Some highlights of the gem world (not an exhaustive list by any means):
Diamonds= usually white or blue white. Fancy colors include pale to canary yellow, pink, lavender, blue, and rarest of all, red. Very fiery- more sparkle than most other stones due to high refractivity.
Rubies (corundum)= pink to deep red. Large rubies extremely rare (rarer than diamonds of similar size). Since it is singly refractive, high quality ruby can be used as lenses. Sometimes simulated by lesser stones, like garnets, spinels and tourmalines.
Sapphire (corundum)= usually blue or white. Rare colors include pink, purple, orange & yellow. Large sapphires extremely rare (rarer than diamonds of similar size). Since it is singly refractive, high quality sapphire can be used as lenses.
Aquamarine (Beryl)= sea green-blue to pale blue. Natural color is sea green-blue, heat treating yields a blue color.
Emerald (Beryl) = pale to dark green. Most emeralds contain inclusions called gardenaria or visible fracture lines. Large emeralds extremely rare (rarer than diamonds of similar size). Emerald is commonly simulated by less valuable stones: tourmalines, peridot, chrome diopside, chrome dioptase, garnet...
Heliodor (Beryl) = gold to greenish gold.
Amethyst (quartz) = light to dark purple (almost any color). Purple color fades (slowly) over time with exposure to the sun. Heat-treated amethyst looks like Citrine. Since it is singly refractive, high quality amathyst can be used as lenses.
Citrine (quartz) = pale to canary yellow, rarer than amethyst. Since it is singly refractive, high quality Citrine can be used as lenses.
Rock Crystal/Optical Quartz = perfectly clear quartz. Rarer than, but not as highly valued as amethyst or citrine. Since it is singly refractive, one of its main uses is as lenses.
Peridot = pale green to apple or mossy greens. Sometimes used to simulate Emerald.
Tourmaline = the chameleon of the gem world. Comes in all colors, and has been used to simulate all other kinds of stones.
Zircon= most commonly white, green or brown. Other colors include dark amber, reddish-purple, red, and blue. Is multiply refractive, so is more firey than diamond.
Opal = common opal is milky white. Precious colors include pink, blue, red, creamy, and most famously, multicolored (full rainbow) in a green or black background, multicolored in a red-brown matrix
Topaz= most commonly white, brown or yellow. Heat treating certain Topaz results in the blue color we are more familiar with today.
Garnet= most commonly brownish-red. Other colors include white, green, yellow, orange, red, reddish purple. Has been used to simulate other stones.
Amber = fossilized tree resin, most commonly golden-orange. May also be root-beer, green, or milky in color. Low density causes it to float. Rubbing it with sheepskin can generate static electricity. It is flammable.
Pearl = most commonly white, yellow-white or grey. Rarer pearls are black, pink and gold. Color is determined by the creature from which it is harvested.
Coral= opaque colors of red, black or white are most common.
Alexandrite= the color change gem, changes depending on whether in sunlight or artificial light (including flourescents, incandescents, or even fire).
Spinel = another chameleon. Comes in all colors of the rainbow. In real life, the Black Prince's Ruby is actually a large spinel.
Chrome Diopside and Chrome Dioptase are both dark green stones that have been used to simulate emeralds.
Turquoise = ranges through all colors of light blues and even some greens. May be mottled, pure in color, or veined in black or tan.
Lapis Lazuli = Deep cobalt blue, sometimes with flecks or veins of (gold colored) pyrite. Sometimes used as a base for paints.
Chalcedony (kal-SED-o-nee)= a semil-translucent (slightly cloudy) silicate (similar to quartz) that may be blue, lavender, orange, or green
Jade = general name for jade, jadite, & nephrite. May be green, black, white, or lavender. Harder than steel, with a fibrous matrix.
"Gold-in-quartz" = white or black opaque quartz containing veins of gold. In fact, gold-in-quartz was one of the major sources of gold from the California gold rush of 1849.
Color change also occurs in certain sapphires, tourmalines and garnets. Cats-eyes and Star gems show up in most translucent gemstones.
If you want to see pictures, visit my buddies at D&J Rare Gems or for something more exotic, look at this meteor site (some precious gems can be found in meteorite strikes) Meteoriteman
(For the record, I am NOT a dwarf.)
