Colored Gemstones
We’re not in Kansas anymore.
When it comes to color, you might say we’re a little over the rainbow. We’re passionate about exotic, vibrant, evocative, sensual colored gemstones of every hue and shade. In fact, we have one of the largest, most spectacular collections of colored gemstones in town. Colored gemstones are one of our specialties and we love sharing what we know about each and every gem we carry.
Birthstones
The tradition of birthstones is believed to date back to Aaron’s breastplate, which displayed gemstones representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Over time, legends began to boast the healing powers of these gemstones. In any case, a birthstone gift does indeed have one special power: the power to make someone smile!
JANUARY – GARNET
The garnet group of related mineral species offers gems of every hue, including fiery red pyrope, vibrant orange spessartine, and rare intense-green varieties of grossular and andradite.
FEBRUARY – AMETHYST
Purple variety of the mineral quartz, often forms large, six-sided crystals. Fine velvety-colored gems come from African and South American mines. In demand for jewelry at all price points.
MARCH – AQUAMARINE
Blue to slightly greenish-blue variety of the mineral beryl. Crystals are sometimes big enough to cut fashioned gems of more than 100 carats.
APRIL – DIAMOND
This hardest gem of all is made of just one element: carbon. It’s valued for its colorless nature and purity. Most diamonds are primeval—over a billion years old—and form deep within the earth.
MAY – EMERALD
The most valued variety of beryl, emerald was once cherished by Spanish conquistadors, Inca kings, Moguls, and pharaohs. Today, fine gems come from Africa, South America, and Central Asia.
JUNE – ALEXANDRITE
The color-change variety of the mineral chrysoberyl. Bluish-green in daylight, purplish-red under incandescent light, hard and durable. Top quality examples are rare and valuable.
JULY – RUBY
Traces of chromium give this red variety of the mineral corundum its rich color. Long valued by humans of many cultures. In ancient Sanskrit, ruby was called ratnaraj, or “king of precious stones.”
AUGUST – PERIDOT
Yellow-green gem variety of the mineral olivine. Found as nodules in volcanic rock, occasionally as crystals lining veins in mountains of Myanmar and Pakistan, and occasionally inside meteorites.
SEPTEMBER – SAPPHIRE
Depending on their trace element content, sapphire varieties of the mineral corundum might be blue, yellow, green, orange, pink, purple or even show a six-rayed star if cut as a cabochon.
OCTOBER – TOURMALINE
Comes in many colors, including the remarkable intense violet-to-blue gems particular to Paraíba, Brazil, and similar blues from Africa. One of the widest color ranges of any gem.
OCTOBER – OPAL
Shifting play of kaleidoscopic colors unlike any other gem. Opal’s microscopic arrays of stacked silica spheres diffract light into a blaze of flashing colors. Color range and pattern help determine value.
NOVEMBER – TOPAZ
Colorless topaz treated to blue is a mass-market gem. Fine pink-to-red, purple, or orange gems are one-of-a-kind pieces. Top sources include Ouro Preto, Brazil, and Russia’s Ural Mountains.
NOVEMBER – CITRINE
A yellow-to-golden member of the quartz mineral group. Deep golden varieties from Madiera, Spain can resemble costly imperial topaz. Thought by ancient cultures to increase psychic powers.
DECEMBER – TANZANITE
Named for Tanzania, the country where it was discovered in 1967, tanzanite is the blue-to-violet or purple variety of the mineral zoisite. It’s become one of the most popular of colored gemstones.
DECEMBER – ZIRCON
Optical properties make it bright and lustrous. Best known for its brilliant blue hues; also comes in warm autumnal yellows and reddish browns, as well as red and green hues.