Every Stone Tells a Story, Let’s Write Yours
Every stone holds a piece of history—a narrative of time, pressure, and discovery. But a stone becomes a gem when it tells your story.
Whether it’s the beginning of a new chapter, a cherished memory, or a symbol of strength, your legacy is waiting to be told.
Explore the Fascinating World of Gemstones
Each gemstone tells a unique story defined by its chemical makeup and formation. The unique crystalline structures and elemental compositions, from the cubic symmetry of diamonds to the hexagonal patterns of emeralds, are responsible for their distinct properties. The vibrant colors we admire are a result of trace impurities, with elements like chromium creating the deep red of a ruby or iron and titanium forming the brilliant blue of a sapphire.
Understanding how these gems are formed under immense heat and pressure reveals their fascinating journey from deep within the Earth to their status as treasured works of natural art.
Diamond
Diamonds are pure carbon crystallized under extreme heat and pressure deep within the Earth’s mantle, making them the hardest natural substance with a Mohs hardness of 10. While most people are familiar with colorless diamonds, a dazzling spectrum of “fancy color” diamonds also exists. These are exceptionally rare; only about one in every 10,000 carats of diamonds mined is a fancy color diamond.
The most popular colors include yellow and brown, but the rarest and most valuable are pink, blue, and green. The color in these unique gems is caused by specific trace elements or structural anomalies, such as the presence of boron in blue diamonds or crystal lattice deformation in pink diamonds. These remarkable geological conditions are what make colored diamonds some of the most sought-after treasures on Earth.
Colored Sapphire
Sapphires, a variety of the mineral corundum, are celebrated for their wide range of colors. While the classic blue sapphire gets its color from iron and titanium, other hues like pink, yellow, and green are caused by different trace elements. Rubies are also a variety of corundum, distinguished by their red color from chromium.
While blue sapphires and rubies are famously precious, the Padparadscha sapphire can sometimes be more valuable due to its rarity. Named after the lotus blossom, this gem displays a unique and delicate blend of pink and orange, making it one of the rarest of all colored gemstones. With a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale, sapphires are an exceptionally durable choice for everyday wear.
Topaz
Topaz is a stunning silicate mineral that forms in igneous rocks. While its natural state is colorless, a range of beautiful hues, including yellow, brown, and pink, are created by trace elements or defects in its crystal structure. The most popular color, blue, is typically a result of a treatment process that enhances the stone’s natural beauty.
The most prized variety is Imperial topaz, which boasts a rich golden-orange to reddish-pink color and is considered the rarest and most valuable form of the gem. With a hardness of 8 on the Mohs scale, topaz is a durable choice for jewelry, though its perfect cleavage requires skilled cutting to prevent chipping. Historically, large colorless topaz gems were sometimes mistaken for diamonds, a testament to their impressive brilliance and clarity.
Spinel
Spinel is a captivating mineral that forms in metamorphic rocks, often alongside corundum. As a magnesium aluminum oxide, its stunning colors—including pink, orange, purple, and blue—are created by trace elements. The most popular and highly prized color is a vibrant red, so intense it can rival the finest rubies. For centuries, famous gems like the “Black Prince’s Ruby” in the British Crown Jewels were later identified as large, magnificent spinels, a testament to their exceptional beauty.
Spinel is a durable and brilliant gem, ranking an 8 on the Mohs scale. It is celebrated for its rich, saturated colors and is one of the few gemstones that is rarely treated or enhanced, making it a naturally beautiful and highly sought-after choice for fine jewelry.
Emerald
Emeralds are a variety of the mineral beryl, forming under extreme pressure and heat in metamorphic rocks. Their rich green color, ranging from a vibrant pure green to a bluish-green, is caused by the presence of trace amounts of chromium, vanadium, and iron. Colombia is the most famous origin for emeralds, renowned for producing stones with a pure, intense green color.
