Jewel

For the natural espers, see Gemstone.

Brísingamen, a necklace spiritual item including several different jewels.

Jewels (宝石, Hōseki^?), also known as gemstones, gems and precious stones, are pieces of mineral crystal and certain other substances, which are cut and polished to use in jewellery and other adornments, being valued by humans because of their properties.

Various pieces of folklore and superstition involve specific jewels or types of jewels, and as such, they play a role in certain forms of magic. Certain jewels also have properties which are utilized in technological applications.

Principles

This section requires expansion Magical/scientific applications, cutting/polishing/jewelers, excavation

There are various classifications and types of jewel or gemstone, according to their qualities and properties (e.g. chemical composition, color, lustre, hardness, rarity etc). Most are mineral crystals, though there are certain non-mineral rocks and organic materials which are considered gemstones. The five cardinal gems of antiquity are diamond (white), ruby (red), emerald (green), sapphire (blue) and amethyst (purple). Others include garnet, beryl, topaz, opal, pearl, jade, turquoise and lapis lazuli.

Treasuring their qualities, people often use jewels to make decorative accessories, known as jewellery. Given the value and expense associated with them, jewels and the jewellery incorporating them have acted as symbols of position, with the highest being crown jewels and regalia made for monarchy.

Jewels can be produced through artificial means. The analogy of the difference between a natural gemstone and an artificial one has been used to distinguish espers artificially created through the Power Curriculum Program and espers who have arisen in the natural world, the latter being referred to as Gemstones.

Associations and Beliefs

This section requires expansion Non-"crack" stories

Given their ascribed value, jewels have been featured in various legends and stories. There are a number of stories involving jewels which are considered to have fallen into the "cracks". One is that of a cursed jewel said to bring misfortune and death to its owners. Another is that of a pair of a sword and a jewel that heals wounds caused by it.

One belief concerning jewels is that they can gather up the power of constellations and return it to the wearer. The harder the stone, the more power it is said to absorb, with diamond at the extreme. As such, it is thought that jewels can be used for many specific goals besides vaguely providing good fortune, such as detoxing, exorcisms, and crystal healing (パワーストーン, crystal healing^?).

Birthstones (誕生石, Tanjōseki^?) are gems which are assigned to each of the twelve months (e.g. turquoise or lapis lazuli for December), along with the respective periods of birth and Zodiac signs. There are several different versions of the birthstone list, with the most well-known one at present being one created by the American National Association of Jewelers.

Due to the values, stories and associations ascribed to jewels, they are used in various forms of magic and incorporated into certain spiritual items, with examples of the latter including Brísingamen and Divine Mixtures.

Diamond

This section requires expansion Structure

Diamonds (ダイヤモンド, Daiyamondo^?) (derived from the ancient Greek adámas (ἀδάμας), which is also the base of Adamant) are crystals comprised of carbon, which are formed slowly as carbon molecules are compressed deep underground. Diamond is extremely hard and its structure does not change even if they are broken, though it is also brittle, and it can be set on fire and burned, having a high thermal conductivity.

No diamond is 100% pure, with even the purest diamond being only 99.9% pure carbon with less than 0.1% impurity. Although not the center or nucleus, the less than 0.1% of impurities (of which there are over twenty different types) determine the properties of the entire crystal, influencing its hardness, electrical conductivity, coloration, and transparency. A diamond's impurity needs to be below 0.1%, otherwise it will cause a defect in the crystalline structure.

Having the highest hardness of any natural material, diamonds are used for industrial applications such as polishing and cutting, being used for cutting purposes as both a solid tool tip and in the form of diamond dust. Among other things, diamond is used to cut other diamonds, of the same or lower strength.

The largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found is the Cullinan Diamond, also known as the Star of Africa, cuts of which are used in the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, stored in the Tower of London's Jewel House.

Artificial diamonds have been produced, by reproducing the extreme high pressure environment in which natural diamonds are formed, for various uses including both decoration and industrial applications. One practice is the creation of memorial diamonds, created by compressing the carbon in the ashes left behind after a person is cremated, though the size of the resulting diamond is usually quite small.

A supposed liquid diamond has been created in Academy City (theoretically impossible as diamonds have no melting point, and valuable as a result), though it is actually a condensation of precious metals dissolved in sea water, including gold, platinum, rare earth and carbon. The Dianoid has been described as being made out of diamonds, but it is technically made out of carbon materials, though a number of artificial diamonds are included.

