Zircon

A silicate of zirconium, this mineral occurs in different colours or may be colourless, the latter often being referred to as the poor man's diamond. In fact, zircon tends to be rather dim and is only used for inexpensive jewelry. It is widely distributed throughout Ceylon, India and Madagascar, but is not a good investment as it is often adulterated and may be the cause of confusion. Moreover, it is fragile and easily turns clou...

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Yellow Sapphire

A variety of corundum, like ruby and sapphire, which could be considered a precious stone as it is, in reality, an orange sapphire. It is virtually unknown to the vast majority of people and can therefore be purchased at a reasonable price. However, jewelers are beginning to promote it more and more, and this is a sure sign that the current favorable situation will not remain stable for much longer. It is best to choose a darker coloured stone with...

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Unakite

Unakite, often referred as an epidotized granite, consists of a salmon-pink feldspar, green epidote, and quartz. The stone is an opaque coral and olive-green. Sometimes, other shades of green is also seen. Unakite lends the power of self-awareness to other elements. Experimenting with the stone since ages made people realize that they can go even beyond the physical symptoms of an illness to understand the mental and emotional sources. Belief also...

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Turquoise

This stone is becoming increasingly rare and costly because the finest material comes from Iran. Despite its fragility it is much prized and never seems to go out of fashion. It is an opaque mineral consisting essentially of phosphates and is of a colour ranging from sky-blue to apple-green. The best turquoise is, however, dark and should be totally free of any black veins or white specks. It must be cut en cabochon. It is sold by the carat, a very...

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Tourmaline

Unlike amethyst and topaz, tourmaline has escaped inordinate exploitation on the Brazilian market, probably because it is rarer and consequently more expensive. It is a mineral group of varying composition occurring in different colours, especially green, blue and grey. Pink specimens are known as rubellite. Tourmaline has a deep brilliance and rich colouring. Transparent specimens being quite common, the stone is either cut en cabochon or faceted....

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Topaz

A mineral of somewhat varying composition belonging to the silicate group. It is not a quartz and therefore has nothing in common with citrine quartz, a far less valuable stone. True topaz may be yellow, gold, pink, blue, green, mauve or red It does not reflect the light to any great extent; so the larger the stone the better. It is widely used in jewelry making and frequently imitated by citrine quartz. It comes from Brazil, where it is as widespread...

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Tiger's Eye

Tiger's Eye, much like the eyes of a female cat, glitters with a small ray of light on the surface. This property of stone is known as chatoyancy. It is a brown quartz silicon dioxide having lustrous yellow and brown parallel fibers. The presence of iron oxides gives the stone the color of yellow-gold. Tiger's Eye is very popular in jewelry making. It has the grounding energy of the earth, but embellished with glowing warmth. This stone is perfect...

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Sunstone

Sunstone or can be also called Heliolite, is the State Gem of Oregon, a prime source for this beautiful gem. The name Heliolite has been derived from the Greek 'helios' and 'lithos,' which mean 'sun' and 'stone'. Sunstone is metallic in appearance and comes in red, orange or green colors. However, cleaner red sunstone is very rare and it commands true gemstone prices. The stone is a composition of oligioclase feldspar which also contains hematite...

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Sugilite (Hemi)

Sugilite is named after a Japanese mineralogist, Dr. Ken-Ichi Sugi, who discovered it in the year 1944 on the Iwagi Islet in Japan. The stone comes in pale to dark purple color and contains black, reddish brown and yellowy patches. Sometimes it also referred to Luvulite and Royal Lazelle. It belongs to the hexagonal crystal system. Sugilite is becoming very popular in the jewelry trade. It do not form well shaped crystals but is generally massive....

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Spodumene

Spodumene is a new mineral to science world discovered in the last three centuries. The gem variety of it was discovered only in the last 120 years. It is a lithium aluminum silicate with colors ranging from white, colorless, gray, pink, lilac, violet and green. There are two broad varieties of spodumene, Kunzite and Hiddenite. Kunzite is most famous and is the collectors choice. It comes in lovely pink to lilac color which is unique in the gem...

