Kinds of Coloured Stones Jewellery

Nature has provided us with a bounty of beautiful gemstones. Some are found in a variety of colours such as tourmaline, sapphire and garnets.Others are found in a specific colour range, such as emeralds and rubies. Some gemstones are quite abundantand some are very rare.Rarity reflects the availability or lack of the gemstone in the market.

Diamonds are not really a rare gemstone. Certain quality white stones and some rarer colours such as pink and blue diamonds are rare. Diamonds are the most sought after gemstones in the world, not just for Jewellery, but due to its hardness for mining, in medicine, space and other industries. Therefore pressure is placed on the market value of Coloured Stones Jewellery.

Culture can also play a part. Jade is highly prized throughout Asia for its protective and healing qualities.Parents buy it for their babies to wear at an early age. Top quality Coloured Stones would rival some diamonds in value. However in gemstones, importance falls more heavily on colour, as the attractiveness of the colour is what people look for most. In general, the darker and purer the colour the more precious the stone.

Clarity is generally less crucial, depending on how available the coloured stone is, and the size of the crystal. Stones such as citrine, amethyst and several of the garnets are available as nice clean stones. Other stones such as emerald are rarely found without inclusions of some type.  This can be interesting in itself as most emeralds can actually be pinpointed not only to country of origin but also mine sites. 

In general a good cut will enhance a gemstone that has a good even body colour. However many are cut shallower or deeper to ensure that maximum colour is visible through the top. Cut has more variety in coloured stones.

A synthetic stone is one that has the same chemical composition and crystal structure as its natural counterpart, giving it the same physical properties.An imitation implies a stone that is sold or created for the purpose of imitating its natural counterpart. Coloured glass imitationshave been used for hundreds of years to imitate sapphires, rubies and emeralds. A simulant is a stone created in a laboratory to mimic a natural gemstone. The most well-knownis cubic zirconia used to imitate a diamond. Colour enhancement has been used for hundreds of years. Some stones such as sapphires are heated to remove very fine inclusions in the stone and the colour becomes more even.

We now see more and more gemstones where coloured outer coatings are added to make them appear brighter and more expensive. But the coating wears off returning the stone to its original, less attractive state.