Stunning & Delightful
Colored Stones

Garnets are typically found in the red-orange range, but can sometimes be found in green to blue ranges, which are called tsavorite garnets. Garnets can be cut and calibrated into a variety of faceted shapes, and red garnets are often free of eye-visible inclusions, making it a popular choice for red jewelry. In addition to being the birthstone for January, they are the traditional gift for a 2nd wedding anniversary. Garnets were extremely popular during the Victorian age, but the first garnet jewelry found was made in 3800 BC in Egypt. Garnets are said to bring self-empowerment and good friendships to the wearer, and were carried by the Ancient Greek into battle for good luck and were thought to improve circulation and heart ailments during ancient times. The name comes from the Latin “granatum” for seed and refers to the deep red color resembling that of pomegranate.

Amethyst is the purple variety of quartz. It’s name comes from the Greek "amethystos", which means "not drunken”; Amethyst in antiquity was thought to ward off drunkenness, and it is said to have been carried into battle by Ancient Egyptians for strength and courage. Amethyst ranges in tone from a cool purple to a warmer raspberry color. Its color can be the result of irradiation or trace metal impurities, including iron, in the crystal lattice structure. It is mined in Brazil, Siberia, Uruguay and Canada and can be faceted easily. Amethysts have often been said to bring calm and spiritual wisdom and was revered in the Middle Ages as symbols of royalty and heavenliness.

Aquamarine’s name comes from the latin “Aqua Marina”, which means sea water, so named for the seawater color typical of the stone. It is available with high clarity and in large sizes, making it a popular choice for jewelry since at least 500 BC. It is a member of the beryl species of minerals, and comes in a range from greenish to light blue, and is mined in many countries around the world. Aquamarines are said to symbolize courage, trust and letting go, and were worn historically by sailors who thought it would bring them safely home. It was also used in Roman times to increase youthful vitality and cure physical ailments. The Romans highly prized aquamarine and believed that the first stone was found by the God of the Sea, Neptune, after it washed ashore when a siren, a mythical mermaid, misplaced it out of her jewelry box. The largest aquamarine, mined in Brazil, is the Don Pedro Aquamarine, weighing at at 10,363 carats.

The most precious of gems and the hardest, colorless diamonds are pure carbon forged in immense heat and pressure. They can only be scratched by another diamond. The largest diamond ever found, the Cullinan Diamond from South Africa, weighed 3.106 carats before it was cut and polished; it is now in three parts and a part of England’s Crown Jewels. Very few of the diamonds mined are actually of gem quality; over 80% of diamonds are used industrially for their hardness, and on average in every 250 tons of earth mined, you will find 1 carat of diamonds. Ancient Greeks and Romans believed that diamonds were the tears of gods or splinters from falling stars, and during the Middle Ages, they were thought to cure mental illness and fatigue. Diamonds are still seen as symbols of courage, perseverance, light, and the most treasured love. They are the most common stone used in engagement rings and gifts of precious jewelry. Diamonds are also available in colored varieties.

Emerald is green Beryl and is highly prized in the world of colored stones. The best specimens are from Columbia and increasingly Zambia. The Spanish explorers began mining stones from Columbia to bring back to Europe in the 16th centuries. Most emeralds have eye-visible inclusions, but the extraordinary color has made it highly prized and quite valuable. A fine emerald has a beautiful green hue and the most valuable have fewer inclusions or surface breaking fissures. They are often called the “stone of successful love” and said to soothe the heart of the wearer. The first known emerald mines were in Egypt and date at least back to 330 BC.

One of the most valuable of all colored stones, ruby is the deep pink-red variety of the mineral corundum; any other color of corundum would be called a sapphire. The difference between a pink sapphire and a red ruby should be evaluated by an experienced gemologist. Ruby is red because of the presence of the element chromium and an ideal ruby has a rich blood-red color. Almost all rubies have some degree of imperfections in them, particularly inclusions known as “rutile needles”, which are an appreciated indicator of a natural stone that hasn’t been heat-treated. Rubies have a long tradition of being valued and are often a symbol of royalty, although many of famous royal “rubies” are actually red spinel (gemologists in the past weren’t always able to tell the difference!). The best ruby specimens are said to come from Burma, where tradition held that they made the wearer invincible in battle. Rubies are said to bring happiness and passion to the wearer, and in medieval Europe were thought to display wealth, ensure health, and guarantee wisdom and success in love.

Peridot is the gem variety of the mineral olivine. Colors range from brown-green color to yellowish green to pure green, with lime green being the most common color of peridot set into jewelry. Peridot was particularly prized among Ancient Egyptians, where it was mined by moonlight on an island in the Red Sea called Topazios. Cleopatra’s famous emerald collection was more likely peridot. These days, the most significant mine of peridot is on the San Carlos Indian Reservation in Arizona. Peridots have been said to help dispel fears and bring sunshine into one’s life.

One of the most precious of colored stones, Sapphires are corundums that come in any color except red, which would be called rubies, but are most often associated with the color blue, which is due to presence of iron. Because of the hardness of sapphire, 9 on the MOHS scale, they are highly suitable for use in jewelry, second only in hardness to diamonds. Fancy colored sapphires include yellow, green, pink, purple and a pinkish orange variety of sapphire that is highly prized called padparadscha sapphires. Kashmir, Burma, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Columbia, and Madagascar produce fine quality sapphires. Sapphires sometimes show a characteristic called asterism, which creates a star-light optical illusion inside the stone; these gems are known as “star sapphires”. Rarely, sapphires may exhibit color-changing properties when viewed in different types of light. The largest known sapphire is the 61,500 carat Millennium Sapphire. They are said to be a symbol of royalty, and bring abundance, protection, mental focus and clarity to the wearer. In addition to being the birthstone of September, they are the traditional anniversary gift for the 5th and 45th anniversaries.