Sapphire

Sapphire is an aluminum oxide. Its colour varies from very light to dark blue to violetish-blue, bluish-green, yellow, slightly reddish-orange, brown, nearly opaque black, colourless, pink, violet and the pinkish-orange padparadscha (lotus flower).

Ceylon Sapphire

The Ceylon Blue Sapphire is known for its beauty possessing the glorious cornflower blue shade as well as for being one of the few sapphires in the world that can be sold as a completely natural stone without heat treatment. The blues aside, Ceylon sapphires also come in beautiful hues including pink, yellow, orange, green, purple, lavender and of course, the inimitable padparadscha sapphire named after the lotus flower. All these highly marketable qualities of Ceylon sapphire has created brand recognition world wide.

Ruby

Ruby is an aluminum oxide, a variety of corundum; it occurs in medium to dark tones of red and violetish-red to brownish-red.

Alexandrite

Alexandrite is a variety of chrysoberyl, which ideally shows a distinct colour change from green in fluorescent light or daylight to red in incandescent light.

Star Stones

Star stones of the corundum family are either star sapphires or rubies. When light falls on these stones, a star effect is visible (known as asterism).

Chrysoberyl

The species name chrysoberyl is given to a transparent, faceted gemstone that does not show a colour change between daylight and artificial light (the chrysoberyl which shows a colour change is called alexandrite). The ideal colours of chrysoberyl are green and yellowish-green In addition, due to strong dichroism, one may see an attractive bi-coloured chrysoberyl occasionally. Hardness is 8.5 on the Moh’s scale. The high refractive index of the stone makes it very lively when properly cut and polished.

Cat’s Eye

A cat’s eye like effect, known as ‘chatoyancy’, appears to move on this stone’s surface. Cat’s eye is a gem variety of chrysoberyl. Hardness: 8.5 on the Mohs’ scale.

Quartz

Quartz is the most common mineral on the face of the Earth. Gem varieties include amethyst (purple), citrine (yellow), milky quartz (cloudy, white variety), rock crystal (clear variety), rose quartz (pink to reddish-pink variety), and smokey quartz (brown to grey variety).

Amethyst

A variety of quartz, silicon dioxide, which appears to be dark purple in transparent light. This should be cut so that the long portion of the cabochon is 90 degrees to the direction of the needles.

Citrine

A transparent variety of quartz, silicon dioxide, occurring in yellow to red-orange to orange-brown. The name is derived from citron, which is French for lemon.

Aquamarine

Aquamarine is a blue to greenish-blue or bluish-green variety of beryl.

Garnet

A group of gemstones occurring in every colour but blue. One of earth’s most common minerals, though only a small portion is considered gem quality.

Tourmaline

Tourmaline is a group of minerals comprised of a complex boron-aluminum silicate with one or more of the following: magnesium, sodium, lithium, iron, potassium or other metals. It appears in light from dark red to purple as well as brownish variations of these hues – light to dark green, yellowish-green, greenish-yellow, brownish-orange. It also grows bi-coloured.

Spinel

A magnesium aluminum oxide which occurs in all colours, ruby-red being the most popular. Most colours are greyed out. Gahno-spinel is a dark blue or greenish-blue spinel with high zinc content.

Topaz

Topaz is a fluosilicate of aluminum, occurring in transparent yellow, yellow-brown, orange-brown, light to almost medium red, very light to light blue, very light green and violet colours.

Moonstone

Moonstones are usually colourless to white, semi-transparent to translucent, and characterised by a glowing light effect known as adularescence, the visibility of which is confined to a restricted angle of view. The most valuable of the feldspar gems.

Zircon

Zircon is a zirconium silicate, occurring in colourless, light blue, brownish-orange, yellow, yellowish-green, brownish-green, dark red or light red-violet. Blue is the most valuable. This stone is usually heat-treated.

Peridot

Peridot is a silicate of magnesium and iron, occurring in yellowish-green, green, greenish-yellow, brownish-green and brown (all transparent).