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Sphene

Sphen, means wedge shaped as it occurs normally, is a brilliant transparent yellowish-green or green with a high lustre and pronounced fire. It is also widely called as 'Titanium,' because of the titanium content in it. Titanium content sphen is often reserved for black or reddish brown non-gem quality material. Twinning is common in titanite. The best example of it is Soem, which comes from Pakistan, almost twinned. Sphene is a fairly rare stone...

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Sphalerite

Sphalerite, also known as Blende, is one of the few minerals having six directions of cleavage. If six directions are perfectly cleaved on a single crystal, it forms rhombic dodecahedron. However, identifying the six directions in a single piece is quite difficult because of multiple twinning and the many directions. Only the abundant cleavage at different directions are seen easily. The name sphalerite has been derived from Greek word for treacherous...

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Spectrolite

Spectrolite is a variety of labradorite which displays intense reds, oranges and yellows and even blues and greens. These different colors are due to the light interference by thin lamellae, in parallel layers, within the spectrolite. The color play in the stone is iridescent as in the feathers of a peacock or the Northern Lights. It appears like a flash of light in the darkness. The stone belongs to the plagioclase feldspar group, which is a series...

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Sodalite

Sodalite is named in reference to the sodium content it has. It is found in light to dark pure blue color and is well known in the semi-precious stone world. It is the only feldspathoid which contains chlorine. Sodalite balances the mental and emotional bodies. It cleanses the aura, soothes and calms inflammations. It fuels a person's creative processes and also enhances wisdom. It helps to make clear and rational decisions. It builds self confidence,...

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Sillimanite

Sillimanite is formed from aluminum silicate and is a transparent to translucent mineral ranging from white to gray, brown and green. It is mostly found as silky and fibrous masses with glassy luster. If it is not fibrous, the best field indicators are its crystal habit, color, brittleness and hardness. Sillimanite is named after an American chemist and mineralogist, Prof. Benjamin Silliman. For its fibrous inclusions, it is sometimes also known...

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Serpentine

Serpentine stone comes in staggering variety of colors. The variations in color is the result of varied mineral infusions in the stone. The name has been derived from the color and appearances of the stone which resembles the skin of a serpent. The best quality serpentine has fine textures with no cleavages. Serpentine is the most common stone in use with varying hardness. Most sculptors select the harder and more durable serpentine for sculpting....

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Scapolite

Scapolite is commonly a mineral of metamorphic origin. It is grayish white which occurs in tetragonal crystals and in cleavable masses. For such color, it is sometimes also called Wernerite. It is a silicate of alumina and soda. Scapolite is a member of the feldspathoid group of minerals consisting mixture of minerals marialite and meionite. It usually occurs in calcium-rich metamorphic rocks, especially schists, gneisses, and marbles. The name...

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Sapphires

As I mentioned earlier, sapphire is corundum, too, and, its physical and chemical properties are virtually identical to those of ruby. In a natural state the gem crystallizes in the hexagonal system with two pyramidal faces. It is fractionally harder than ruby. Curiously, all corundums that are not rubies are classed as sapphires, which means that this particular gem exists in many colours, from blue to green, pink to mauve, white, grey, violet,...

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Rutilite

Rutilite, also known as Rutile, is a mineral which consists of titanium dioxide, generally with a little iron. It is typically of reddish-brown in color, but deep red or black, with brilliant metallic or diamond-like luster is also seen. In times past, it is said that the rutilite represented both, the lovely hair of Venus and the "sweet-tipped" arrows of love. It is also believed that it repels negative energy. It is useful in healing and brings...

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Ruby

Surprising as it may seem, ruby and sapphire, so different in colour, actually belong to the same mineral family: corundum, the mineral form of alumina which crystallizes in the hexagonal system. The red colour of ruby results from a small admixture of chromic oxide. The most prized tint is blood red or crimson known in the trade as "pigeon's blood" red. The colour of this corundum varies, however, according to the geographical locality of the mine....

