What Are Gems?

What are gems? Coral, ivory, amber & pearls are organic. This means they were once living or produced by a living organism-animal or plant. 

Most of the gems we know are minerals. Composed of non-living matter. Some examples of this are sapphires, emeralds & ruby. 

The first known gems were amethyst,, amber, garnet, jade, coral, lapis lazuli, pearl, emeralds & turquoise. The wealthy wore these as status symbols. Although jewelry is worn mostly for pleasure.

Gemstones use to be used as medicine against illnesses. Eventually they were linked to astrology and assigned to signs of the zodiac.