People covet crystals; brilliant stones, eye-catching, without
flaw.  Diamonds and gems glint on a hand,
encircle a neck or wrap around an ankle or wrist.    Crystals, such
as, diamonds, garnets, emeralds and many others are the “crystal habit.”

Scientists describe
crystals by color, shape and size.  These
elements of form are the “crystal habit,” or the “crystal form.”  A crystal’s form occurs when water or other
fluids combine with elements such as gypsum or carbon.  Along with heat and pressure, each compound
forms a particular type of crystal with a particular type of hardness or
softness. Gypsum produces one of the softest and most fragile crystals.  Pure carbon, extreme heat and pressure form the
hardest material known to man, the diamond.

From the
deepest parts of the earth, a crystal will travel to the surface.  The earth rumbles and quakes, giving birth to
crystals.  Volcanoes and earthquakes
provide heat and pressure.  The rest is
up to Father Time.

Gemstones sell according to its “habit.”
They emerge from the earth, rough looking and untamed.  The size of crystal will vary.  Sometimes, they will measure in fractions of
carats, and occasionally, a crystal will measure in numbers of feet or meters.   With flakes of many colors found in deserted
mines, to clear-colored gypsum crystals found in Mexico, the crystal’s size may be
modest or gigantic.

Diamonds and other gem’s weight measures
in carats. One carat equals two hundred milligrams. Most folks are familiar
with the carat as related to diamonds. However, on January 25, 1905, while
mining in South Africa,
a 3,106-carat diamond appeared, glimmering in the mine wall.  After completing the excavation, the miners
unearthed an uncut rough diamond weighing 1.33 pounds.  Christened the “Cullinan” after the mine
owner, the Cullinan is the largest diamond ever found.

Most people can visualize the Cullinan
diamond as the size of an adult’s hand.  However,
visualizing a clear crystal the size of a two-story house is much more
difficult.  The giant crystal phenomenon
exists in the mines south of Chihuahua,
Mexico. The Giant Crystal
Caves of Naica form from
gypsum and water.  The largest Naica crystals
exist in caverns that are three hundred feet long and measures more than thirty
feet tall, fifty plus tons.  The Naica
crystals are the largest in the world.

From South
Africa to Mexico,
in one habit or another, people cherish and worship crystals. Coveted jewels that
begin in the earth, misshapen and grungy, earth reveals its treasure. Then jewelers
bring out the luster and value of diamonds, garnets, and sapphires as well as
the habits and desires of the world’s customers.