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Rubellite

Rubellite (Rubelite), a rare variety of tourmaline, comes in red color. It is more valuable than any other varieties of the red tourmaline. The name has been derived from the Latin word "rebellus," which mean "reddish." In gem trade, it is also known as "red tourmaline." Unlike other gemstone, rubellite do not change color under different light source. It shines brilliantly in both natural as well as artificial light. Sometimes it is treated with...

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Rose Quartz

This widely diffused stone is often used for statuettes, carvings and other ornamental objects in the style of Chinese art. In the West it is cut en cabochon or as beads. Unfortunately, it faces strong competition from pink beryl, morganite, topaz and tourmaline. It is pale pink in colour and has a milky texture. Darker, transparent specimens are as rare as blue quartz. Rose quartz comes from Madagascar, India or Braz...

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Pyrite

Pyrite, commonly also known as "Fools Gold" because of its color and shape, is popular for its crystal habbit, hardness, streak, luster and brittleness. It is composed of iron disulphide having a pale brass-yellow color. The name pyrite has been derived from the Greek word, pyrites lithos, which mean 'stone which strikes fire,' in allusion to the sparking produced when iron is struck by lump of pyrite. Pyrite is usually considered to be a stone...

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Prasiolite

Prasiolite is a gem with which one can really be confused. It is traded with variety of names and sometimes mistaken with expensive gems like Green Beryl, Peridot and Tourmaline. The green variety is also named as Vermarine, Lime Citrine or Green Amethyst. Inexpensive, but a true collector's gemstone. The name, prasiolite has been derived from the Greek words "Prason" and "Lithos," which mean 'leek,' due to color similarities with vegetables, and...

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Peridot

Peridot, the assigned stone for the summer month of August, is ancient but still very popular gemstone. Slightly golden shimmering green variety of it is ideal gemstone color to complement a light summertime outfit. It is formed of olivine, silicate found in igneous rocks, and a very good constituent of Earth's upper mantle. The gemstone is in fact called by three names, Peridot, Chrysolith and Olivin. Peridot is derived from Greek word "Peridona,"...

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Pectolite

Pectolite, as mineral, is confused with other minerals like okenite, wollastonite, artinite and few others. The name "Pectolite" has been derived from the Greek word "Pectos" which mean "well put together." This semi-precious stone occurs in white or colorless, gray, light yellow, light brown, light blue, and light pink. Physically, pectolite is very sharp and can easily puncture skin, if not handled properly. It is composed of Sodium Calcium Silicate...

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Pearl

Known as "queen of the oceans", pearl, like coral, is a victim of pollution. The name denotes a calcareous concretion with a silvery lustre formed within the shell of certain bivalve molluscs known as pearl oysters around some foreign body. There are two types: natural pearls, formed inside wild oysters, practically impossible to find nowadays, and cultured pearls in which the production of the pearl is artificially induced. Natural pearls have no...

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Opal

Opal, an amorphous form of hydrous silica, was once held to be unlucky, but maybe this was only because the stone is rather fragile and tends to chip and scratch easily. As it contains a high percentage of water, opal may deteriorate in heat and cold. Nonetheless, it is a very beautiful stone and, without wishing to contradict myself, it is even used as a lucky charm in certain countries. There are numerous varieties of opal, each attractive in...

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Onyx

This name is often erroneously applied to the alabaster, calcite and aragonite used in the manufacture of souvenirs and other ornamental objects sold throughout the tourist centres of the Mediterranean. True onyx is simply a black and white banded variety of quartz allied to agate. These bands being straight and parallel, onyx is sometimes known as "zebra agate" or, if the stone is completely black, "black agate". During the 1950s it was very popular...

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Obsidian

Obsidian, also known as Apache tears, is a volcanic glass which is generally black, but is occasionally red, brown, gray, green (the rarest variety), dark with "snowflakes," or even very clear. It is said, probably to be the most challenging stone in crystal work. It is in fact a volcanic glass and has been used in past by many native cultures to make knives. Obsidian has several varieties. It contain tiny bubbles of air that are aligned along the...

