The fascination with precious stones extends through every era of history and encompasses every society on earth. Archaeologists have found caches of gems in archaeological sites that date back to pre-historic times. The Greeks considered some gems to be the “tears of the gods” while the Romans regarded them as splinters of falling stars that needed to be closely guarded. Pearls have been used as currency in various lands and worldwide, people in different cultures offered gems and precious stones to loved ones in order to cultivate affection and love.
No one can say exactly what the value of a gem is – it depends on supply and demand, the stone’s history and condition and the current market value. But no one will deny that a gem is a valued item, worth more than its weight in comparison to almost any other commodity. Some people hoard gems while others have a small collection which they display sparingly. But almost everyone enjoys gazing at a gem’s natural beauty.
You can express your admiration for gems in a number of different ways. If, however, you want to enter the world of gemological exploration in an atmosphere of fun and excitement, sign into SlotoCash to play the fun-filled Gemtopic online casino slot, available for PC and mobile players for both free and real money gaming entertainment.
Attraction
What is man’s (and woman’s) attraction to gems? Some say that the reason involves evolution -- assigning value to various natural items was a survival technique in some societies – while others say that gems represent the natural phenomena upon which we are reliant (red represents heart and passion, blue symbolizes the heavens and the seas, green relates to loyalty and rebirth, etc).
Historically, pearls were used to project power, such as the pearls of Elizabeth I, who didn’t want to lose her image as a woman but who was determined to hold onto power.
No one will deny that one of the major attractions of precious gems is their value. When you know that something is valuable, you’re more likely to want to acquire it and hold onto it.
Value
There are, in fact, scientific ways to assess the value of a gem. A gem’s market value is generally determined by its cut, color, carat and clarity – known of as the “four Cs.” The stone’s rarity will play a role as well in the assessment, as will the stone’s history. There are many gems that are valued for their history and The American Gem Trade Association promotes the history of many of its precious gems through background cards where information about where and how it was found, who cut it, its previous owners and other pertinent information is listed.
Duncan Pay, editor-in-chief of the Gemological Institute of America's Gems & Gemology journal comments that every gem tells a story. "Each one says something about the skill of the artisans, and the values of the societies that produced them. Natural gems really are tiny sparks wrought from the depths of the Earth. They're (also) invested with the spirit and energy of the men and women who mined them."
Non-Monetary
Value is generally monetary but not always. Jewelry is valuable, not only because of a stone’s intrinsic value, but also because of the enjoyment that the stones give, knowledge about what has gone into making the piece and discovery about a stone’s past. An other-wise moderately-priced stone may increase in value tremendously because of sentimental value or because it played a part in history – surviving a war, being owned by a monarch, being used to ransom someone, etc.
Gems have always been considered reliable investments and that still holds today.
Gemtopia Slot
Man’s fascination with precious stones has made the Gemtopia slot one of the most popular slot machines at the online casino. Treasure hunters, geologists, and slots gamers will thrill to the exciting game where diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and other gems populate the reels to line up and create real money wins. Each of these gems has its own payout value but all of the game’s symbols deliver cash prizes when they are part of a completed combination.
Gemtopia slots attracts players from around the world. The RealTime Gaming machine is chock-full of valuable stones and when you line up those stones in matching combinations on a spin, you win big prizes. The game includes a whole itinerary of special features including the value-laden respin feature that triggers extra free spins and bonus rewards.
The spins take place in a cave and as you spin the reels you’ll find yourself surrounded by glittering jewels that glimmer against the dark reels. The twinkling lights animate the gameplay which, together with the inspiring background music, provides you with the feel of a genuine gem-searcher.
The entire game can be played on a PC or a mobile device and is compatible with both iOS and Android mobile systems. Bets range from penny-bets to deposits that will please high-rollers, though if you want the biggest wins, you’ll have to enable as many of the 15 paylines with as high a wager as you can.
Combinations deliver payouts in this game regardless of whether they appear from left-to-right or from right-to-left. That means that you have double the opportunities to score wins in this game. Three matching combinations in a row on an active payline pays out a prize.
The bigger the stone, the bigger the win. Smaller stones include yellow, brown and green gems but once you move into the larger red, blue and green gems, you’ll be looking at bigger rewards for your combinations. The oval stone is the highest-payout gem and payouts for matching ovals can go up to 500 the line bet for five ovals in a row.
Wild symbols appear randomly during regular game spins to complete combinations and trigger payouts. Wilds appear on the center three reels. These are expanding wilds so when one appears, it expands and covers all three positions on the reels to increase the number of combinations created. If you win on a spin that includes a Wild, you’ll get a re-spin. In the re-spins, the Wilds become sticky for an additional round of spins and more sticky re-spin wilds.
The pink diamonds are the game’s scatter symbols. If you land a combination with three scatters as they emerge in any position on the reels, you receive a scatter combination payment plus 15 Free Spins.
The free spins game brings more special elements. If you hit three yellow bonus icons on a free spin you will be awarded an additional three free spins PLUS instant payouts.
The most attractive feature about this game is the progressive jackpot. Actually, there are TWO progressive jackpots in the Gemtopia slot machine so if you don’t win the major jackpot, you still have a chance to win the minor jackpot. Gemtopia’s jackpot isn’t a million-dollar prize but because the prizes are smaller – thousands of dollars – the game pays out more of them, so you have more chances to score jackpot wins.
The combination of wilds, scatters, free spins, re-spins and sticky wilds makes this game a true gem of a slot!
