Rarity and beauty are two of the prime qualities a faceted mineral requires to be called a gemstone. Red beryl – which belongs to the same family as emerald, aquamarine and morganite – eminently qualifies. This American gem has yet to be found on any other continent. But collectors and connoisseurs the world over clamor for red beryl, despite its hefty price and lilliputian size.

Bixbite by another name: Hexagonal crystals of the mineral were first discovered around 1905 and named “bixbite” in honor of jewelry and gem collector and dealer Maynard Bixby of Salt Lake City, Utah. The name fell into disuse for several reasons. First, it was confusingly similar to bixbyite, another mineral. Second, bixbite lacked the mellifluous sound considered necessary to market the stone. The name red beryl was suggested and accepted by all gemological associations and most gemstone jewelry dealers and enthusiasts.

While the name red beryl is accurate enough – referring to species and color – it has its detractors. Some, including emerald jewelry dealer Ray Zajicek of Equatorian Imports, Dallas, Tex., prefer the term “red emerald.” Fred Rowe of House of Onyx, Greenville, Ky., has promoted the material as “American red emerald” for several years. “People who own red beryl call it red emerald,” he says, “and people who don’t insist that is wrong until they own one.”

When the name was proposed during the 1991 International Colored Stone Association Congress, it sparked heated debate. A small but vocal group of red beryl dealers feels that association with the word emerald would help sales. But gemological and geological purists say such use of the word contradicts its ancient meaning. The word was derived from the Greek smaragdos and used to describe green stones. The Oxford English Dictionary says the term “emerald” was associated with the color green as far back as 1634 A.D.

Standard gemological tests, such as refractive index and specific gravity, easily separate red beryl from other red materials. And synthetic red beryl is relatively rare, though Russia recently has produced a variety of colors, including hydrothermal red beryl. These, too, should be easy to distinguish with standard gem tests.

Slow starter: Red beryl remained a nonentity in the commercial gem world for decades after its discovery in 1905. In the mid-1970s, faceted sizes and grades began to be mined in what are now the Violet claims in the Wah-Wah mountains of southwestern Utah. The Harris family primarily owns the claims, and initial production brought a trickle of faceted red beryl to market of about 100 stones per year. Since then, production has increased slowly. Owner Rex Harris says they now produce about 600 1-2 ct. stones a year and a startling 4,200 gems in melee sizes (.02-.10 Ct.). These “drop in the bucket” quantities still make red beryl as well as beryl jewelry rare.

“It is usually gem, jewelry and mineral collectors who prize it most, followed by ladies who like unusual red gemstones and already have their supply of rubies,” says dealer Fred Rowe. “In my opinion, there’s a tremendous U.S. collector community out there; I’m constantly surprised at the numbers of people collecting rare gems.” Harris adds there is a heavy and increasing demand from jewelry manufacturers for red beryl in Europe and Japan, where the material can’t be found.
Jewelry with gem-quality red beryls don’t often come in sizes over 2 carats. Those that do fetch amazing prices – up to $18,000 per carat for stones of good size and exceptional color and clarity. Good quality gems can be had for $4,000 to $6,000 per carat. And if you’re looking for jewelry with red beryl accents, prices range between $200 and $1,000 per carat.

How Much Do You Love Your Cell Phone?

Have you ever seen Castaway? Tom Hanks’ iconic lost-at-sea movie, filmed way back in 1999, is a gripping tale of a man trying to find his way back home. After spending four years stranded on an island, Hank’s character decides to set sail on a hand-made raft. In case you haven’t seen the movie yet, we will leave the story there. Nobody likes an unwelcome spoiler, after all.

The movie cannot help but make you feel grateful for lots of things. Matches, are one. So are the loved ones in our life. But one thing you just cannot help thinking throughout the movie is, “if only he had a cell phone that could pick up a signal! It would be a game changer.”

Since their 1978 release, cell phones have become a staple of modern life, saving people from loneliness, desertion, and even in extreme cases, death. We have learnt to rely on these little devices as ways of communicating when our voices just are not loud enough to be heard. And if ever, God forbid, we’re stranded somewhere without one, we will certainly appreciate all of those times we had one in our pockets a whole lot more.

