Facet Nation: A Gemmology Podcast Podcast By Facet Nation cover art

Facet Nation: A Gemmology Podcast

Facet Nation: A Gemmology Podcast

By: Facet Nation
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Summary

Facet Nation is a new kind of gemmology podcast. Rigorous enough for serious students, but fascinating and funny enough for anyone craving an inside look at gemstones, jewellery and the shadowy world surrounding them. Part revision aide, part storytime, Lucinda and Simon are your qualified guides to the world’s most ancient treasures.

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Episodes
  • 44. A Geology Lesson for Gemmologists with Emily Coulter

    44. A Geology Lesson for Gemmologists with Emily Coulter
    Nov 2 2026
    Send us Fan MailGeologist and Crystal Case Studies founder Emily Coulter joins Facet Nation hosts Lucinda and Simon to explain geology from the ground up, connecting Earth’s structure and moving plates to the environments where minerals and gemstones form. Her clear, food-based analogies make core concepts - from rock types to crystallisation - easier to understand, while the hosts bring a gemmology learner’s perspective and practical questions. Geologist Emily explains how magma chemistry, metamorphism and the rock cycle shape the rocks and gemstones we encounter. Simon and Lucinda ask the questions, connect the science to gemmology, and close with Emily’s favourite gems and where to find her.Emily Coulter traces her path from studying geology from age 12 to mineral wholesale, jewellery marketing, and founding Crystal Case Studies.Geology is the study of Earth and its processes across roughly 4.5 billion years; rocks and minerals preserve clues to that history.Minerals have a defined chemistry and ordered crystal structure, while rocks are usually mixtures of minerals; lapis lazuli is a gemstone that is also a rock.The hosts and Emily use a peach analogy for Earth’s crust, mantle, and core, and discuss differences between oceanic and continental crust.Plate boundaries include divergent, convergent, and transform settings; examples include the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the Andes, the Himalayas, and the San Andreas Fault.Gem formation depends on the right ingredients, heat, pressure, fluids, and time; Emily contrasts metamorphic garnets with opal forming in a sedimentary basin.The three rock groups are igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic; Emily explains how each forms and why metamorphic minerals may align under pressure.Intrusive igneous rocks cool underground and can develop larger crystals; extrusive rocks cool at the surface, while magma becomes lava once erupted.Igneous chemistry ranges from silica-poor ultramafic and mafic rocks to silica-rich felsic rocks such as granite and rhyolite. Emily compares runny basaltic lava with viscous felsic magma, explaining why felsic eruptions can trap gas and explode.Fractional crystallization sorts minerals as magma cools: olivine can form early, while feldspar crystallizes later.Pegmatites cool slowly and can contain exceptionally large crystals, as well as concentrated incompatible elements such as lithium and beryllium.Emily describes metamorphism as recrystallization without melting, and names garnet, ruby, sapphire, spinel and kyanite among metamorphic gems and minerals.Regional metamorphism is associated with mountain-building pressure; contact metamorphism heats surrounding rock, while metasomatism involves chemically active fluids.Fluid-driven alteration is important in Colombian emerald formation, where separated ingredients can meet and recrystallize.The rock cycle continually recycles material among igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks over geological time.Weathering breaks rock down, erosion transports it, and deposition can concentrate dense gems and gold in river gravels.Emily shares her interest in unusual amethyst localities, including Jackson Crossroads in Georgia, and her love of garnet varieties.TakeawaysGeology, put really, really simply, is the study of Earth and the processes that make up the Earth.We're essentially like picking up on the writing of what Earth has left us.Minerals, there is like a set definition for a mineral, which is a naturally occurring solid with a defined chemistry and an ordered crystal structure.Rocks, on the other hand, are normally mixtures of minerals.You want something fiery going on. You want some heat, you want some pressure, you want some fluids.The longer that they are in a fluid, the longer that they are able to move around and be mobile and connect with each other and go and hold hands, the bigger the result is.Intrusive means below the Earth's surface. Extrusive means above the Earth's surface.The moment it gets above the Earth's crust, it is erupted or extruded like toothpaste. It becomes lava.The three environments within geology where all rocks form are sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous.The more quartz something has, the more viscous it is. The more felsic a rock is, thicker it is.They crystallise in sequence and basically are minerals that are able to crystallise at higher temperatures, crystallise first.I think of this as all of the elements having time to find their friends.They don't like it and they rearrange themselves. They're not melting. It is not melting. It is recrystallisation without melting.The key element of metasomatism is the fact that those mineral rich fluids are interacting with the minerals that they're coming into contact with.Rocks, like elements within the earth and on the earth are continually being recycled and reused in different ways.Weathering, earth processes like wind, rain, ice, weather things down.Erosion moves them away from there, like from where they ...
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    1 hr and 13 mins
  • 43. Halloween Spooktacular 2026 - Haunted Gems

    43. Halloween Spooktacular 2026 - Haunted Gems
    Oct 19 2026

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    Lucinda's favourite time of year.

    The Spooktacular returns for Halloween 2026.

    Join us as we explore the fascinating world of haunted gemstones, ghost stories linked to jewellery, and the mysterious history behind some of the UK's most intriguing ghost tales. Discover the stories, history, and cultural significance of these spectral legends.


    The difference between curses and hauntings in gemmology

    Historical ghost stories linked to jewellery and gemstones

    The story of Lady Ingram's lost pearl necklace and her ghost

    The Cheapside Horde and its ghostly apparitions

    The legend of the Lady in Red and her lost engagement ring

    Queen Elizabeth's pearls and ghostly sightings in Rye

    The significance of pearls in ghost stories and folklore



    sound bites

    "The Cheapside Horde was buried for 300 years."

    "The woman on the fifth floor was called Rose."

    "Pearls symbolise purity and religious devotion."



    Chapters

    00:00 Introduction to Haunted Gemstones and Ghost Stories

    01:54 The Difference Between Cursed and Haunted Gemstones

    05:05 Lady Ingram's Pearl Necklace and Her Spirit

    10:09 The Cheapside Horde and Its Ghostly Encounters

    14:56 The Legend of the Lady in Red and the Midsummer's Ring

    20:00 Queen Elizabeth's Pearls and Ghostly Sightings in Rye

    25:00 The Significance of Pearls in Ghost Lore

    29:58 Historical and Cultural Reflections on Haunted Jewellery


    haunted gemstones, ghost stories, jewellery history, UK ghost tales, gemmology, paranormal, historical mysteries, spooky stories, ghostly legends, jewellery folklore, uncanny ghost stories, gemology, spooky, halloween, horror, intrigue, mystery

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    43 mins
  • 42. Garnet: Part Two - Tsavorite, Faberge and the fate of Campbell Bridges

    42. Garnet: Part Two - Tsavorite, Faberge and the fate of Campbell Bridges
    Oct 5 2026

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    In part two, we explore the Ugrandite series of garnets, including their chemistry, history, and the stories behind famous varieties like Tsavorite and Demantoid. Join us for a deep dive into gemstone lore, geology, and the vibrant stories that make these stones so captivating.


    key topics
    The isomorphous series of garnets and their chemical formulas
    The story of tsavorite's discovery and its geological background
    The history and lore of demantoid garnet and its connection to Faberge
    The marketing and storytelling aspect of gemstone branding
    Different varieties of garnets including grossular, andradite, and uvarovite
    The significance of inclusions and their identification in garnets
    The story of Campbell Bridges and the discovery of tsavorite in Africa
    The cultural and historical significance of garnets in jewelry


    sound bites
    "Garnets are part of two isomorphous series."
    "Tsavorite was discovered in the 1960s in Zimbabwe."
    "Uvarovite is a tiny, beautiful green garnet."


    Chapters
    00:00 Introduction to Garnets and Episode Overview
    01:57 The Isomorphous Series of Garnets Explained
    07:56 Discovery and Geology of Tsavorite in Africa
    14:56 The Story of Demantoid Garnet and Faberge
    28:02 Varieties of Garnets: Grossular, Tsavorite, and More
    40:05 The Lore, Inclusions, and Market of Garnets
    44:01 The Tragic Tale of Campbell Bridges and Tsavorite

    garnets, gemstone lore, tsavorite, demantoid, geology, jewellery, gemstone stories, mineralogy, gemmology, gemology, gems, Tiffany, Campbell Bridges, science

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    41 mins
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