Ural gems: description of stones, their use

The Urals are rightly called the treasury of Russia. This is a malachite box filled with a variety of precious stones.

The beautiful Ural stones began to be mined long ago, since the appearance of the first Russian settlers. At the end of the XVI century, caravans with goods began to go from Europe to Asia and back, from Solikamsk to Tura and Tyumen. Then iron ore was discovered, followed by patterned ornamental stones, agate and jasper. Mention of them first appear in the XVII century.

At that time, mining was done in an artisanal way, excavations were carried out with a pickaxe and a shovel. Pits, pits and tunnels almost did not strengthen, and the work presented a danger not only for health, but even for life. Often beautiful gems found just on the surface of the earth, along the banks of rivers and streams, plowed out during the processing of vegetable gardens. The miners-miners initially simply sold raw stones to dealers. But gradually masters began to appear, who learned how to cut, make original jewelry boxes, souvenirs.

In the Ural deposits there are almost all minerals of interest to jewelers, and in large quantities. Some of them are found only in the area.

In the science of mineralogy there is such a term as "semi-precious strip of the Urals." This is the territory of occurrence of precious, semi-precious and ornamental stones, located on the eastern slope of the Ural Mountains. Its length from north to south is about 100 kilometers. At the professional level, the gems of the Urals began to be studied only at the end of the XIX century.

The first and largest deposit at that time is the Murzinka settlement. It was here in 1668 that the first gems were found by the Tumashev brothers. From this point on, the life of the settlement changed radically. Residents of nearby villages began to mine gems. Prospectors from other places began to come here, the village grew.

The stone case was further developed during the reign of Peter the Great. They issued a decree according to which anyone and anywhere could search and mine minerals, thanks to which many factories appeared in the Urals. At the same time, the construction of St. Petersburg began. For the construction and decoration of buildings and palaces required more and more different types of stone, as well as craftsmen who know how to handle it. Mining specialists were sent to the Urals to organize mining at the right scale.

For more than 200 years of development, hundreds of tons of beautiful gems and semiprecious stones, such as topazes, beryls, alexandrites and many others, were removed from the Murzinsky mines.

Another famous field is Malyshevskoye. It produces valuable emeralds of stunning beauty. Operated on the present. In 1993, a 1.2 kg crystal was mined at this mine, and in 2013 a mass of just over one kilogram was produced.

For many years, malachite has been the pride of the Urals, one might say, the hallmark. From the beginning of the 18th to the 19th century, this stone was mined on a huge scale. Malachite was used to make boxes, table tops, vases, wall mosaics, various small souvenirs. He was sold abroad. For example, in Versailles there are apartments decorated with polished plates of this stone.

In the folklore of the Ural miners and prospectors there were such images as Copper Mountain and its Mistress, who was the owner of underground treasures and could help an honest worker in their search.

Kyshtymsky, Tagilsky and Mednorudyansky were also famous. Nowadays, the explored deposits of malachite are almost completely developed, only in some places can still be found small samples. However, some scientists, geologists and mineralogists, are confident that many untouched reserves of this amazing stone are stored in the depths of the Urals. So the search continues, and perhaps there will be another epoch of malachite abundance.

In the Urals, there are a variety of minerals. The list can include the following natural precious and semiprecious stones.

• Alexandrite. Closes the top five of the most expensive and rare gems in the world. Its distinctive feature is a change in color from green in natural light to reddish in artificial. The name was in honor of the Russian Emperor Alexander II. At present, the alexandrite deposit in the Urals is considered developed, the stone is not mined.

• Amethyst. By chemical composition is quartz. It has a purple color, sometimes with a reddish tint. Attractive not only in cutting, but also in the form of raw drusen. Ural amethysts abroad are called Siberian.

• Emerald. According to mineralogical terminology, it belongs to green beryl. It is a gem of the first group, and also among the five most expensive of them, taking the honorable third place. It was first discovered in 1830. Emeralds of the Ural deposits are characterized by the depth and richness of green.

• Topaz. The famous researcher, mineralogist, academician Alexander Evgenievich Fersman said that Russian topaz are distinguished by color and beauty among similar gems from other countries, and they can rightly be called our pride. Stones from different workings vary in color. So, for example, colorless crystals are found in the Ilmenogorsk belt. The largest had a mass of more than 10 kilograms. Yellow and blue come across in Murzinsky and Aduysky. Crimson, pink and bluish - in the Southern Urals.

• Demantoid, or green pomegranate. Very rare and most expensive of all known pomegranates. The first stone was found in 1868, in the region of Nizhny Tagil. Six years later, in 1874, the demantoids began to be mined at Sysertsky mine. The color of stones can vary: green, pistachio, yellowish-honey, golden.

• Diamond. One of the hardest minerals. It happens in different colors. The most common is white, transparent, black, gray. There are instances of green, brown, yellow, blue and pink. Diamonds from the Urals are among the most expensive.

• Mariinskite. The latest discovery of scientists. In 2011, a mineral was discovered in the Ural Mountains that is close in composition to alexandrite. The stone is green, the color does not change when the lighting changes.

• Aquamarine. It belongs, like emerald, to the group of beryls. It was first discovered at the end of the 19th century, at the Aduiskoye field, north of Yekaterinburg. It has good transparency and sky blue color.

In the Middle Urals, rich deposits of tourmaline, rock crystal, smoky quartz, chrysolite, beryls of various colors and many other beautiful gems of high quality were discovered.

A separate group is the so-called ornamental stones. They are made from inexpensive jewelry - pendants, beads, rings, bracelets. As well as various figures, vases, stands, cigarette cases. The most common are the following.

• Malachite. The most famous Ural stone. Soft, easy to process, it can be cut, polished, polished. The original gentle cut pattern allows it to be used in the production of mosaics, for decorating interiors.

• Orlets, or rhodonite. Ural has the largest reserves of this species. The color of the mineral varies from light pink to dark cherry, with a huge variety of shades. Most often they grind out coasters, vases, and candlesticks.

• Jasper. 8 species of this semi-precious stone are mined in the Urals. Especially a lot of it in the southern part, come across whole cliffs of jasper. The color range is different variety: green, gray, yellow, red shades in the most bizarre combinations and patterns. Mineral is durable, can be processed and polished, it turns out excellent in beauty products.

• Serpentine. Stone with a soft structure. Color dark green with black or brown splashes.

• Pyrites. It has a high hardness, but it is processed well. The color is yellow-golden, when polished, a gloss like metallic appears.

• Chalcedony and its varieties - agate, onyx, cat's eye, carnelian, mohovik. These minerals make rings, earrings, pendants. The color of the stones can be very different: green, yellow, brown, blue, with many shades.

• Nephritis. Greenish, bright green, sometimes milky white. Hardness is quite high. Usually used for the production of souvenirs.

For several centuries, products from the Ural gems are the pride of Russia. They are widely used in various branches of jewelry and stone-cutting art. The magnificent works of the Ural masters are very highly valued.. Interior items, souvenirs, jewelry boxes, jewelry and exclusive jewelry are in great demand not only in our country, but also abroad.

Here they are - semi-precious stones of the Urals. Different in color, composition, application, but equally beautiful.

Review of the Ural gems, see the following video: