Diamonds, Rubies, Emeralds, Opal, and Sapphires are some
gemstones that come to mind when we think of jewels. At a quick
glance I can count more than 130 gemstones in my reference book.
Gemstones are broken down by the scientific community into 10
specific mineral classes. To keep this simple, we will use the
common terms for gemstones of precious, semiprecious, organic, and
exotic. The following list is not all-inclusive, but is a good
start.
PRECIOUS gemstones are: diamond, sapphire, ruby, and
emerald.
LIST OF SEMIPRECIOUS GEMSTONES (PARTIAL LIST):
Amber (Amber)
Amethyst (Quartz)
Ametrine (Quartz)
Apatite (Apatite)
Aquamarine (Beryl)
Agate (Chalcedony) (red-banded agate is shown under sard)
Alexandrite (Chrysoberyl)
Azurite
Benitoite (Benitoite)
Beryl (Beryl)
Bloodstone (Chalcedony)
Carnelian (Chalcedony)
Chalcedony
Chrome Diopside (Diopside)
Chrysoberyl (Chrysoberyl)
Chrysoprase (Chalcedony)
Chrysocolla
Citrine (Quartz)
Diamond (Diamond)
Emerald (Beryl)
Fluorite
Garnet (Almandine, Andratite, Grossularite, Pyrope, Spessartine,
Uvarovite)
Heliodore (Beryl)
Heliotrope (Chalcedony)
Hematite
Hessonite (Grossularite)
Hiddenite (Spodumene)
Iolite (Cordierite)
Jade (Jadeite or Nephrite)
Jasper (Chalcedony)
Kunzite (Spodumene)
Kyanite
Labradorite
Lapis Lazuli (Lazurite)
Malachite (Malachite)
Moonstone (Albite, Microcline Feldspar, Orthoclase,
Plagioclase)
Morganite (Beryl)
Onyx (Chalcedony)
Opal (Opal)
Pearl
Peridot (Olivine)
Quartz (Quartz)
Rhodochrosite (Rhodochrosite)
Rhodolite (Almandine-Pyrope Garnet)
Rock Crystal (Quartz)
Rose Quartz (Quartz)
Ruby (Corundum)
Sapphire (Corundum)
Sard (Chalcedony)
Sardonyx
Sinhalite (Sinhalite)
Sodalite (Sodalite)
Spinel (Spinel)
Sugilite (Sugilite)
Sunstone (Oligoclase Feldspar)
Tanzanite (Zoisite)
Titanite (Sphene)
Topaz (Topaz)
Tourmaline (Tourmaline)
Tsavorite (Grossularite)
Turquoise (Turquoise)
Zircon (Zircon)
ORGANIC GEMSTONES INCLUDE:
ORGANIC:
Amber
Copal (young amber 3-7 million years old)
Coral
Pearls
LESSER KNOWN SEMIPRECIOUS GEMSTONES:
(Not commonly known, but are becomingly increasingly more
popular especially in custom designed jewelry.)
Amblygonite
Andalusite
Apatite
Axinite
Benitoite (Benitoite)
Beryllonite
Brazilianite
Cassitierite
Cerussite
Danburite
Diopside
Dioptase
Dumortierite
Enstatite
Epidote
Euclase
Hambergite
Hemimorphite (also called Calamine)
Idocrase
Kornerupine (also called Prismatine)
Kyanite
Lazulite
Petalite
Phenakite
Prehnite
Scapolite
Scheelite
Serpentine
Sinhalite (Sinhalite)
Smithsonite (also called Bomamite)
Sphalerite
Sphene (Titanite)
Stitchite
Ulexite
Variscite (also called Utahlite)
EXOTIC GEMSTONES:
(Called this for a number of reasons. Many of these are hard to
fine and not available in large quantities, others are brittle or
break easily and therefore are not suitable for jewelry. These
gemstones are generally owned by collectors and do not make it to
the marketplace.)
This list could be quite long, I have included only a few to
give you an idea of some that are in this category.
Actinolite
Ametrine
Aragonite
Bixbite
Clinohumite
Diasphore
Dolomite
Hypersthene
Labradorite
Muscovite
Olioclase
Periclase
Phosphophyllite
Pietersite
Rutile
Willemite
Wulfenite