Gemstone characteristic that lends value to a gemstone. Apart from jewelry, from earliest antiquity engraved gems and hardstone carvings, such as cups, were major luxury art forms. A gem maker is called a lapidary or gemcutter; a diamond cutter is called a diamantaire. The traditional classification in the West, which goes back to the ancient Greeks, begins with a distinction between "precious" and "semi-precious"; similar distinctions are made in other cultures. In modern use the precious stones are diamond, ruby, sapphire and emerald, with all other gemstones being semi-precious. This distinction reflects the rarity of the respective stones in ancient times,
45th Field Artillery Brigade 45th Field Artillery Brigade The 45th Fires Brigade is a modular field artillery brigade of the United States Army headquartered in Mustang, Oklahoma. It is a part of the Oklahoma Army National Guard. Formed from elements of the disbanded 45th Infantry Division which saw action during World War II and the Korean War, along with the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and 90th Troop Command, the 45th Fires Brigade was activated in 1968 as the 45th Field Artillery Group, later redesignated the 45th Field Artillery Brigade. The unit was again redesignated 45th Fires Brigade in 2008 with the implementation of