Gemstones By Color

May 09, 2020

The first thing we look for in precious stones is their beauty. But beauty is subjective and is very difficult to classify.

One thing I have learned over time is that when loose gemstones are sold, the buyers are often gem collectors, look for their birthstone or they will use the gem to make a custom piece of jewelry; an engagement ring, a wedding ring, or something very special.  In which case they are very clear about the color they are looking for.

1. BLUE GEMSTONES
2. RED GEMSTONES
3. GREEN GEMSTONES
4. PINK GEMSTONES
5. YELLOW GEMSTONES
6. ORANGE GEMSTONES
7. PURPLE & VIOLET GEMSTONES
8. GREY GEMSTONES
9. WHITE GEMSTONES
10. BROWN & BLACK GEMSTONES
11. MULTICOLOR GEMSTONES
12. GEMSTONE SPECIAL EFFECTS

Versión Española 

The way in which I have classified the online store is by species of gems and by varieties, I have realized that sometimes it is not entirely useful since not everyone has to know that emerald or aquamarine are varieties of beryl or that in the tourmaline we can find all the colors that we can imagine, but if it is practical to know that if we look for a green gem we can look for emeralds, tourmaline, sapphires, peridots, etc.

So for all those who are interested in knowing what options you can find when you search for your favorite colors, here is a small list of gemstones organized by color.

Because many gems feature mixtures of two colors, bluish green, orange red, etc., they will be in both categories: in red and orange stones, for example. And there will be a special category for those gems that have color change, asterism, cat's eye, multicolor, etc. 

BLUE GEMSTONES

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The pure blue color, without other shades or mixture of another color is very rare. We find it in Sapphire and rarely in Tanzanite, which usually has a more violet and / or greenish color; it happens a little like pure red gems, so these types of gems are valuable.

Aquamarine, Blue Zircon, Blue Apatite and Blue Topaz usually present a lighter blue with more greenish tones, as do the Indicolite Tourmaline and the Paraiba Tourmaline with their beautiful and saturated neon colors.

Other gems that have the color blue are Blue Spinel, Iolite, Kyanite, Larimar, Benitoite, Lapis Lazuli and Turquoise. 

RED GEMSTONES

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Other red gems: Rhodolite Garnet, Pyrope Garnet, Rhodonite, Red Zircon and Red Coral. 

GREEN GEMSTONES

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In addition to the valuable and famous Emerald, there are many other gems that present this beautiful color.

Among them the valuable Jade - Jadeite, Demantoid Garnet, Tsavorite Garnet, Green Paraiba Tourmaline, Chrome Tourmaline, Green Tourmaline, Green Beryl, Green Sapphire, Chrome Diopside, Peridot, Sphene, Idocrase, Prehnite, Mali Garnet, Chrysoberyl, Apatite, Green Quartz, Oligoclase, Apatite, Green Fluorite, Hiddenite, Malachite, Maw-Sit-Sit, Variscite, etc.

These green gems vary in color from a chrome green like that of the Tsavorite garnet to a lime green of the peridot, or more yellowish like that of the chrysoberyl. We can find a wide range of green color within the same variety, as can happen with tourmaline or sapphires. You just have to choose the one you like best.

PINK GEMSTONES

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Pink lovers are in luck, there is a variety for all tastes and pockets.

Among the most valuable and rare, we have the Pink Sapphire, and the famous Padparadschas, which are pink-orange sapphires.

Very popular and of all imaginable shades of roses we find Tourmalines and Spinels, not forgetting Morganites, Kunzites, Rhodochrosites, Rose Quartz, Pink Coral, Pink Opal, Pink Pearls, Rhodolite Garnet and Pink Zircon.

As a general rule, vivid and saturated colors will always be more expensive than lighter and muted colors. In the case of kunzites, we can find large gems at a good price.

YELLOW GEMSTONES

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As with blue and red gems, finding precious stones of a pure yellow color, without orange or brown tones, is quite difficult. Many of them have a golden color that includes some orange tone.

