What is the best kind of gemstone for jewelry? Many may assume that it’s diamonds: after all, they are the most broadly popular, the most durable, and among the most expensive. What other metrics could you possibly use?

Actually, though, there’s no one answer to what gemstone is best for jewelry, and there are a lot of different ways to think about it! We’re enthusiastic about a wide variety of gemstones around here; if you ever stop by our shop in Ann Arbor, Michigan, you’ll find a whole gallery of rare, unusual, and beautiful stones we’ve collected over the years. While diamonds are certainly great, they’re just the beginning!

Below, in alphabetical order, is part one of a rundown on some of the gemstones most commonly used in fine jewelry (you can find the second half of the alphabet in our next entry). Many of these gemstones are ideal for engagement and wedding rings, and even more of them are great for necklaces, earrings, and more.

If we missed a gemstone you want to know more about, chances are one of our staff has something to say about it! Don’t hesitate to contact us with questions.

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Alexandrite

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Mohs hardness scale rating: 8.5

One of the rarest and most cherished gemstones, Alexandrite was discovered relatively recently in 1833, in the emerald mines of Russia’s Ural Mountain Range. It was named for Russian Czar Alexander II. Alexandrite appears green in bright daylight, and plum red by night in warm light (such as that from a candle).

Initially, the miners who discovered it mistook it for an emerald, but were shocked when it appeared to change color in the light of their campfire! Green and red being the military colors of Imperial Russia, Alexandrite quickly became the national gem of tsarist Russia.

The Ural Mountains’ Alexandrite deposits eventually dried up as it was mined throughout the 19th century. Today, most alexandrite comes from Sri Lanka, East Africa, and Brazil.Alexandrite is the modern birthstone for June.

Wear and Care

Due to its long-lasting nature and extreme rarity, alexandrite makes for exceptional jewelry. It is durable and not prone to chipping. Warm, soapy water is always safe for this stone, and ultrasonic and steam cleaners are usually safe.

Amber

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Mohs hardness scale rating: 2-3

Amber is a relatively soft organic gem made of fossilized tree resin that formed tens of millions of years ago, when sap from ancient trees hardened and fossilized. It can be found throughout the world; Baltic amber from eastern Europe is particularly prized, but there are sources in Canada, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Lebanon, Mexico, Myanmar, and Sicily.

Ancient Greek legends describe amber as the “nectar of the setting sun, pooling like gold in the evening seas.” Medieval clerics crafted fine amber into rosary beads. The gemstone was so treasured that by 1400 A.D., knights controlled the European amber trade, and possession of its raw form was banned.

Modern scientists and collectors also treasure amber, particularly pieces which contain suspended animal or plant fragments trapped in the hardening resin. These serve as something of a natural time capsule; such a piece of amber, containing a prehistoric mosquito, plays a pivotal role in the blockbuster film and book Jurassic Park.

Wear and Care

Amber is soft and brittle, and requires delicate care. It is not recommended for rings, especially engagement rings, wedding rings, or any ring that you expect to wear every day.

To clean amber, use lukewarm water and a soft cloth. It can be polished using a high-quality olive oil. Avoid contact with soap, detergent, shampoo, commercial cleaning agents, and the like, and never put it in an ultrasonic or steam cleaner.

Amethyst

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Mohs hardness scale rating: 7

Amethyst is a variety of quartz with a brilliant purple shimmer. It is quite common throughout the world, including the United States, but its durability and vibrancy make it a popular choice for bold everyday jewelry.

Ancient Romans believed that amethyst was the tears of Bacchus, the god of wine. In ancient Greece, it was considered to be a stone of sobriety and clarity.

Amethyst is both the modern and traditional birthstone for February.

Wear and Care

Amethyst, like all quartz, is not readily prone to cracking or chipping. It can be cleaned by soaking in a solution of warm water and gentle dish detergent, then using a soft brush to clean the stone and around the setting. Ultrasonic and steam cleaners are also usually safe as long as the stone is not fractured or treated.