We All Know Cell Phone Love

But truthfully, we do not need to be involved in some type of boat or aviation disaster to appreciate the value of our cell phones. Just a few minutes without battery, or forgetting it at home, is enough to create a feeling of longing inside of us for what we once had.

You too can probably think back to a time when you lost or misplaced your cell phone. Perhaps you felt a feeling of nakedness as many others report to feeling when being without their phones. Perhaps you felt a little anxiety as your cell phone is a means of contacting others either for business or in case of danger. If you’re a teenager, and have somehow stumbled upon this blog post thinking it was a One Direction post, you will almost certainly have felt the pain of being without your cell phone even more than most, as to you and your generation, cell phones are as common place as clothes.

How We Learnt To Love Our Phones: When Cell Phones Became More Mobile

Virtually every major communications company has understood the value of the cell phone. Back in the late 1970’s, when it required huge muscles to use one, the intention was always to make them smaller, to allow them to connect to more places, and to make communicating with them easier. A look back over the years we see the devices have changed in some pretty incredible ways. Even 10 years ago, a cell phone’s screen was exclusively black and white, and the idea of browsing the internet on one was a mere pipe dream. Now, it is as normal as making a call.

One challenge cell phone makers and communication companies have had to overcome though, is connectivity. Dropped calls, problems connecting over weak signals have been problems for most of the cell phone’s life.

Hanks’ Island Would Have Been a Dead Zone

Coming back to the earlier point of Hanks’ Castaway movie, a clear problem arises when wishing to put a cell phone into the bearded man’s hands: it wouldn’t have worked. In 2000, when the film was released, the Nokia series was Britain and America’s most advanced mainstream cell phone. It was, coincidently, the first major phone to be released without an antenna. This stylish, yet limited phone series had problems calling somebody in the opposite end of a state. On an island, no chance.

It was in this era that the idea of the “dead zone” became familiar to most. This term, which was used primarily by explorers and hikers, became used my moms trying to reach their husbands while at work, and by home owners unable to get signals in their houses. This dead zone was used to describe a place where signal was virtually impossible to pick up. A truly infuriating place to be.

Old-Fashioned Ways of Beating the Dead Zone

The early 2000s were before the days of Wiki How. It wasn’t possible to simply log on to the internet and find proven ways of overcoming a poor signal (nor was it possible to find a blog such as ours selling a cell phone signal booster for home).

Because of this, people invented, and stupidly passed on many wife’s tales for improving signal. Some would advocate climbing on top of the kitchen counter and holding the phone next to the ceiling. Others would advise wrapping it in metallic foil. Of course, neither of these would cure the problem of the dreaded no bars.

Gambling With Dead Zones

The cell phone’s growth in popularity at the start of the millennium also saw people becoming more adventurous. This device, which could be used to request money, call for a rescue, or arrange repairs – led to people feeling more assured while they had it in their pockets.

For most people, these assurances were valid. Cell phones have helped more people than many of the greatest medical advancements of our time. But, they weren’t foolproof. A cell phone in the pocket, an AAA card in the dashboard, and the driver would feel a sense of freedom or security. Many went on road trips feeling like they had a safety net below them.

But the dead zones were troublesome. Wander a little too far away from a signal transmitter and your expensive device was about as useful as a Tamagotchi.

When Dead Zones Cost Lives

Unfortunately, dead zones did, and still do, cost lives. The year 2004 was a great example of this.

In Indiana in early 2004, a young man had been involved in a car crash and was trapped inside his vehicle. After trying to call for help on his cell phone, he realized there was no chance of gaining a reception. He later passed away from his injuries. While he never intentionally went into a dead zone, this area of no signal ended up being fatal.

There were other high profile cases of cell phone signal desertion too in the early 2000s. People getting lost and being unable to call home, became a regular phenomenon.

This Is Why Cell Phone Signal Became An Obsession

By 2008, cell phones became common place. Even those who wouldn’t have previously owned one found themselves buying a ‘cheapie’ just in case of emergencies. But now, unlike a few years previously, people were taking bar strength seriously. This was still a little way before cell phone signal booster for home devices were in the mainstream market, so understanding one’s phone and signal strength became the best way to manage it.

