Gemstone Alphabet

& Ampersand for Amethyst

A is for Aquamarine. The characteristic light turquoise blue coloured stone is a type of Beryl. Aquamarine literally means seawater. In folklore it...

B is for Beryl. Beryl comes in many shapes, colours and sizes. Certain colours of Emerald (the not so green ones) are known as Beryl. Aquamarine is...

C is for Citrine. Citrine is a quartz variety of a specific inn a colour range from pale yellow to brown. Natural citrines are very rare. Most comm...

D is for Diamond. Carbon and its many forms. While the diamond is the solid form of the element carbon. Diamond has the highest hardness and conduc...

E is for Emerald. Known for its verdant green transparent stones. Only medium to dark green stones are considered Emeralds. Other colours do exist....

F is for Fluorite. While pure fluorite is usually transparent, it’s the impurities giving it different coloured specimen that are more interesting ...

G is for Garnet. Garnets come in almost all colours and are an incredibly versatile mineral. Generally only the pieces with high transparency allow...

H is for Howlite. Howlite is named after chemist, geologist, and mineralogist Henry how who discovered it in 1868 in Nova Scotia. Howlite is very p...

I is for Iolite. Iolite appears as violet-blue or indigo. It is also referred to as water-sapphire or dichroite. They name iolite come from Greek i...

J is for Jade. Jade is most known for its green varieties. It features prominently in East, south and Southeast Asian art, but also has an importan...

K is for Kunzite. Kunzite is a very young gemstone. Discovered in 1902 in San Diego, California. It has a very characteristic delicate pink to viol...

L is for Lapis Lazuli. Lapis Lazuli literally meaning blue stone has been revered since early times for its colour. It was also used in the arts an...

M is for Malachite. Famous for its vibrant green somewhat stripe patterned appearance. The name derived from the mineral’s resemblance to the leave...

N is for Nephrite. Nephrite is one of two different mineral species called jade. Nephrite jade has been a hugely popular mineral for jewellery in o...

O is for Opal. There are two main categories of precious and common opal. Only precious opal displays the iridescent variable interplay of internal...

P is for Peridot. Peridots are known for their characteristically light and lustrous olive green colour. The overall depths and shade of green is d...

Q is for Quartz. Quartz is a hard crystalline mineral composed of silicon and oxygen atoms. There are many varieties of quartz, of which several ar...

R is for Ruby. Rubies range from bright pink to deep red and are one of the most striking gemstones because of it. The name ruby comes from the Lat...

S is for Sapphire. Sapphire gemstones are most known for their mesmerising blue colour. They are not just pretty though, as they are also the 3rd h...

T is for Topaz. Brazil is one of the largest producers of topaz, some clear topaz crystals can weigh hundreds of pounds. The Gemstone Alphabet comb...

U is for Unakite. Unakite is a semi-precious stone and an altered form of granite, giving it a characteristic pink and green appearance. The Gemsto...

V is for Variscite. Variscite can be confused with turquoise in appearance although variscite is usually greener in colour. The green colour comes ...

W is for Wood Iron. Wood Iron is used as a synonym for Goethite and Limonite...while usually quite dark and unspectacular to look at, rare finds ca...

X is for Xanthite. Xanthite is a variety of Vesuvianite - a silicate mineral. It can appear brown, green, yellow, or blue. The Gemstone Alphabet co...

Y is for Yellow Copper. ellow Copper is actually a more colloquial name for minerals and alloys with high copper content....such as brass... The Ge...

Z is for Zircon. Zircon crystals occur in a plethora of colours from red, brown, blue, colourless and green. The Gemstone Alphabet combines a minim...