Aquamarine

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Mohs hardness scale rating: 7.5-8

Aquamarine is a lovely sea-blue gemstone formed from the mineral beryl. Beryl is naturally colorless, but the various gemstones which form from it take their color from trace elements of other minerals where deposits are found. In the case of aquamarine, the color results from iron.

Aquamarine is mined primarily in Brazil, but can also be found in Nigeria, Madagascar, Zambia, Pakistan, and Mozambique. It grows in large, six-sided crystals that can be up to a foot long, allowing for it to be cut and polished in larger carats for big, bold pieces! Aquamarine is the modern birthstone for March.

Wear and Care

Due to its hardness, aquamarine jewelry is generally durable, but it is not recommended for everyday wear, as it is brittle and prone to cleaving on impact. It can be cleaned with warm water, mild dish soap, and a soft brush. Avoid putting aquamarine in an ultrasonic or steam cleaner, as this can cause discoloration.

Chalcedony

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Mohs hardness scale rating: 6.5-7

Chalcedony is a silicate mineral which has been treasured since ancient times. It comes in a wide range of colors, but those most commonly seen are white to gray, gray-blue, or shades of brown ranging from pale to almost-black. Commercially-sold chalcedony is often enhanced by dyeing or heating.

Chalcedony is abundant throughout the United States and well beyond. Many gemstones are actually a form of chalcedony, including agate, bloodstone, carnelian, jasper, and onyx.

Chalcedony was one of the first raw materials utilized by ancient man. Romans carved it into seals and signet rings; during the Victorian era, it was often used in mourning jewelry such as cameos and intaglios.

Wear and Care

Being fairly hard and durable, chalcedony jewelry holds up well to general wear and tear. It can be cleaned with warm water, mild dish soap, and a soft brush. Avoid putting chalcedony in an ultrasonic or steam cleaner, as it does not fare well against heat or chemical agents.

Citrine

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Mohs hardness scale rating: 7

Citrine is a variety of quartz with a brilliant yellow shimmer, deriving its name from the Latin word for yellow. It has been referred to as the “merchant’s stone” or “money stone”, due to a superstition that it would bring prosperity.

Natural citrine is rare; most of what one finds on the market are actually heat-treated amethyst or smoky quartz. You can tell the difference visually: heat-treated amethyst has small lines in the crystal, where natural citrine appears cloudy or smoky. Brazil is the leading producer of natural citrine.

Citrine and topaz share the designation of modern birthstone for November (topaz is also the traditional birthstone for the month). Citrine and yellow topaz are virtually indistinguishable visually, but they are of a different hardness.

Wear and Care

Like other quartz, citrine is not readily prone to cracking or chipping. It can be cleaned by soaking in a solution of warm water and gentle dish detergent, then using a soft brush to clean the stone and around the setting. Ultrasonic and steam cleaners are also usually safe as long as the stone is not fractured or treated.

Diamond

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Mohs hardness scale rating: 10

Diamonds have been celebrated since ancient times, and nearly every civilization has some kind of lore surrounding the stone. Ancient Greeks considered the gems to be the tears of weeping gods and believed that giving them to warriors made them invincible; Romans believed that these precious stones were parts of stars’ outer rings, having fallen to earth from the heavens. Historians believe that India was trading in diamonds as early as the 4th century B.C.

Nowadays, we know that diamonds are made of carbon, the only gemstone to be made of a single element (though other trace elements can impact a diamond’s shape and color). They are formed under extremely high temperatures and pressure conditions which only exist in nature about 100 miles beneath the Earth’s surface!

Diamonds are so hard, they can only be scratched by another diamond. This is because they have an isometric crystal structure, meaning that all the carbon atoms bond in the same way in every direction.

Diamond is both the traditional and modern birthstone for April.

