All the Colours

There are so many colours of gemstones, as seen in this collection, with hues ranging from pale aquamarine to intense orange garnet.

While these gemstones would formerly have been described as 'semi-precious', the term is rarely used these days, as every one of these stones stands on its own, with unique qualities of clarity, colour and saturation, and some, such as spinel, can attract very significant prices at auction.

We begin with some lovely faceted pear-shaped aquamarine earrings, set in 18ct white gold, with diamonds above.

Next is the aforementioned spinel, an oval faceted one set in a three stone ring. Spinels often used to be confused with rubies, and in fact the famous 'Black Prince Ruby' in the Imperial State Crown is in fact a spinel.

Tourmalines can come in many colours from green through to orange, pink and red and on to grey and black. The red variety is also known as Rubellite, and here it is resplendent in a cluster setting.

Garnets come in also all colours, of which blue is the rarest. Tsavorite, such as in the cluster ring in the glass, is one of the rarest types, and is found only in a few small areas of Tanzania and Kenya.

The Fire Opal is a unique form of Opal found mainly in Mexico. It varies in colour from pale yellow to deep red, and is markedly different from the more commonly seen milky, iridescent appearance of white or black opals.

If you were unable to choose a coloured stone, why not opt for the multi-gem necklace, with nine different oval faceted gems?!