With a hardness of 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale, emeralds are a durable gem, but they are also known for their inclusions—internal features often called a jardin (French for “garden”). These unique inclusions are considered a natural hallmark of the gem, and a high-quality emerald with minimal or aesthetically pleasing inclusions can be significantly more valuable, a testament to its natural beauty and rarity.
Tourmaline
Tourmaline is a complex boron silicate mineral that forms in igneous and metamorphic rocks, often through hydrothermal activity. With a Mohs hardness of 7 to 7.5, it is a durable gemstone suitable for various types of jewelry. Tourmaline is celebrated for having one of the widest color ranges of any gemstone, occurring in virtually every hue, from pink and red (rubellite) to blue (indicolite) and green (verdelite).
The rising popularity of a specific variety, Paraiba tourmaline, is due to its unique and stunning “electric” or “neon” blue and green colors, which are caused by the presence of trace amounts of copper. This discovery, first made in the state of Paraiba, Brazil, in the 1980s, introduced a vibrant and distinctive color to the gemstone world that had never been seen before in tourmaline, making it one of the most sought-after and valuable gems today.
Garnet
Garnet is not a single mineral but rather a group of related silicate minerals that form under high temperature and pressure in metamorphic rocks. With a hardness ranging from 6.5 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale, garnets are durable enough for everyday wear. While the deep red variety, almandine, is the most popular and recognized, garnets are found in a remarkable spectrum of colors, including vibrant greens, fiery oranges, purplish reds, and even color-changing varieties.
What makes garnet a compelling gem to consider is its diversity and value. Varieties like the striking green tsavorite and the vivid orange spessartine offer exceptional beauty and brilliance at a more accessible price point than many other gems, providing an outstanding combination of beauty, durability, and value for any jewelry collection.
Peridot
Peridot is a gem-quality variety of the mineral olivine, formed in the Earth’s mantle and brought to the surface by volcanic activity. Unlike most gemstones, which can exist in a variety of colors, peridot is unique for occurring in only one color: a vibrant olive-green, with shades ranging from yellowish-green to brownish-green. The intensity of its color is determined by the amount of iron present in its crystal structure.
With a hardness of 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale, peridot is a beautiful and durable gem. What makes it a great choice to consider buying is its distinctive, bright green color and its relative accessibility compared to other green gems like emerald. It offers a beautiful and lively green hue, perfect for adding a pop of color to any jewelry collection.
Tanzanite
Tanzanite is a stunning gemstone that forms under unique geological conditions, created by intense heat and pressure during the formation of Mount Kilimanjaro. Its distinctive color, a captivating violetish-blue, is caused by the presence of vanadium within its crystal structure. With a hardness of 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale, it is a gem that requires careful handling.
Tanzanite has become a highly popular alternative to blue sapphire due to its mesmerizing color, which can rival the most exquisite sapphires. Furthermore, tanzanite is considered significantly rarer than blue sapphire, as it is found in only a single, small location in Tanzania, making it a truly unique and sought-after stone for those looking for an exceptional blue gem.
Pearl
Pearls are unique among gemstones because they are organic, forming within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk like an oyster or mussel. This process begins when an irritant, such as a piece of sand, becomes lodged inside the shell, prompting the mollusk to secrete layers of nacre, or mother-of-pearl, to coat it. Over time, these layers build up, creating the lustrous gem.
Pearls can be found in a variety of types, including saltwater pearls like Akoya, Tahitian, and South Sea, as well as freshwater pearls. They come in a diverse range of colors, from classic white and cream to exotic shades of pink, gold, and black. With a low hardness of 2.5 to 4.5 on the Mohs scale, pearls are soft and require careful handling. However, their timeless elegance makes them a vintage must-have. Throughout history, pearls have been symbols of purity, wealth, and status, and have been worn by royalty and style icons alike, ensuring their place as a classic and sophisticated piece in any jewelry collection.
The Perfect Setting for Your Precious Gem
Give your precious gem the home it deserves to truly shine. We’re here to help you find or create the perfect setting that completes its beauty and makes it yours forever.