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Nephrite

Nephrite in pure form is white in color or else green or creamy white. Sometimes even beige, yellow, blue or black is seen. It is a variety of jade, chiefly a metasilicate of iron, calcium, and magnesium. The green color in nephrite is due the presence of iron. Physically it is similar to chalcedony. Both have a fibrous structure. Nephrite is used as jewelry, carvings and bowls and vases. It is one of the longest wearing of any gem material. The...

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Mother of Pearl

The name is aptly given to the lustrous pearly lining of the shells of pearl-bearing molluscs. When polished it is similar in appearance to pearl and is extensively used for cutlery handles, buttons, buckles and other small ornamental objects. It has always been a favourite for the creation of ornaments, especially of a religious nature such as crucifixes and statuettes. In the East it is used as an inlay for the walls and furniture of mosqu...

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Morganite

Morganite, probably the best-known member from the beryl group, comes in many fine shades. The very fine pink color of the stone emanating charm, esprit and tenderness acts as a pure attraction, all over the world, for women. It was simply known as "Pink Beryl" previously. In the year 1911, Morganite got its identity. It was renamed by New York gemstone expert G.F. Kunz in the honour of banker and minerals collector John Pierport Morgan, thus the...

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Moonstone

A translucent variety of feldspar with a chatoyant quality, that is to say, having a changeable, undulating pearly lustre. It is either colourless or bluish-white and when cut en cabochon shows bluish gleams Moonstone is not excessively expensive and being moderately rare is a good investment. The finest stones are those of a slightly bluish tint, reminiscent of the colour of the moon, hence the name. It comes mainly from Burma, Ceylon, Madagascar,...

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Moissanite

Moissanite is said to be a rival to all other gemstone because of its brilliance, hardness, weight and scratch resistance. It possesses all the romance and passion of rubies, sapphires and emeralds. It is only found in meteorites and in a very limited areas beneath the earth's surface. Moissanite was discovered by a French chemist and Nobel Prize winner, Dr. Ferdinand Henri Moissan. He found it at Diablo Canyon, also known as Meteor Crater, in Arizona...

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Malachite

This hydrous carbonate of copper occurring in nature as an opaque stone, varying in colour from very light to very dark green. It has characteristic banding and is fragile and easily scratched. Like ivory, this mineral has been over exploited by African crafts- men for a limitless production of tasteless, poor quality objects such as book-ends and paper weights. In ancient times it was widely used for jewelry and other ornaments because it was easy...

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Lapis Lazuli

The "sapphire" of classical times, it has always been a popular stone on account of its fine blue colour. It is really a rock consisting of varying quantities of a blue mineral hauyne and calcite. Small specks and strings of the yellow iron pyrites are common. The stone is becoming increasingly rare and its price rises steadily. It now costs more than gold and is the only opaque stone, apart from turquoise, sold by the carat (provided the quality...

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Labradorite

Labradorite, carries unique characteristic, turns sea blue, gold and green in bright light from grey or dark green color if viewed in dim light. It is a variety of plagioclase feldspar which is found in igneous rocks. Polished labradorite is called labradorescence. The crystal is transparent to translucent. The darker variety is known as "black moonstone" which has a bluish inclusions. Labradorite is generally cut with a flat surface to highlight...

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Kunzite

A variety of crystalline spodumene (a silicate of aluminum and lithium) generally of a lilac-pink hue, though yellow and green varieties are not uncommon. If exposed to the sun, kunzite first loses its colour, then turns green and in time resumes its original hue. If you plan to buy kunzite, choose a specimen of a certain size and thickness, as small specimens tend to be colourless. It must be cut in a special way and only in facets. It may be confused...

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Jasper

An opaque crypto-crystalline variety of quartz of varying colours, usually red, green, yellow, brown or white. It is of little value and used mostly for inexpensive jewelry and small ornamental objects such as ashtrays and candlesticks. It is found everywhere, especially in cl...

