GemstoneDB
108 gemstones and precious stones with hardness, color, value, and natural history. From Diamonds to Moldavite.
Featured
Diamond
The hardest natural substance on Earth - 4x harder than the next hardest mineral (corundum...
Ruby
The king of gems in ancient Sanskrit (ratnaraj). Their red color comes from chromium - the...
Sapphire
They are corundum in any color except red (which is ruby). Blue sapphires get their color ...
Emerald
Cleopatra mined emeralds in Egypt 4,000 years ago - her mines were lost for centuries. The...
Opal
Their play of color comes from microscopic silica spheres that diffract light - each opal ...
Alexandrite
One of the rarest and most expensive gemstones - fine quality can exceed $70,000 per carat...
Tanzanite
Found in only one place on Earth - a 7 square km area near Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. ...
Pearl
The only gem created by a living creature. An oyster secretes nacre around an irritant at ...
Silicates (66)
Emerald
Cleopatra mined emeralds in Egypt 4,000 years ago - her mines were lost for centuries. The...
Amethyst
Once as valuable as diamonds until massive deposits were found in Brazil in the 1800s. The...
Topaz
Pure topaz is colorless - the various colors come from impurities or treatments. Imperial ...
Tanzanite
Found in only one place on Earth - a 7 square km area near Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. ...
Aquamarine
Named from Latin aqua marina (water of the sea). It is a variety of beryl, the same minera...
Garnet
Actually a group of over 20 species, not a single mineral. Tsavorite garnet (green) is rar...
Peridot
One of the few gemstones that comes in only one color - the shade of green varies but it i...
Citrine
Named from the French word citron (lemon). Most commercial citrine is actually heat-treate...
Tourmaline
The most colorful gemstone family - it occurs in every color of the spectrum. Bi-colored a...
Jade (Jadeite)
In China, jade is more precious than gold or diamonds. The most valuable jade (imperial ja...
Moonstone
Named for its adularescence - a floating blue-white light that moves across the surface li...
Onyx
A variety of chalcedony with parallel banding. Black onyx is the most popular but most com...
Morganite
A pink variety of beryl named after J.P. Morgan, the famous financier and gem collector. D...
Zircon
The oldest mineral on Earth - a zircon crystal from Australia has been dated at 4.4 billio...
Jasper
One of the oldest known gemstones - artifacts date back to 20,000 BCE in France. It is an ...
Chrysocolla
Often found mixed with malachite, turquoise, and azurite. Its blue-green color is caused b...
Sodalite
A blue mineral often used as a lapis lazuli substitute - it lacks the pyrite flecks but ca...
Labradorite
Displays labradorescence - a stunning optical effect where bright flashes of blue, green, ...
Rhodonite
Named from the Greek rhodon (rose). Distinctive pink color with black manganese oxide vein...
Kunzite
A pink variety of spodumene discovered in 1902 and named after George Frederick Kunz, Tiff...
Charoite
Found in only one location on Earth - the Chara River region in Siberia, Russia. It was no...
Sunstone
A feldspar gemstone that exhibits aventurescence - a spangly or glittery effect caused by ...
Moonstone (Rainbow)
Rainbow moonstone is technically a variety of labradorite, not true orthoclase moonstone, ...
Sphene (Titanite)
Has one of the highest dispersion rates (fire) of any gemstone - higher than diamond. This...
Iolite
Also called water sapphire and Vikings Compass. Viking navigators used thin slices of ioli...
Kyanite
Unusual for having variable hardness - 5 on the Mohs scale along the crystal axis and 7 ac...
Sugilite
One of the most recently discovered gemstones - first found in Japan in 1944 and named aft...
Pietersite
Called the tempest stone for its swirling storm-like patterns. It is a brecciated variety ...
Chrysoprase
The most valued variety of chalcedony. Its apple-green color comes from nickel compounds. ...
Sodalite (Hackmanite)
Exhibits tenebrescence - it changes color when exposed to UV light, turning from pale to v...
Larimar
Found in only one location on Earth - a remote mountainous area in the Dominican Republic....
Eudialyte
Found primarily in Greenland, Canada, and Russia. Its name means well soluble in Greek bec...
Seraphinite
A trade name for a gemmy variety of clinochlore that displays silvery chatoyant patterns r...
Benitoite
The state gem of California, found only in San Benito County. It is one of the rarest gems...
Grandidierite
One of the rarest gemstones on Earth. Gem-quality material is found primarily in Madagasca...
Agate
Characterized by concentric banding in multiple colors. Each agate is unique - no two are ...
Tigers Eye
Displays chatoyancy - a silky luster that moves across the surface like a cats eye. The ef...
Dumortierite
Named after French paleontologist Eugene Dumortier. It is one of the few naturally blue mi...
Rhodonite (Transparent)
Transparent rhodonite is extremely rare - most rhodonite is opaque with black veining. Gem...
Goshenite
The colorless variety of beryl, the same mineral family as emerald and aquamarine. It was ...
Red Beryl
One of the rarest gemstones on Earth - found primarily in the Wah Wah Mountains of Utah. I...
Andalusite
Displays strong pleochroism showing green, brown, and reddish colors simultaneously when v...
Clinohumite
One of the rarest gemstones available commercially. Gem-quality material comes primarily f...
Beryl (Golden)
Also called heliodor, from Greek helios (sun). It is the yellow variety of beryl, colored ...
Cordierite (Iolite Gem)
The gem variety of the mineral cordierite. Its strong trichroism shows three distinct colo...
Prehnite
Named after Colonel Hendrik von Prehn who brought the first specimens from South Africa in...
Grossular Garnet
The most colorful garnet species. Tsavorite (green) is the most valuable - rivaling emeral...
