Jewels, precious stones or gems, sometimes called precious stones, are pieces of mineral that are typically utilized for making jewellery or other ornaments after cutting and polishing. Most of the precious stones are regarded as hard materials, but some soft minerals are also used as jewelry due to their luster. There are a myriad of known minerals existing in nature, but only about a hundred are considered as true gem or jewel minerals. There are only about 12 or so gems that are fundamentally valuable enough to be considered important precious stones in the world market. A mineral is regarded as a valuable precious stone if it is pretty, hard and sturdy. The great thing about a gem is measured re its clarity, brilliance and color. The market value of the precious stone is dependent on its rareness, purity, clarity, beauty, cut and size of the stone.

Precious stones can exist in different colors depending upon the atomic structure of the stone. While the natural wonder of the precious stone can be augmented by cutting and polishing in the correct way. There are diverse types and treatments to heighten the colour and clarity of a stone. The heating process is the most distinctive way used to intensify the clarity and color of stones. There are some treatments that are normally used where the consequent stone is stable. While there are more treatments that aren’t commonly accepted as the resulting colors are typically unsteady and may, sadly, come back to its original colour after a little time.

Gemstones are traditionally classified in each time period from the Traditional Greeks to the modern day and in each culture of life. In the modern period, precious stones are divided into precious and semi-precious stones. Diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds are considered valuable stones and the rest are considered semi-precious. In some classifications, stones are characterized regarding their color, transparency, hardness and translucency. Precious stones are also split into different groups, species and varieties. For instance, ruby is the red spectrum of species corundum while any other colour of corundum is considered sapphire. A person who identifies technical gem characteristics (chemical composition, crystal system, optical properties, habit, healing ability, and so on.), is referred to as a gemologist.

Valuable stones are found on the surface of the earth, as well as, in the ocean. The 9 most important gemstones found between land and sea are rubies, pearls, red corals, green emeralds, yellow sapphires, diamonds, blue sapphires, hessonites and cat’s eyes.

Synthetic gems that are fabricated in labs are called artificial or synthesised gems. Synthesised diamonds are often made in large amounts as commercial abrasives and can be found in multiple carats. Synthesised corundum including ruby and sapphire are exceedingly commonplace, but only cost a fraction of the natural stone. But whether the stone is natural or made in a lab, they invariably have the same traits.

Tom one of the main contributors to the base info, as well as, to the growth and enlargement of Satellite Treasure Map Info overlaid on Google Maps. Tom has amassed this information thru many years of looking for obscure truths through many wide-ranging sources.

MapQuest

Remember when you would stop at a gas station to buy a paper map of the city to find out how to get somewhere? Today you can get customized step-by-step directions, weather conditions, traffic data and satellite images for your journey, whether it is ten minutes or ten hours away. You can even avoid highways or tolls, plot a course with several stops and find local business information as well. Maps sure have come a long way, but which service is the most hassle-free and helpful?

First let’s look at simple directions. That is why most of us find driving directions online after all, is it not? If you are worried about road hazards, construction zones and thick traffic, then Yahoo Maps (www.maps.yahoo.com) is good for that function. MapQuest (www.mapquest.com) lets you check boxes to avoid highways and tolls, choose the shortest distance or take the route with the shortest time. The user-friendly, simple nature of this site is also a good perk for someone who wants their directions right away. They also have recently added the drag-and-drop function that Yahoo has had, which helps you navigate around traffic obstructions. If you are walking or jogging, then Ask (www.maps.ask.com) is the only site that lets you plot your pedestrian course. Google Maps (www.maps.google.com) can zoom in for close topographical views of any continent. To sum up, Yahoo is the best site when traffic or construction sites are a concern, while MapQuest provides quick point-A-to-point-B directions.

For those of you who are looking for local businesses on your maps, then you could check the new Ask City site (www.city.ask.com). However, a better bet would be the Yahoo Local listings, which have been rated by users for years, so you can type in “best Chinese” and get restaurants with four stars or more. Google, on the other hand, will only show Chinese food establishments with the word “Best” in the name. MapQuest has greatly improved their local search capacity by partnering with sites like www.yelp.com, www.when.com, www.cityguide.com and more, although Yahoo still takes the cake for business searching. Another contender to keep an eye on is www.superpages.com, which specializes in local business searches, rather than mapping.

Another site not detailed here, but worth looking at, is the newer Microsoft Windows Live Local (www.maps.live.com). You can stick a pushpin on favorite locations, record notes and upload pictures to your sites to save or share with friends, which is sort of like the Google map creator function. You can also view traffic reports and get the clearest route, explore collections of sightseeing landmarks and tour 3-D cities. This new player seems to perceptibly take the best of the other sites and do it better. As you browse, you will notice that all the sites have similar interfaces (except for that rebel, MapQuest) but the subtle differences are what make people so adamant about their favorite mapping engines.

map help

For some people, mapping is the love of their lives. They enjoy spending hours plotting data onto a road map, such as satellite images, topographical relief coding, and streets and sewers. Yet, for the average person, the maps Google offer are a great resource and tool, yet not something that should take hours and hours to figure out. Millions of people use Google each day to find local businesses or get driving directions so it is not overly difficult. Even so, getting the right map help can make your experience more efficient.