Wear and Care

Diamonds are the hardest and most durable stone known to humankind. This, along with their purity and beauty, accounts for their popularity in engagement rings, wedding bands, and other everyday jewelry. They can be cleaned with warm water, mild dish soap, and a soft brush, but also do well in ultrasonic or steam cleaners.

Emerald

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Mohs hardness scale rating: 7.5-8

Emerald is a breathtaking deep green gemstone whose fame is ancient; it was mined in Egypt as early as 330 BC, but has existed on Earth possibly as long as 2.97 billion years! Cleopatra loved emeralds so much that she claimed ownership of all the emerald mines in Egypt during her reign; at this time in history, monarchs were buried with emeralds as a symbol of protection.

Emerald is one of the gemstones formed from the mineral beryl. Beryl is naturally colorless, but the various gemstones which form from it take their color from trace elements of other minerals where deposits are found. In the case of emeralds, the vibrant green color results from chromium, vanadium, and occasionally iron (which can give the stone a more bluish tint).

Colombia produces the most emeralds by a huge margin, but they are also found in Zambia, Brazil, Russia, the United States, and Canada. Emerald is both the modern and traditional birthstone for May.

Wear and Care

Due to their relative hardness, emerald jewelry is generally durable, but it is not recommended for everyday wear, as it is brittle and prone to cleaving on impact. It can be cleaned with warm water, mild dish soap, and a soft brush, and oiled with cedar oil. Avoid putting emeralds in an ultrasonic or steam cleaner, as this can cause damage and remove the cedar oil.

Garnet

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Mohs hardness scale rating: 6.5-7.5

Garnets are a group of silicate minerals that have been used as gemstones since the Bronze age. They are named for the Middle English word gernet, meaning “dark red”, but garnets in fact come in a variety of vivid colors.

Garnet is found around the world, with special color variations native to certain locales. Spessartite and hessonite, which shine with beautiful orange, golden, and brown hues, are found in Namibia and Sri Lanka. Brilliant green demantoid garnets are mined in Russia. Deeper green tsavorite is found in Kenya, Madagascar, and Tanzania. Garnet is both the modern and traditional birthstone for January.

Wear and Care

Garnet jewelry is generally durable and well-suited to everyday wear. It can be cleaned with warm water, mild dish soap, and a soft brush, but it is also well-suited to ultrasonic or steam cleaners.

Jadeite

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Mohs hardness scale rating: 6.5-7

Jadeite, known for its variety of soothing green hues, is the principal mineral making up the most valuable form of jade. Jade is particularly prized in China, and has been prized by humans since before the beginning of written history, as evidenced by tools and implements utilizing the stone which have been found at Stone Age archaeological sites.

According to myth, jade should be worn everyday as a healing gem and a bridge to the spiritual realm. Revered since ancient China, jade has been called the gem of royalty. In ancient Central American cultures, it was employed in important economic and religious roles.

Jadeite jade, which mostly comes from northern Myanmar, grows in white, lavender, pink, and yellow hues in addition to the more prized vivid green. Nephrite — mainly mined in Australia, Canada, and parts of Europe — is more abundant, typically less translucent, and grows in white, brown, and black in addition to yellowish green.

Wear and Care

Jade and jadeite is tough and durable, ideal for long-lasting heirloom jewelry. It can be cleaned with warm water, mild dish soap, and a soft brush. Untreated and undamaged stones can be cleaned in ultrasonic or steam cleaners, but if you’re not 100% certain, it’s better not to risk it.

Lapis Lazuli

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Mohs hardness scale rating: 5-6

Lapis Lazuli is a semi-precious stone prized since antiquity for its vivid indigo blue color, streaked through with golden yellow pyrite inclusions. It is a metamorphic rock composed primarily of lazurite, pyrite, and calcite.

Aside from its use as a gemstone, lapis lazuli was also ground into powder in the Middle Ages to create the pigment ultramarine, a pigment favored by Renaissance and Baroque painters like Vermeer and Perugino.

