With all the amazing minerals and gems on the planet a full list is almost impossible, so we have chosen a few of them, focusing mainly on gems available through our shopping section. If you'd like to view these gemstones please click here for gemstone designer jewellery. If you have a question about a gemstone we do not list, please click here to ask an expert, and we will do our best to help you.
Diamond
The most highly prized of all gems, valued for it's exceptional lustre and fire, diamond is most popular in it's pure colourless form. This is far from the only colour diamond is found in, with shades from yellow through green, blue, pink, red and even black, this wonderfully rainbow tinted gemstone has a colour to suit all tastes. These different shades are caused by impurities, for example, nitrogen in yellows and browns, or boron in blue diamonds. Beauty is not the only reason diamonds are so precious, they are the hardest of all minerals, formed under enormous pressure and high temperatures, they are a 9 on the Mohs' scale of hardness. Diamonds are graded by what are known as the 4C's - colour, cut, clarity and carat. Please click here to view a selection of our conflict free diamond jewellery.
Ruby
Famed for it's blood red colour, ruby, like saphire, is a variety of the mineral corundum and is the hardest mineral after diamond. Ruby's colour is caused by the pressence of chemical impurities chromium and iron. Depending on their content, the colour can vary from pinkish to purplish to browninsh red, with the finest being the 'pigeon blood' red of Burmese rubies.
Sapphire
The name given to every colour of corundum except red (ruby), sapphires are more than just blue. Sapphires get their colour from iron and titanium impurities, and as well as the popular blue, come in yellows, oranges, pinks and purples to name but a few. If blue is the most well known colour, then 'padparadscha', the name given to a very special pinkish orange coloured sapphire, is one of the most rare. Found in Sri Lanka, it's name means lotus coloured. Like ruby, sapphire is the hardest mineral after diamond, and as such, takes a brilliant and lasting polish.
Aquamarine
Best known today for it's sky-blue colour, aquamarine was infact named for it's sea-green variation, the colour most popular in the 19th century. A variation of the mineral beryl, aquamarine is dichroic, meaning it can appear blue when viewed from one angle and colourless from another. Softer than diamonds and corundum(ruby and sapphire) aquamarine has a hardnest of 7.5 on the mohs' scale.
Amethyst
A lilac or purple variety of quartz, which is one of the most widely found minerals in the earths crust, ranging from common granite to many fine gems. Created by iron impurities in crystalline quartz, amethyst is very closely related to citrine and can at times be found in the same crystal, when this occures the gemstone is termed ametrine. When pale pinkish lilac in colour, amethyst is termed rose de france or pink amethyst.
Citrine
A member of the quartz family, and therefore related to both smokey and rose quartz, citrine is closest to amethyst in composition. It's golden colour is created by iron impurities in clear crystalline quartz and when found in the same crystal as amethyst it is known as ametrine.
Rose Quartz
Most commonly found in large lumps which are used for decorative carving, high quality rose quartz crystals are very rare. Rose quartz's soft pink colour is due to the presence of small quantities
titanium and iron impurities. The quartz family is one of the most wide spread minerals in the earths crust, ranging from common granite to may beautiful gems including amethyst, citrine and chalcedony to name a few.
Smoky Quartz
Related to other quartz varieties like citrine, amethyst and the chalcedony family of minerals, smoky quartz ranges from pale brown to almost black. It's versatile colour is created by ferric oxcide
impurities, it is often used in conjunction with other coloured stones.
Garnet
It's name is derived from the latin for pomegranate, though with colours ranging from greens and oranges to reds and pinks, it is far more diverse than just the well known red. The existence of pyrope garnet in volcanic rock and alluvial deposits may indicate the presence of diamonds.
Tourmaline
This fabulous stone shows the the greatest range of colour in any gemstone. Some crystals even occur with multiple colours, for example 'watermelon' tourmaline which is found with a mix of pink and green, one colour in the center and the other around the rim. Tourmaline is strongly pleochroic, with colours changing as you view it from different angles.
Peridot
The gem-quality form of the mineral olivine, peridot has an olive or rich 'oily' green colour. Origionally called topaz by the Greeks and Romans, peridot has been mined for over 3500 years. Originally discovered off the coast of Egypt, on St John's Island in the Red Sea. Today peridot can also be found in Burma, Sri Lanka, the USA and Norway.
Zircon
Zircon resembles diamond in it's fire and lustre, as a result colourless versions of the stone have been both mistakenly and purposely identified as diamonds. However zircon can be distinguished
from diamond by it's double refraction, doubling the bottom facets when seen through the top of the cut gemstone.
Spinel
Often mistaken for rubies in the past, even the famous Black Prince's Ruby in the British Imperial State Crown has been discovered to be a spinel. These gems come a wide range of colours including reds, pinks, yellows, oranges, greens and blues. Their variety, rarity and the fact that they are durable makes them very popular amongst designers and collectors alike.
Iolite
A variety of the mineral cordierite, the word iolite is derived from the greek for violet. Famous for it's pleochroism, iolite appears intense blue from one angle and golden-grey from another and almost colourless from a third. Also termed water sapphire, iolite is found in alluvial deposits as small waterworn pebbles.
Chalcedony
A variety of the mineral quartz, a number of gemstones fall under the chalcedony group - agate, chrysoprase, carnelian and onyx to name a few. Pure chalchedony is grey or white but a wide variety of chemical impurities create the diverse number of colours, bands, circles and organic plant like patterns that distinguish one type of chalcedony from another. Unlike crystaline quartz, chalcedony is made up of thin layers of quartz fibres, this makes chalcedony jewellery extremely tough.