People realized the best way to use a cell phone was with solid signal strength.

By 2010, because of this obsession for better signals – bad signals, dropped calls and muffled voices became unacceptable. This ushered in a brand new age of signal boosters for home.

When The Cell Phone Finally Overtook The Home Phone

Fast forward to 2015.

It’s been 15 years since Castaway was released, and cell phones have come a long, long way. They now sit inside the pocket comfortably, and have screens so sharp they’re better than some TVs. Now, 91% of Americans own a cell phone. Throughout the world, there are almost as many cell phone subscription plans (6 billion) as there are people (seven billion).

These subscription plans have only helped the cell phones to rise. They mean it is possible to get great affordable deals without almost a thousand dollars of cost upfront for a smartphone. Hundreds, if not thousands of call minutes, means some never even bother using their home phone at all anymore.

The Challenges Of Going “Full On Cell”

Major US telecommunications networks have reported a staggering rise over the last 5 years in the amount of people using their cell phone as their primary phone.

For the most part, switching over from home phone to cell phone is effortless. After years of being dormant, most people just decide their home phone is no longer as important as it once was, and either stop using it entirely or get rid of it.

Depending on location, there can, however, be some challenges that arise when doing that. These challenges aren’t too difficult to overcome nowadays, but can be problematic. The more prominent one is, surprise, surprise, signal quality. The home phone makes calls of a very important nature. These calls include calls to the bank, to the doctor, to family members, etc. Having poor call quality and bad signal isn’t tolerable for a main phone system. This isn’t calling to find out what time somebody will be home for dinner, this is the real stuff.

There, is, also, the issue of Internet usage. With so many cellular devices (tablets included) now being Internet-friendly, having a weak connection negates their benefit.

Solutions To These Cell Phone Challenges

Some cell phones just have poor reception. They are made to focus on other features, or even to cut costs, and thus do not have the kind of signal strength worthy of being the main phone. The obvious advice here would be to get a better cell phone. But that may not be something you want to do. You may either have several cell phones struggling for a signal, or you may like your phone. It may be special to you. Or the problem may be the integrity of your home (made of tough materials like bricks, steel, and other metals) or even the location of your home which could be too far from your carrier’s cell phone tower.

In cases like these, a cell phone booster for home might be just the ticket.

But Which One?

While it would be tempting to shamelessly self-promote here, we will try not to. We will just try to keep it things informative.

For offices or homes of up to 5,000 square feet, a large area 4G booster kit is likely to work well. We sell the weBoost Connect 4G 5-Band Booster kit, perfect for homes and offices. Other products exist at other stores, we’re sure. However, they may not have a Lowest Price Guarantee on them like ours do, nor as good and effective.

If you have a very large modern family who likes its Internet (think 4G, data, etc.), something like a high powered repeater kit will work well. These are designed for very large spaces or to be installed inside multi-level buildings. To see what a product like this looks like, check out our weBoost 4G Quint-Band Repeater Kit with Yagi Antenna model, for under $900. It provides enhanced reception for up to 10,000 square feet.

In Conclusion

The history of cell phones and their signals is fascinating, at least to us. With more and more people using these devices for more and more things, signal strength has become more important than ever.

While it doesn’t have the glamor of a nice camera or a high-definition screen, signal strength is the lifeblood of every mobile device on the market. Without it, each one is just a glorified solitaire machine.

We’re sure the way you use your cell phone has changed throughout the years. While the gadget itself is probably light-years ahead of what it was, its function too is almost certainly different. It’s likely you have learned to rely on it a lot more. It is likely that it now plays a role in your business ventures, as well as acts as a method of reaching those closest to you.

As Tom Hanks’ character in Castaway could tell you, the stronger the signal strength, the better. Assuming you actually have a cell phone on you, that is.

Don’t settle for the same problems you would have in the past. Cell phone evolution has been incredible. Unlike those before you, you have knowledge and options now.

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