One of the primary legends about St. Germain involves his possession of magical techniques relating to jewels and his ability to perfectly repair scratched diamonds, prized by nobility. St. Germain specializes in the manipulation of carbon, a further refinement from control over diamonds which are comprised of carbon, and views himself as a diamond, with the individual units in his parallel network being the carbon making up the diamond and the pill microbes as the impurity and controller. While posing as CRC, Johann Valentin Andreae used a rehash of the Rosicrucian St. Germain's magic, primarily in the form of diamond bullets.

Ruby

Rubies, sapphires and oriental emeralds are largely composed of the mineral corundum, the crystalline form of aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃).

Ruby red is associated with the rose of the Rosicrucian Order, with the influenced Second Order of the Golden Dawn also being named the R.R.etA.C. (short for "Rosae Rubeae et Aureae Crucis", meaning "Ruby Rose and Golden Cross"), and there are many rubies among the Rosicrucian treasures hidden around the world.

The brightest and most valuable shade of red in a ruby is known as blood-red or pigeon blood (ピジョン・ブラッド, Pijon Buraddo^?), rubies for which include chromium (Cr). Coronzon has made use of three pigeon blood rubies to symbolize the blood of three pigeons, which was used to draw the magic circle for summoning it, and act as a medium to exert its influence.

Chronology

Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index

St. Germain Arc

Main article: St. Germain Arc

Diamonds were both referenced and heavily involved in the incident which occurred on December 1st, primarily taking place in the Dianoid, the construction of which made heavy use of carbon materials and included artificial diamonds, and instigated by St. Germain, who besides being famed for being able to restore scratched diamonds and capable of manipulating the carbon which forms them, viewed the parallel network making up his being as a diamond and made many analogies to diamonds.

Magic God Invasion Arc

Main article: Magic God Invasion Arc

A series of events which occurred during the High Priest's rampage through Academy City involved a supposed liquid diamond, with Akikawa Mie, daughter of a couple involved in the liquid diamond project, attempting to keep it safe from theft after its vault was damaged.

Processor Suit Arc

Main article: Processor Suit Arc

While inspecting her new body, Aleister Crowley mentioned how corundum (Al₂O₃) could lead to a ruby, sapphire or oriental emerald. While possessed by Coronzon, whose control was rooted in three pigeon blood rubies implanted in her head, Karasuma Fran went under the name A. O. Francisca, derived from the chemical formula of corundum, subconsciously leaving a hint.

Coronzon Arc

Main article: Coronzon Arc

During the events surrounding the Crowley's Hazard invasion of the United Kingdom, Holegres Mirates was described as wearing clothing covered in jewels, and the Divine Mixtures included diamonds together with gold in their construction. In the subsequent battle with the recreated Golden Dawn, the clash between Aleister Crowley and the recreation of Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers was compared to diamond being struck against another diamond of similar hardness to wear it down. Later, during the attack on the Queen Britannia, Aleister made use of three rubies in the ship's temple against Coronzon, utilizing the connected symbolism which the demon herself had previously used.

Souyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index

Christmas Day Arc

Main article: Christmas Day Arc

During the incident at the London Stock Exchange on Christmas Day, Leivinia Birdway informed Stiyl Magnus that Anna Sprengel had been using deals in in old rubies and pure gold metalwork, inheritance of the Rosicrucians, for the money she was spreading around to construct her company R&C Occultics.

During their battle later that day, the St. Germain-infested Kamijou Touma and Anna Sprengel ended up in a department store's jewellery section, which had been affected by the influence of R&C Occultics, offering among other things a December Gematria Special, converting customers' names to numbers free of charge to find gems for them. Several beliefs concerning jewels (including crystal healing and birthstones) were discussed by Touma and St. Germain, as they were attempting to deduce the mechanism behind Anna's spell. St. Germain also made extensive use of diamond with his magic during the battle.

New Year's Arc

Main article: New Year's Arc

During the events between January 4th and 6th in which he was posing as Christian Rosencreutz, Johann Valentin Andreae made extensive (and secret) use of diamond bullets via a rehash of St. Germain's carbon controlling magic. During these events, there were numerous references to the association of ruby red with the rose, with Andreae making at least one use of the symbol.

Toaru Anbu no Item

Enemy Item Arc

Main article: Enemy Item Arc

During the events surrounding Item and the Colosseum, one year prior to the events of the main story, the 'sternlight' security device, installed in the insurance company's server by a branch of the Mugino Family that ran a jewel store in the city, made use of a natural stone for an oscillation-based cipher, with twin (actually triplet) stones cut from the same source as the 'keys' for decryption.

External Links

• Gemstone (Wikipedia article)