Gemstone Globes – What to Look for

Unlike maps, globes actually follow the earth’s spherical shape, making them more accurate when it comes to depicting landmasses, seas and oceans, valleys and mountains and political boundaries. The common tabletop or standing globe that we see at school or at the study has become a vital learning tool for centuries. Typically, a globe comes with a meridian or an attachment that suspends it so you can spin it around in place. Creating a globe takes a lot of time and a strict process to assure everything is correctly aligned. Usually, it’s a piece of paper strategically cut to fit the sphere base without crease or folds.

Crystal Globes

Although globes have always been used to teach us about the different land and water masses on earth, some manufacturers are turning them into an interior decorative piece. They have made an elegant alternative and crated beautiful, one of a kind globes with gemstones, crystals and precious stones. To create these crystal studded spheres, precision cut natural gemstones are shaped to represent the different land and water masses. They are then assembled carefully, like a puzzle, on the sphere base. Bronze, brass, silver and gold and then used to make the globe’s line or latitude and longitude marks. The finished product is then polished to perfection, the natural materials give out a sheen that emphasizes their beauty.

Kinds of Crystal Globes

When looking for a gem-studded world globes, you’ll be surprised of the wide variety to choose from. Usually, the type of globe gets identified by its gemstone or the color of the gemstone used as water on its sphere. While most gemstone globes use a rich blue lapis, some manufacturers and designers pick different gems to make it unique, ranging from amethyst, turquoise, tiger's eye,quartz and even natural pearls. The more uncommon the color of the stone, the more unique the globe looks. Keep in mind that price will vary depending on what gem is used on the globe, the more precious, the more expensive.

Real or Fake?

Investing in a gemstone globe is a big deal. These items do have a steep high price tag, so you’ll want to make sure you’re getting the real thing. There are man-made gems available in the market that look exactly like the real thing, but they shouldn’t cost as much. You should know what to look for to identify natural gems and man-made gems. Real gems, because they’re natural, have little irregularities and textures on their surface. These little patterns and inclusions provide character to the sphere and shows that the globe uses natural stones. There should also be a small seam between each piece of gem which represents the countries. Authentic gemstone globes are made by hand since machines can’t really handle the precious stones as carefully.

Whether you’re planning to give someone a gemstone globe as a gift or use it to decorate a room, be careful and keep in mind the little details before you buy it.

Features to Take Note Of When Buying a Globe

When buying a world globe, it’s important to remember that not all globes are the same. When most people think of globes, they just think of the typical blue ocean globe (globe with oceans colored in blue) with countries coming in different colors to highlight state borders. These globes however, are just one type of globe in a world that encompasses many more varieties than you can imagine.

As such, the sheer variety of world globes on the market can make choosing one a tough challenge. With so many choices to choose from, which one should you get?

Concentrate on Features

One of the simplest ways to narrow down your choices is to look at a globe’s features. Below you will find some of the many different types of globes on the market categorized by the kind of features they have.

Illuminated Globes – These globes have an internal light bulb that illuminates the globe from within. When plugged in, bulb inside the globe glows, illuminating the world from the inside out. Just imagine a lampshade, but put a globe in its place instead.

Some illuminated globes even have a “touch on” feature, which means that touching the globe’s base or meridian ring illuminates the sphere. Other types even have a feature that shows the globe’s physical borders when unlit, and then the political borders when switched on.

Raised Relief Globes – Raised relief globes provide a rich learning experience, enhancing your ability to understand the world’s topography by allowing you to actually see and feel elevation changes on the globe. Raised relief globes have textured contours that represent the world’s ridges, hills, mountains, and mountain ranges. These globes are fairly accurate in representing the world’s nook and crannies, however, it should be pointed out that due to their features and manufacturing processes, raised relief globes are only available in spheres measuring between 9 to 16 inches.

Interactive Educational Globes – Interactive educational globes are all about making learning fun and interactive for children of all ages. These types of globes often have a “talking” feature that teaches children about different countries around the world through games and features. Interactive globes allow kids to have a hands-on learning experience about the world that’s fun and exciting. As such, these globes are valuable teaching and learning tools both at home and in the classroom.

Floating Globes – Floating globes aren't levitating because of some magic of some sort, instead using magnets to suspend the orb in mid-air. These magnets are in turn powered by a 110V/60HZ outlet. Floating or levitating globes come in a wide variety of sizes and colors, making them a unique gift to loved ones, friends, and office colleagues.

Celestial Globes – Celestial globes are perhaps the most unique bunch on this list. These globes allow you to explore outer space, representing stars, the moon and other planets in relation to our Earth.

As you can see, globes are far more interesting than you may have first thought. The key is deciding what you need from a globe—this will make your search faster and easier.

Should You Still Get a Globe in the Age of the Internet?

In the age of the Internet and with the advent of tools like Google Maps and Google Earth, world globes have seemingly taken a backseat to these technological wonders. However, globes have still managed to keep their reputation of being a classic feature in any home. Furthermore, world globes are still an enduring learning tool in many schools all over the country.

The world may have changed, but the charm and elegance of a beautiful globe still makes it a worthwhile buy. If you want to buy a world globe, but don’t know if it’s worth spending money over, here’s a list of reasons for you.

Here are some reasons to still buy a world globe in today’s modern times.

1. Just imagine talking to your children about the places you’ve been around the world, and guiding their fingers to your visited countries with the use of a world globe. It’s this kind of interactive learning experience that’s more raw and more memorable to just clicking on a few links on the computer screen.

2. Globes have always had a unique charm to them. Think back to when you were still in school. What child didn’t marvel in amazement at the large sphere in the classroom? It’s likely that you also wanted to have one in your own home. Well now that you’re an adult, you can bring amazement over globes to your home.

3. Globes offer a great way to start conversation. Whether you’re trying to explain your globe’s features and beauty, or making little white lies on where you’ve travelled to around the world, world globes offer a unique way to break the ice and exercise your conversation-making skills. And about those white lies, it’s always more convincing when you can point to that island or country you’ve “been” to, right?

4. Globes don’t have to be for reference and educational purposes only. There are literally thousands of globes out there that have a decorative appeal to them, and there are just as many globes that have a dual function to them.  For instance, illuminated globes have a light inside them that illuminates the globe from the inside out—it’s basically a globe that also doubles as a beautiful lamp. There are even globes that hide a mini bar for you to hide small bottles of your favorite beverages and spirits.

5. A globe can be a good investment. If for example, you found a genuine antique globe at a market, had it appraised for its authenticity and learned that it’s a real 100-year old globe, its value will only increase as the years go by. You could either hand the globe down as a family heirloom, or sell it in the future.

These are just some of the many reasons why it’s still a good idea to buy a world globe even in today’s Internet age. Technology may have changed things, particularly the way we literally look at the world, but today, even globes still have an enduring place in our homes and schools.