Most gems are minerals so history of gems is tied in closely to history of minerals.
As the Stone Age progressed into the Bronze Age, metallic minerals were sought after for a variety of uses from weapons to hinges. Gemstones, or material without a utilitarian value, were luxury items appreciated for their beauty. Besides personal adornment, gems have always been regarded as somewhat mysterious, used as primitive medicines, and quite important as amulets and talismans. Paintings in Egyptian tombs some 5,000 years ago depict the smelting of ores from metals, weighing gems, and fashioning lapis and malachite. Crushed malachite was used as a pigment, for painting as well as mixing it with ground ants to create the eye make-up for ancient Egyptians.