Gemstones

Learn about gemstones by using our Gemstone Guide.

Alexandrite

Named for Czar Alexander II, which is very fitting as it was discovered in Russia’s Ural Mountains in 1830. The same stone can appear to shift in hue between Purple and Sapphire Blue depending on the light it is exposed to.

Amethyst

A variety of quartz often used in jewelry, and was thought by the ancient Greeks to protect the owner from drunkenness, and even went so far as to carve drinking vessels from the stone.

Aquamarine

A beautiful blue or cyan stone, commonly from Sri Lanka. The largest Aquamarine ever found weighed over 110kg in Brazil.

Diamond

Though often thought of as a colorless stone, a truly colorless diamond is a rarity. Usually diamonds have a light yellow tint, sometimes brown. Unique in that it's the only gem comprised of a single element carbon.

Black Diamonds

This stone was considered in Medieval Times to have the ability to restore the love back to the relationship of a married couple. These Diamonds are black due to the vast quantity of inclusions in its Carbon structure.

Lab Grown Diamonds

These man-made diamonds are identical to the naked eye to a Natural Diamond that is created over billions of years below the surface of the Earth. In recent years, there’s been a large shift towards Lab Grown Diamonds due to their having a significantly smaller effect on the Earth.

Emerald

A true, deep green color, the emerald is a striking stone alleged to give its wearer a quicker wit and a higher IQ. These rare gems are often carved into a rectangular step cut, which is known as the emerald cut.

Garnet

Available in a variety of natural colors with reddish shades being the most common, the garnet is a fairly common gemstone most commonly used in the Late Antique Roman world, and were often inlaid in gold jewelry.

Lapis Lazuli

It’s name means blue stone, and was once considered to be a powerful aphrodisiac. Long ago it was used to create the vibrant blue skies in Renaissance Paintings.

Moonstones

A stone of unearthly beauty, the inner glow is due to the scattering of light between microscopic layers of feldspar and other minerals. It is sometimes attributed to have feminine energies.

Morganite

Commonly seen in pink and peach, Morganite usage has skyrocketed in recent years for use in fashion jewelry.

Onyx

This volcanic product is naturally available in a multitude of colors, though most famously black, with a rich black color that is used in a variety of jewelry types.

Opal

The national gemstone of Australia, the Opal can appear in a variety of colors, with black being the rarest. A wonder of nature is the fire opal which can include colors that seem to flicker between yellow to orange to red to green.

Pearl

A hard object that grows in the soft tissue of a shelled mollusk. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth in shape, but are common in a variety of other shapes. Pearls are seen as a classy alternative to typical gemstones, and are frequently worn with nearly every level of classiness.

Peridot

Peridot is simply gem-quality Olivine, and only occurs in one color: olive-green. Olivine tends to be rather common, however Peridots are rather rare and can be found in odd places such as lavas and meteorites.

Rhodolite

A relatively inexpensive pink stone, Rhodolite is commonly discovered with blank manganese veins running through it. It’s name derives from the Greek word rhodos, which means "rose colored".

Ruby

The word ruby comes from ruber, which is Latin for red, and as such, Rubies are almost always red in color. Rubies and Pink Sapphires are commonly confused, and a Ruby must meet a minimum color saturation in order to be called a true ruby.

Sapphire

A gem long-associated with romance and royal leanings, Princess Di received a blue sapphire engagement ring from Prince Charles back in 1981. Despite a common misconception, not all sapphires are blue. Green, violet-blue, yellow, orange, pink and purple hued stones are known as “fancy” sapphires and range from very light to very dark in saturation.

Spinel

Referred to in ancient Sanskrit as “the daughter of Ruby”, this stone comes in a similar range of colors and styles, though it also boasts a more modest pricing.

Tanzanite

Naturally occurring only in the Tanzanian Mountains of Africa, this stone comes in a variety of shapes that can fluctuate between Lavender and Ocean Blue.

Topaz

Naturally golden brown to yellow, it can appear in a variety of colors, but previously the name Topaz was used to refer to any yellowstone. Interestingly there is an English superstition that Topaz cured lunacy.

Tourmaline

Available in a wide range of colors, Tourmaline’s name derives from the Sinhalese name, Turamali, which roughly translates to "stone with mixed colours". Occasionally they are discovered with a green to red color striation, which is referred to as "Watermelon Tourmaline".

Turquoise

An opaque blue-to-green mineral, Turquoise has long been used to ornament clothing, tribal masks, and worn as jewelry. The iconic burial mask of Tutankhamun was inlaid with turquoise as well as other stones. It was long thought to be a holy stone that could bring the wearer good fortune.

Zircon

Though most famously of a sky blue color, it can be nearly every color of the rainbow, from earth tones to near colorless, Zircon's rarity and relative affordability make it a prime choice for fashion jewelry.