The Gem Glossary

I’ve toyed with the idea of a blog for years - after all, I love to write, and what better subject than jewelry and gemstones, am I right? I’d like to…

Let’s talk about February’s birthstone, shall we? Amethyst is a lovely variety of quartz that has so much going for it: its beautiful purple shade, its…

Are you a fan of bicolored gemstones? If you are, Ametrine is the stone for you. Ametrine shows amethyst and citrine colors in the same stone. To find the…

Ammonites (or Ammolites) are organic gems which are the fossils of mollusks that lived up to 395 million years ago! Over millions of years after the…

Aquamarine is a lovely, cool blue colored variety of beryl. It belongs to the same family of gems as Emerald and Morganite. Gem-quality aquamarine is…

The mineral family that includes emerald, aquamarine, and morganite.

An organic gem formed by marine polyps, treasured in antique jewelry.

The hardest natural material and the classic April birthstone.

Introduction It is May, and it's time to talk about Emerald, which just so happens to be the birthstone for May! Emerald is all about color! The US has…

A family of silicate gems spanning red, green, and orange hues; January’s birthstone.

Moonstone Introduction Since it's June, it's time to talk about another of June's three birthstones, Moonstone! Moonstone is a feldspar made up of two…

Morganite at a Glance: Morganite is a gem that is definitely having a moment right now! Trendy and popular as an engagement stone - Morganite is a pink…

Opal is one of nature's most unique offerings. It is believed that most Opal deposits formed in the earth 15 to 30 million years ago! Opal is the product…

An electric neon blue-green tourmaline colored by copper.

An organic gem formed within mollusks; June’s birthstone.

It's August and we're celebrating our August babies by talking about Peridot! Peridot is a lovely green gem that comes in a number of calibrated sizes,…

Ruby is the red variety of corundum. It gets its color from chromium. Ruby gets its name from the Latin ruber, which means red. Ruby is considered one of…

The corundum family in every color but red; September’s birthstone.

Spinel is my new favorite gemstone! I recently went to a gem show in Seattle and found some amazing grayish purplish cut stones that are so gorgeous!…

Tanzanite Introduction Tanzanite is a variety of zoisite (a mineral which consists of mostly silica, calcium and aluminum) which, before heat treatment,…

Tourmaline Introduction Tourmaline is a gemstone that comes in a variety of dazzling colors. Tourmaline was usually found in Sri Lanka, until major…

A mineral whose blue-violet variety is known as tanzanite.