Jewellery with Precious Gemstones
Gemstones are minerals or rocks distinguished from other natural materials by their exceptional properties, such as colour, lustre, hardness and ability to refract light.
Traditionally, a mineral with a hardness greater than 7 on the Mohs scale was considered a gemstone. The best-known gemstones include diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, beryls and spinels.
Gemstones by Colour
- Colourless: Diamond, moissanite, zircon, rock crystal
- White: Opal, pearl, coral
- Pink: Rose quartz, garnet, topaz, tourmaline, Japanese pearl, coral
- Red: Ruby, spinel, tourmaline, garnet, jasper, coral, carnelian
- Yellow: Citrine, jasper, sapphire, topaz, tourmaline, amber
- Green: Emerald, chrysoprase, tourmaline, olivine
- Blue: Sapphire, spinel, topaz, aquamarine, tourmaline, jasper, chalcedony
- Blue-green: Turquoise, emerald, tourmaline
- Purple: Amethyst, sapphire, spinel, tanzanite
- Black: Black pearl, hematite
Hall, Cally: Precious Stones, A Pictorial Guide to Over 130 Varieties of Precious Stones from Around the World. Martin 1996.
Korbel, Petr, Milan, Novák: Encyclopedia of Minerals. Dobřejovice 1999.
Crowe, Judith: Precious Stones and Jewellery. Prague 2007.