhichthecommonelementsarebroughttogetherandthesignificant

concentrationsofminorelements.

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Table2AbundanceofEementsinEarth'sCrust

TwentyMostAbundantElementSomeLessAbundantElement

ElementSymbolWt.%ElementSymbolWt.%

Oxygen06.60ChromiumCr0.010

SiliconSi27.72NickelNi0.008

AluminumAl8.13ZincZn0.0065

IronFe5.00CopperCu0.0055

CalciumCa3.63CobaltCo0.0025

SodiumNa2.83LithiumLi0.0020

PotassiumK2.59NitrogenN0.0020

MagnesiumMg2.09LeadPb0.0013

TitaniumTi0.44BoronB0.0010

HydrogenH0.14ThoriumTh0.0007

PhosphorusP0.10CesiumCs0.0003

ManganeseMn0.09BerylliumBe0.00028

FluorineF0.063TinSn0.00020

BariumBa0.040Uraniumu0.00018

StrontiumSr0.03