Precious Metals

Precious metals and stones The minerals and rocks have played a primary interest for humans since the dawn of humanity. In the stone age they began to use flint and obsidian to make tools. It turned out that in fact these naturally fractured rocks forming sharp edges.

About 10, 000 years ago, discovered the use of copper, and 5, 000 years after the production of bronze, melting copper and tin together. The discovery of bronze, more durable than copper, marked the end of the Stone Age, even more important was the discovery, about 3, 300 years ago, of how to make iron. The iron, metal, highly resistant, is more common than copper and tin, and said beginning the Iron Age to modern times.

The interest in the riches of the soil was not, however, limited to minerals and rocks intended for technological applications, but also to their beauty, especially minerals. Gold was used in jewelry since the Stone Age, and the use of silver was introduced in the Bronze Age. In ancient Greece the use of minerals had a wide spread, insomuch that the modern names of many minerals are derived from the Greek terms, such as nephrite (greenstone) whose name derives, oddly enough, from the greek nephros, ie kidney and this because the Greeks believed that an amulet of nephritis would take away the diseases of the kidney. The Greeks were also convinced that amethyst prevented from drunkenness, and the Greek word means precisely amethystos sober. Many other magical powers were attributed to minerals, for example rock crystal, a quality of quartz, was given the power to prevent toothache and internal bleeding.

In the Middle Ages the alchemists, who were partly learned and partly magicians, minerals linked to many superstitions. For example, an alchemist in 1200 believed that an opal wrapped in a bay leaf confer invisibility to the wearer. So some medieval beliefs still remain: many believe bring good luck upon himself to keep the stone of the month of birth. However, modern geology has contributed to the spread of the fascinating science of minerals and rocks, collecting of which is now a very popular hobby.