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Jade

The definition "jade" is used to define two minerals of similar appearance but different chemical composition: nephrite, a calcium- magnesium silicate, and jadeite, a silicate of sodium and aluminum. Both minerals are found in a wide range of shades of green, brown, yellow, grey and pink and may be either translucent or opaque. They may be milky or cloudy in appearance and sometimes speckled with tiny black spots. The most prized of the jades,...

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Ivory

This is a hard, white, elastic, fine-grained substance obtained from the tusks of the elephant, walrus, sperm whale and hippopotamus, this last variety being the best. The colour of ivory ranges from white to yellowish white, to brownish white, the commonest shade being pale cream. Ivory can be distinguished from bone by virtue of the fine tubules running through it with a spiral course which indicate the growth of the tooth. These are not present...

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Iolite

Iolite, the gemstone of the Vikings, is very often minstaken for Tanzanite. It is bluish violet in color where the prominent blue tone resembles blue sapphire and the lighter one, tanzanite. The name Iolite has been taken from the Greek word 'ios' which means violet. Iolite posesses pleochroism, showing of different colors when viewed from different angles and sides. This excellent quality is sometimes a hindrance in cutting. It needs to be handled...

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Indicolite

Indicolite, also popular by the name Blue Tourmaline, is supposed to be the most colorful and rare variety of all the stones in gem world. The name 'Indicolite' has been derived from the Latin word for the indicum plant, famous due to its blue colors. Indicolite stones are transparent to opaque in shades and is found in metosomatically altered magnesian or dolomitic limestones in contact-metamorphic aureloes. A great deposit of indicolite occurs...

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Hemimorphite

Hemimorphite is the commonly known sorosilicates which forms in oxidized zinc deposits and always occurs in clusters of radiating, acicular crystals. Originally, it was named Calamine, but since calamine is used for some other mineral, the word hemimorphit is widely in use. 'Hemi' means half and 'morph' means shape. Hemimorphite is in the form of bladed crystal, the botryoidal form is very common. The crystals are generally elongated and flat. When...

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Hematite

A widely-distributed iron ore occurring in crystalline, massive or granular forms. It is opaque and generally dark grey (almost black) in colour. It is cut en cabochon or as beads, though in Germany it is also used for intaglios. It is similar to steel in appearance, but much darker. Set with gold, it makes a very attractive colour contrast. It may be confused with black pearl, for which it is sometimes used as an imitation, but which has a less...

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Heliodor

Heliodor (also spelt as helidor), a beryllium aluminum silicate is a golden yellow or golden green variety of beryl. The golden color is due to the presence of iron in place of aluminum in the structure of the crystal. In the gem world "golden beryl" is its other name. Sometimes it also contain a trace amount of uranium which make it slightly radioactive. The name has been derived from a Greek word which mean "gift from the sun." It was discovered...

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Goshenite

Goshenite is the colorless variety of beryl mineral group and is named after the site where it was first discovered, Goshen in Massachusetts. Sometimes it is also known as "white beryl" or "mother of gemstones." The impurities in Goshenite creates all the popular beryls like emeralds (green beryl), heliodor (yellow beryl), morganite (pink beryl) and aquamarine (blue beryl). This great stone also works as a substitute of diamond by placing a silver...

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Garnet

The name given to a group of isomorphous minerals of different composition and colour. Almandine is of a deep velvety red and the most widely used in jewelry making. In Austria and Czechoslovakia it is faceted and used for highly elaborate jewelry. In India it is cut as beads or en cabochon. The best stones are those that are not too dark. Glossularite is generally olive green, but there are also yellow, red, brown and violet varieties. It is slightly...

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Fluorite

Fluorite, a transparent and translucent stone which mean 'to flow' in Latin. The term 'florescent' also has been derived from fluorite. It is an attractive stone with a wide range of colors ranging from pink, purple, magenta, blue, yellow, green, red, brown and white. The usual availability of fluorite stones are Europe, Mexico, Argentina, USA, Thailand and China. In Europe, it is most abundant in England, France, Austria, and Germany. Ancient Egyptians...

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