Diamonds= usually white or blue white. Fancy colors include pale to canary yellow, pink, lavender, blue, and rarest of all, red. Very fiery- more sparkle than most other stones due to high refractivity.
Rubies (corundum)= pink to deep red. Large rubies extremely rare (rarer than diamonds of similar size). Since it is singly refractive, high quality ruby can be used as lenses. Sometimes simulated by lesser stones, like garnets, spinels and tourmalines.
Sapphire (corundum)= usually blue or white. Rare colors include pink, purple, orange & yellow. Large sapphires extremely rare (rarer than diamonds of similar size). Since it is singly refractive, high quality sapphire can be used as lenses.
Aquamarine (Beryl)= sea green-blue to pale blue. Natural color is sea green-blue, heat treating yields a blue color.
Emerald (Beryl) = pale to dark green. Most emeralds contain inclusions called gardenaria or visible fracture lines. Large emeralds extremely rare (rarer than diamonds of similar size). Emerald is commonly simulated by less valuable stones: tourmalines, peridot, chrome diopside, chrome dioptase, garnet...
Heliodor (Beryl) = gold to greenish gold.
Amethyst (quartz) = light to dark purple (almost any color). Purple color fades (slowly) over time with exposure to the sun. Heat-treated amethyst looks like Citrine. Since it is singly refractive, high quality amathyst can be used as lenses.
Citrine (quartz) = pale to canary yellow, rarer than amethyst. Since it is singly refractive, high quality Citrine can be used as lenses.
Rock Crystal/Optical Quartz = perfectly clear quartz. Rarer than, but not as highly valued as amethyst or citrine. Since it is singly refractive, one of its main uses is as lenses.
Peridot = pale green to apple or mossy greens. Sometimes used to simulate Emerald.
Tourmaline = the chameleon of the gem world. Comes in all colors, and has been used to simulate all other kinds of stones.
Zircon= most commonly white, green or brown. Other colors include dark amber, reddish-purple, red, and blue. Is multiply refractive, so is more firey than diamond.
Opal = common opal is milky white. Precious colors include pink, blue, red, creamy, and most famously, multicolored (full rainbow) in a green or black background, multicolored in a red-brown matrix
Topaz= most commonly white, brown or yellow. Heat treating certain Topaz results in the blue color we are more familiar with today.
Garnet= most commonly brownish-red. Other colors include white, green, yellow, orange, red, reddish purple. Has been used to simulate other stones.
Amber = fossilized tree resin, most commonly golden-orange. May also be root-beer, green, or milky in color. Low density causes it to float. Rubbing it with sheepskin can generate static electricity. It is flammable.
Pearl = most commonly white, yellow-white or grey. Rarer pearls are black, pink and gold. Color is determined by the creature from which it is harvested.
Coral= opaque colors of red, black or white are most common.
Alexandrite= the color change gem, changes depending on whether in sunlight or artificial light (including flourescents, incandescents, or even fire).
Spinel = another chameleon. Comes in all colors of the rainbow. In real life, the Black Prince's Ruby is actually a large spinel.
Chrome Diopside and Chrome Dioptase are both dark green stones that have been used to simulate emeralds.
Turquoise = ranges through all colors of light blues and even some greens. May be mottled, pure in color, or veined in black or tan.
Lapis Lazuli = Deep cobalt blue, sometimes with flecks or veins of (gold colored) pyrite. Sometimes used as a base for paints.
Chalcedony (kal-SED-o-nee)= a semil-translucent (slightly cloudy) silicate (similar to quartz) that may be blue, lavender, orange, or green
Jade = general name for jade, jadite, & nephrite. May be green, black, white, or lavender. Harder than steel, with a fibrous matrix.
"Gold-in-quartz" = white or black opaque quartz containing veins of gold. In fact, gold-in-quartz was one of the major sources of gold from the California gold rush of 1849.
Color change also occurs in certain sapphires, tourmalines and garnets. Cats-eyes and Star gems show up in most translucent gemstones.
If you want to see pictures, visit my buddies at D&J Rare Gems or for something more exotic, look at this meteor site (some precious gems can be found in meteorite strikes) Meteoriteman
(For the record, I am NOT a dwarf.)
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