Yellow Sapphire and Imperial Topaz are the most valuable yellow gems. Other yellow gemstones are Citrine, Heliodor or Yellow Beryl, Mali Garnet, Chrysoberyl, the rare Yellow Tourmaline that is a valuable gem, Yellow Zircon, Yellow Fluorite, Yellow Opal, Yellow Apatite.

ORANGE GEMSTONES

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There are not many orange gems, although it is the favorite color of many people and these look impressive mounted in jewelry.

The best known are Spessartite Garnet, Orange Sapphire, Orange Tourmaline, Imperial Topaz, Citrine, Orange Spinel, Fire Opal, Padparadscha Sapphire, Sphalerite, Orange Zircon, Oregon Sunstone, the rare Clinohumite and Amber, among others.

PURPLE & VIOLET GEMSTONES

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The color purple and violet are a mixture of red and blue, the color violet has a more bluish tone and the redder purple.  The quintessential purple gem is Amethyst.

There are not many precious stones that have these colors, so there is a small list of gems with these tones: Amethyst, Tanzanite, Spinel, Tourmaline, Sapphire, Chalcedony, Fluorite, Sugilite, Charoita, Iolite and Lavender Jadeite are the most recent.

GREY GEMSTONES

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Grey Spinels are our favorites, the reason: they look wonderful in jewelry, a beautiful grey gem surrounded by a halo of diamonds in a white gold ring has a very luxurious appearance. So the demand for grey gems for engagement rings, cufflinks, etc. is increasing.

The spinels have a metallic grey color that is very difficult to find in other precious stones, although other gems also have this hue, such as Tourmaline, Untreated Tanzanite, Grey Moonstone, Tahitian Pearls, Grey Labradorite, Grey Sapphire, Pearl Mother, Grey Chalcedony, Hematite, etc. 

WHITE GEMSTONES

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The colorless gemstone par excellence is Diamond, but there are other options.

More white precious stones:  White Sapphire, White Zircon, Goshenite or Colorless Beryl, Colorless Quartz, White Topaz, White Spinel, Petalite, Moonstone and Danburite.

BROWN & BLACK GEMSTONES

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The brown color is not highly sought after by buyers, although the bronze color of Imperial Topaz is highly desired, as are some Citrine with brown hues.

Other gems that have brown tones are: Brown Tourmaline, Citrine, Smoky Quartz, Rutilated Quartz, Tiger's Eye Quartz, Opals, Brown Moonstones, Brown Scapolite, etc.

As for the black color, we find Black Diamonds, Black Tourmaline (Schorl), Black Star Sapphires, Jet, Black Diopside with star.

MULTICOLOR GEMSTONES

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Sometimes gems show more than one color, that is, they are bicolor or even tricolor, as is the case Amethrin, Fluorite and  Tourmaline.

Other times they are very pleocroic, like the Andalusite, and they show different colors from different angles. Other gems due to their structural characteristics present a beautiful play of color such as Opal.

More multicolored gems: Ammolite, Multicolor Jasper, Multicolor Tourmaline, Labradorite, Spectrolite, Multicolor Agate, Chrysocolla, etc.

GEMSTONE SPECIAL EFFECTS

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Some times colored gemstones present some very striking optical effects. 

This is due to characteristic structures, defects or even inclusions, gems can show different effects such as:

ASTERISM: Ruby, Sapphire, Quartz, Garnet, Diopside, etc.
ADULARESCENCE: Moonstone.
AVENTURESCENCE: Sunstone, Aventurine, Golden Obsidian.
CHATOYANCY – CAT'S EYE EFFECTS: Chrysoberyl, Tourmalines, Aquamarines, Apatite, Beryl, Diopside, Quartz, etc.
IRIDISCENCE: Ammolite.
LABRADORESCENCE: Labradorite.
PLAY OF COLORS: Opal.
CHANGE OF COLOR: Alexandrite, Sapphires, Garnets, Change Color Diaspore, etc.
OPALESCENCE: Opal, Quartz, etc.
ORIENT: Pearls.

If you are interested in knowing why these effects occur and what they are, be sure to visit our blog about: Optical Effects in Colored Gemstones.

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