Ministry of Gems — Gemmology & Gemstones

The modern and traditional birthstones for a month, from the FGAA-reviewed table, with a link to The Birthstone Handbook for history, treatments to expect and buying guidance. Accepts a month name or number.

Side-by-side physical properties of two gem species with a plain verdict on which is harder, and a note on toughness — the half of durability the hardness scale does not show. Good for "sapphire or diamond for an everyday ring".

Look up a gemmological term in The Gem Lexicon of Ministry of Gems — 215 definitions verified by an FGAA-qualified gemmologist. Returns the definition, its subject section, and a citable anchor URL. Use for terms such as padparadscha, corundum, parti sapphire, unheated, or asterism.

Approximate face-up millimetre dimensions for a stone of a given species, shape and carat weight — and, unlike diamond-only calculators, corrected for specific gravity, so a 2 ct sapphire, spinel, emerald or opal is sized correctly rather than as if it were diamond. Shapes: round, oval, cushion, emerald, pear, marquise, princess, radiant, heart, trillion.

Whether warm soapy water, an ultrasonic cleaner or a steam cleaner is safe for a given gemstone, plus everyday-wear notes, from the FGAA-reviewed care table. Covers sapphire and ruby, diamond, emerald, opal, pearl, tanzanite, tourmaline and more.

Mohs hardness, refractive index, specific gravity, birefringence and crystal system for a gem species (diamond, corundum/sapphire/ruby, emerald, spinel, opal, tourmaline, garnet, quartz and more), from the FGAA-reviewed Gem Data Tables. Accepts trade names — "sapphire" resolves to corundum, "tsavorite" to garnet.

Full detail for one Ministry of Gems product by handle or URL: specifications, description, price in AUD, availability, variants, images, the Digital Gemstone Passport link for loose stones, and a direct checkout link. Use after search_gem_inventory.

The issuing laboratory's own verification page and a four-step checklist for confirming a gemstone or diamond grading report — GIA, IGI, GRS, SSEF, Gübelin, AGL, Lotus, GIT, HRD, GCAL and others, including the coloured-stone laboratories diamond tools omit. Explains what "FGAA" means and flags unrecognised lab names. Routes to the lab; does not verify the report itself.

List the gemmological terms available in The Gem Lexicon, optionally filtered to one subject section. Use this to discover what can be defined before calling define_gem_term.

What natural sapphires actually cost per carat in Australian dollars, from Ministry of Gems' published price guide: bands by origin (Australian, Ceylon) and size, with the stone count behind each band and the date the bands were computed. Answers "how much is a 2 carat sapphire" honestly, as a house guide rather than a market index.

Search the live Ministry of Gems catalogue of natural loose gemstones and finished jewellery — Ceylon and Australian sapphires, rubies, spinels, Australian opals, emeralds and more — with prices in Australian dollars, availability, carat weight and a link to buy. Filter by type (gems, ring, pendant, earrings), carat range and price range. Every loose gem returned carries a verifiable Digital Gemstone Passport.

Keyword search across the Ministry of Gems gemmological reference library — 215 lexicon definitions and 25 full-length buyer's handbooks, searched in full text across every section. Returns ranked results, each with the matched passage and a citable URL that deep-links to the chapter.

Cryptographically verify a Ministry of Gems Digital Gemstone Passport by stone ID. Recomputes the SHA-256 digest of the signed record and checks its Ed25519 (EdDSA) signature against the house public key, then returns the attested record: species, carat, dimensions, cut, colour, clarity, origin, treatment and certificate status. Use when a buyer asks whether a stone or its passport is genuine, or before quoting any fact about a specific Ministry of Gems stone.