Gem Stones - Precious and semi-precious

 

Sapphires and rubies belong to a mineral family called Corundum.  A Corundum is made of 99.9% aluminium oxide and a few other minerals that gives them colour.  In Rubies for example the red colour comes from chromium.  The word ruby is “ruber” in Latin.  A perfect Ruby, Sapphire or Emerald can be rarer than a diamond and cost more.

 

Blue Sapphire is another precious gemstone that is a variety of the mineral corundum. Sapphires are mostly blue in colour naturally.  However, some fancy Sapphires come in a variety of colours and “parti sapphires” show two or more colours in the same stone.

 

Emerald is a variety of the mineral beryl. It is coloured green because of the trace elements of chromium and/or vanadium.  Emeralds have inclusions and is a very fragile stone.  However, a top quality, natural Columbian Emerald is worth more than a diamond.

 

All other gem stones such as garnets, tourmalines, morganites, cat’s eye, opals, alexandrite and  including pearls fall into the category of semi-precious stones.

 

If coloured gemstones inspire you, explore our range of jewellery featuring the finest precious and semi-precious  gemstones, ethically sourced from all around the world.

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