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

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