Today, lapis lazuli is found primarily in the mountains of Afghanistan, but it has also turned up in the United States, Chile, and Siberia. Lapis lazuli, along with turquoise, is a traditional birthstone for December.

Wear and Care

Lapis lazuli is relatively soft and porous, so it should be cared for delicately. Clean with mild dish soap and a soft brush, and don’t put it in an ultrasonic or steam cleaner.

Moonstone

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Mohs hardness scale rating: 6-6.5

Moonstone is hard to take your eyes off; there’s just too much going on! The moonstone’s pearly, opalescent visual effect is known as adularescence, which produces a milky, bluish interior light. When polished, moonstones also often display a highly active chatoyancy (AKA the “cat’s eye” effect) and, in rarer cases, asterism, which produces four-legged “stars” on the stone. Moonstones are considered good luck, but even if you’re not superstitious, you’re pretty lucky if you have one!

Moonstone is a sodium potassium aluminum silicate and part of the feldspar group. It is found most often in Sri Lanka and India, but also in Australia, Mexico, Madagascar, Brazil, and the United States.

Wear and Care

Moonstones are moderately soft, and should be stored separately from harder gemstones to avoid scratching. They can be cleaned with warm, soapy water and a soft cloth or brush, but shouldn’t be cleaned in an ultrasonic or steam cleaner.

Morganite

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Mohs hardness scale rating: 7.5-8

Morganite was only discovered in 1910 off the coast of Madagascar, and is named after powerful financier J.P. Morgan. It is a pink or orange gemstone formed from the mineral beryl. Beryl is naturally colorless, but the various gemstones which form from it take their color from trace elements of other minerals where deposits are found. For morganite, the coloring is the result of Mn2+ (Manganese) ions. Morganite is one of the rarest forms of beryl, second only to red beryl, and is most valuable when it is an exceptionally deep pink.

Morganite is mined in Brazil, Afghanistan, Mozambique, Namibia, Madagascar, and the United States. In 1989, the largest morganite specimen to date was uncovered at Bennett Quarry in Buckfield, Maine. 12 inches across, 9 inches long, and weighing in just over 50 lbs., it came to be called “The Rose of Maine”.

Wear and Care

Due to their relative hardness, morganite jewelry is generally durable; in fact, it is more durable than emerald due to its relative lack of inclusions and fractures. It is passably suited to everyday wear, and can be cleaned with warm water, mild dish soap, and a soft brush. Avoid putting morganite in an ultrasonic or steam cleaner, as the high heat can cause the color to fade.

Opal

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Mohs hardness scale rating: 5.5-6

Opal, in its precious form, is a stone with refractive properties in dazzling, iridescent play-of-color. In Bedouin lore, opals contained lightning and fell from the sky during thunderstorms!

Depending on how it formed, an opal may be transparent, translucent, or opaque. Its background color may be white, black, or nearly any color of the visual spectrum, with black being the rarest. Though it looks beautiful in jewelry, applications for opal are limited due to a sensitivity to heat caused by its high water content and quick-to-scratch surface.

Opal is a silica mineraloid that can occur in fissures in almost any kind of rock. It is most commonly found in Australia and Ethiopia, with the Coober Pedy mine in Australia and the Wollo Province in Ethiopia producing some of the more prized specimens. Opals can also be found in the Virgin Valley of Nevada, central Mexico (home of the warm-colored “fire opal”), and the town of Spencer in Idaho, as well as parts of the Czech Republic, Canada, Slovakia, Hungary, Turkey, Indonesia, Brazil, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Most remarkably, in late 2008, NASA announced the discovery of opal deposits on Mars!

Opal is the traditional birthstone of October.

Wear and Care

Opals are soft and delicate. They should be stored separately from harder gemstones, and shouldn’t be exposed to chemicals, heat, or acid. Use a soft cloth to clean your opals, and keep them away from ultrasonic and steam cleaners.

Want to learn more? Check out the second half of the ABCs of Jewelry Gemstones!

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