Pyrope Garnet
The classic deep red garnet, often called Bohemian garnet. Victorian jewelry used thousand...
Spessartine Garnet
The most vivid orange gemstone available. Mandarin garnet from Namibia is the most prized ...
Serpentine
Named for its snakeskin-like patterns. It has been used as a jade substitute for thousands...
Hawks Eye
A blue-gray variety of tigers eye, retaining the original blue crocidolite asbestos fibers...
Charoite (Lilac)
The most vividly purple natural stone, found only in Siberia. Fine specimens display swirl...
Rose Quartz
The pink variety of quartz, usually found in massive form rather than as crystals. Its sof...
Smoky Quartz
A brown to gray quartz whose color comes from natural radiation acting on traces of alumin...
Ametrine
A natural quartz with zones of purple amethyst and golden citrine in the same crystal. The...
Carnelian
A translucent orange to red variety of chalcedony colored by iron oxide. It was one of the...
Chalcedony
A microcrystalline form of quartz made of fine intergrown fibers, with a waxy luster. The ...
Aventurine
A quartz containing tiny platy mineral inclusions that give a glittering effect known as a...
Amazonite
A green to blue green variety of microcline feldspar. Its color is linked to traces of lea...
Nephrite
One of two minerals sold as jade, an amphibole of the tremolite actinolite series. Its int...
Demantoid Garnet
A brilliant green variety of andradite garnet, discovered in the Ural Mountains of Russia ...
Tsavorite
A vivid green grossular garnet colored by vanadium and chromium. It was discovered by Brit...
Rhodolite Garnet
A purplish red garnet that is a blend of pyrope and almandine. The name comes from the Gre...
Paraiba Tourmaline
An intensely neon blue to green tourmaline colored by copper and manganese. It was discove...
Hiddenite
The green variety of the mineral spodumene and the sister of pink kunzite. It is named aft...
Danburite
A calcium borosilicate mineral named after Danbury, Connecticut, where it was first identi...
Oxides (12)
Ruby
The king of gems in ancient Sanskrit (ratnaraj). Their red color comes from chromium - the...
Sapphire
They are corundum in any color except red (which is ruby). Blue sapphires get their color ...
Alexandrite
One of the rarest and most expensive gemstones - fine quality can exceed $70,000 per carat...
Spinel
For centuries, spinels were mistaken for rubies and sapphires. The Black Princes Ruby in t...
Bloodstone
Also called heliotrope. The red spots are caused by iron oxide inclusions. Ancient Babylon...
Cuprite
One of the reddest minerals in nature - it can be a deep, almost blood-red when found as g...
Painite
Once held the Guinness World Record for the rarest mineral on Earth. Only 2-3 crystals wer...
Taafeite
The only mineral that was first identified from a faceted gemstone rather than a rough cry...
Hematite
The primary ore of iron and the most abundant iron mineral on Earth. Its name comes from G...
Spinel (Black)
One of the few truly black gemstones that is naturally occurring and not treated. It is an...
Diaspore
Marketed as Csarite or Zultanite from Turkish deposits. It displays dramatic color change:...
Chrysoberyl
The third hardest common gemstone after diamond and corundum. It is unrelated to beryl des...
Organic (7)
Pearl
The only gem created by a living creature. An oyster secretes nacre around an irritant at ...
Amber
Tree resin fossilized over millions of years - Baltic amber is 30-50 million years old. It...
Coral
Made by tiny marine polyps that build colonies over decades. Precious coral (Corallium rub...
Ammonite (Ammolite)
Made from the fossilized shells of ammonites - extinct cephalopods that lived 70+ million ...
Coral (Black)
Not a mineral but the skeleton of a marine animal - black coral is the state gem of Hawaii...
Coral (Pink)
Made by marine polyps in the Mediterranean and Pacific. Pink coral (Corallium secundum) fr...
Jet
A black gem formed from fossilized wood compressed into a dense type of lignite. The most ...
Phosphates (4)
Turquoise
One of the first gemstones ever mined - Sin ais turquoise mines in Egypt date back to 3000...
Apatite
The stone that confused scientists - its name comes from Greek apate (deceit) because it w...
Variscite
Often confused with turquoise but is greener and lacks the matrix patterns. Utah and Nevad...
Apatite (Neon)
The most vividly colored apatite comes from Madagascar, displaying a neon paraiba-like blu...
Rocks (4)
Lapis Lazuli
Prized for 6,000+ years - the most famous source is the Sar-e-Sang mines in Afghanistan, s...
Tiger Iron
A natural composite of tigers eye (golden chatoyant), red jasper, and hematite. It is a ba...
Maw Sit Sit
Found in only one location - the Maw Sit Sit region of Myanmar. It is a rare rock composed...
Petrified Wood
Fossil wood in which the original plant material has been replaced by silica, often preser...
Carbonates (4)
Malachite
Its distinctive banded patterns in varying shades of green are instantly recognizable. Rus...
Rhodochrosite
Its name means rose-colored in Greek. The finest specimens come from the Sweet Home Mine i...
Azurite
One of the most vividly blue minerals in nature - it was ground into pigment for centuries...
Smithsonite
Named after James Smithson, founder of the Smithsonian Institution. It occurs in beautiful...
Natural Glass (4)
Moldavite
Formed 15 million years ago when a meteorite struck what is now Germany, creating a tektit...
Obsidian (Rainbow)
Volcanic glass that displays rainbow-like iridescence caused by nanoscale inclusions of ma...
Obsidian
A natural volcanic glass formed when silica rich lava cools too quickly for crystals to gr...
Libyan Desert Glass
A pale yellow natural glass found between the dunes of the Great Sand Sea in western Egypt...