Many people are looking for map help to print or save their directions. The default print option is the step-by-step directions with a tiny map that is barely legible. For you map-mongers, you can get a larger full-size map by canceling out of the print dialog box (in Firefox), at which point a new window will pop up, allowing you to check a box that says “Show original map view.” The preview then changes to a full overview of street maps and driving directions, where you can modify the zoom level on your print window.

When it comes to saving your directions, it may be surprising but you can’t actually just save your driving directions map on the Google map site; you can save place-marks and maps but not the full shebang. Instead, you have to click on and copy the link to the map (on the top right corner of the map that says “Link to this page”). If you save that link as a bookmark or in a Word document, then you will be able to access the exact same set of directions for next time.

Perhaps you don’t realize you need map help but you would like to know about some of the latest Google Maps features. For example, did you know you can get walking, biking and public transit directions, as well as driving instructions? You will see these options in a drop-down list under the “location and destination” window on the left-hand side. You may also want to try the neat “Street View” option, which allows you a 360-degree, real-time, video view of a particular street, like Miami Beach, FL or the Sunset Strip, CA. Just click on the street view button and drag the person icon to the street of your choice. However, be aware that this technology is fairly new so not all streets offer this special vantage point. On the top of the map, you may also click on the satellite maps, the street maps or the traffic pattern views. You may have also heard about a feature called “Latitude” where you can track your friends based on their cell phone proximity. Sure, it sounds a little creepy, but it can be extremely helpful if you have a friend traveling in from far away or if you are waiting on your late spouse to put that roast in the oven. Visit www.google.about.com/od/mapsanddirections/p/latitude_whatis.htm for more information on this new feature.

Travelers often need map help finding notable landmarks. You may not necessarily know the address of the Eiffel Tower, but you can zero in on the location by typing in “Eiffel Tower.” Now say you are in the car driving but you have no idea where you are. You can turn your cell phone into a GPS device using Google Maps for Mobile right on your cell phone. (Check out the video for this on the Google Maps site). You may also want to explore the country of Japan to decide where you would like to visit, just by typing in “Japan.” You can also search for zip codes, airport codes, latitudes and longitudes.

maps of

Google Maps was initially created to provide maps to be viewed on your computer. To remain competitive with standard paper maps, they also allowed the “print” option so web users could take their maps with them. To get driving directions or view street maps, you can visit www.maps.google.com. However, you can also view these maps on your mobile phone or on a web page with one of the embedded maps Google has created. Most recently, Google has surpassed MapQuest as the #1 online mapping site.

Say hello to Mapping 2.0! The best elements of social networking have teamed up with Google Maps to give web users what they demand: consumer reviews, shared photos and videos and personalized, customizable maps they can share with friends and family! For example, using Google Maps, you can save all your favorite destinations with your own markers, descriptions, photos and/or videos, creating your own map of “favorite local bars” or “favorite restaurants” for quick reference. You can also search for maps that other people have created for your area.

“Mashup” maps are created by users of Google Maps that appeal to a specific need or interest, and to access these maps, you can click on “My Maps.” One great mashup is “Gas Buddy,” which provides the gas prices and locations based on the city, state or zipcode you type in. The “Places of Interest” mashup will let you know which bars, ATMs, food or churches are on your way. “Outdoor Tracks” is the ideal mashup for the outdoor kind of folks, as you can view geocaching locations or adventure spot locales, as well as hiking, biking and jogging trails. If searching for real estate, then try www.housingmaps.com, which will show you Craigslist house listings across the country, which you can filter by city, price, type, listing with pictures or other keywords. If you are walking to lose weight, then you can use “Gmaps Pedometer,” which will calculate your burnt calories based on elevation, speed and distance. The best part is that all these useful maps are free!

The year 2007 was noteworthy for the Google Maps enterprise. In February, they launched “Google Traffic” for maps of 30 major cities and displayed subway stops and buildings for major cities like New York City, Washington DC and London. In May, the innovative “Street View” function was added, which gives 360-degree views of city streets in places like Venice Beach and Times Square. In June, drag-and-drop driving directions were introduced and November saw the introduction of a “terrain” topographical view. In 2008, new buttons were added for logged-in users, including “saved locations” and “more,” which lets users look at street maps, satellite maps, terrain maps, photos from Panoramio and Wikipedia articles. They have also signed a deal with satellite giant GeoEye to allow superior satellite imagery. It is no surprise that Google is a leader in the world of online mapping.