gem commonly, a mineral or organic substance, cut and polished and used as an ornament. Gems also are used as seals (items of assurance) and as talismans (good-luck charms). For birthstones, see month . Properties of Gems The qualities sought in gems are beauty, rarity, and durability. The beauty of a gem depends primarily on its optical properties, which impart its luster, fire, and color; the durability depends on hardness and resistance to cleavage or fracture. The physical properties by which gems are distinguished from each other are form of the crystal, index of refraction of light, hardness, presence or absence of cleavage, type of fracture (conchoidal, even, or uneven) in stones without cleavage, specific gravity, color, streak (color of the powder as determined by rubbing it over white, unglazed porcelain), luster (appearance of the surface in reflected light—adamantine, vitreous, resinous, greasy, silky, or pearly), and transparency. Minor properties that serve to identify some stones are chatoyancy (changeable luster or color under undulating light), opalescence, asterism (starlike sparkling), play of color, fluorescence, phosphorescence, iridescence, and electrical properties. The unit of weight used for gemstones is the metric carat; one carat equals 200 mg. Gem Cutting Gems are generally cut to bring out their natural color and brilliancy and to remove flaws. In the cabochon cut, the upper surface of the stone is smoothed and rounded into a simple...
gem
gem / jem/ • n. a precious or semiprecious stone, esp. when cut and polished or engraved. ∎ a person or thing considered to be outstandingly good or special in some respect: this architectural gem of a palace. ∎ used in names of some brilliantly colored hummingbirds, e.g., mountain gem.• v. (gemmed, gem·ming) [tr.] [usu. as adj.] (gemmed) rare decorate with or as with gems.DERIVATIVES: gem·like / -ˌlīk/ adj.
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gem
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gem
So gemma (bot.) leaf-bud. XVIII. — L. gemmation (bot.) budding. XVIII. — F.
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GEM
GEM • abbr. ground-effect machine.
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Gem
• (dʒɛm) Computing graphics environment manager
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