Tiger's eye is a form of golden brown quartz with a fascinating cat's eye effect.

Apatite is an unusual mineral, being one of the few produced and used by the human body. As a gemstone, the neon blue-green color from Madagascar has become popular.

Very few gemstones occur in black. Onyx is the most common, but among the finer gems, black tourmaline can make stunning jewelry.

Blue topaz is one of the most popular of all colored gemstones. But a recent controversy suggests the public needs more information about how these topaz are produced.

All the choices in rich green gemstones are expensive: emerald, tsavorite and chrome tourmaline. But chrome diopside is changing the market for fine green gems.

Moonstone is one of the most abundant and affordable of the gemstones with unique optical properties.

Paraiba tourmaline is a rare copper-bearing gemstone with an exceptional neon blue or blue-green color. First found in Brazil in 1989, similar material has since been found in Nigeria and Mozambique.

Peridot, the birthstone for August, has many unusual qualities. Unlike most gemstones, peridot is formed deep within the earth.

Spessartite is no ordinary garnet. With its striking red-orange color and its high refractive index, it is one of the finest gems in today's market.

Star sapphire and star ruby are examples of gems that exhibit asterism or the star effect. Learn why some gemstones exhbit this rare phenomenon.

Fine natural gemstones typically cost thousands of dollars. But you can find very good gems for under $500 if you know where to look.

Tsavorite is a rare vivid green grossularite garnet, colored by chromium or vanadium, with deposits mainly in East Africa.

Yellow sapphire has become extremely popular with gemstone buyers, not only as a fashion item but also for its alleged powers to enhance your life.

Natural ametrine comes almost entirely from one location, the Anahi mine in Bolivia. New cutting styles are making this unique gem even more popular.

Turquoise has been an important gemstone in many cultures for thousands of years. What makes turquoise so special?

Emerald is the best known variety of beryl, but the species includes a number of other fine gems, including aquamarine, golden beryl, morganite and bixbite.

Looking for the best values in colored gemstones? We believe that sapphire, spessartite garnet, spinel and tourmaline have the best gemstone characteristic for the price.

These are important technical terms in gemology, but they are often misused. Learn how to use these terms correctly to describe gemstones.

Aquamarine belongs to the same gem family as emerald. But aquamarine has better durability, transparency and clarity.

Many tourists fall victim to the Thai Gem Scam. But there are very good deals on gemstones in Thailand for careful buyers.

Gemstones are weighed in carats, while the purity of gold is measured in karats.

Gemstone collectors are unique among gemstone buyers, searching out the rare and unusual stones to complete their collections.

Colored gemstones represent great opportunities for jewelry designers and retail jewelers. It's all about reducing cost and finding interesting stones.

Concave cutting is a recent innovation that uses curved rather than flat facets, resulting in a more brilliant gem. But not everyone is impressed with the results.

Ever since the discovery of paraiba tourmaline, the market is excited about copper-bearing gems. What's so special about copper?

The art of cutting gems is known as lapidary. It requires a high degree of skill to produce a well polished faceted gem.

Zultanite, a color change gemstone from Turkey, has recently appeared on the market. What's the story on this gem?

Learn how to use natural gemstones in the ancient Chinese method of Feng Shui.

Pink continues to be one of the hottest colors in gemstones. What are your choices in pink gems?

Iolite gemstones with good color saturation and clarity are rare in sizes over 1 carat.

Rhodolite, the rose-red to violet-red garnet, is a mixture of almandite and pyrope. It has the best red of any garnet.

Fluorite is very popular with collectors, due to its wide range of colors. But fluorite also has some fascinating properties and some useful practical applications.

Why are so many fracture-filled rubies being offered in the market? Should you buy one?

Ratings of gemstones by hardness is often misunderstood. Hardness is important, but it's not the only measure of a gem's durability.

Take a tour of the famous weekend gemstone market in Chanthaburi, Thailand. There are great deals in ruby, sapphire and other colored gems for knowledgeable buyers.

Madagascar has some of the richest gemstone resources in the world, especially in sapphire and ruby gems. Madagascar is also a source for tourmaline, aquamarine, emerald, garnet and citrine.

Appraisals of value should only be made by an objective 3rd party with no financial interest in the gem. But the marketplace determines the real value of a gem.

Some gemstones, including diamond, topaz, tanzanite and fluorite, have perfect cleavage. Learn about why this is important.

Gemstone identification has become more challenging with the advent of new treatments and synthetics. What once was an art has become a science.

The most comprehensive library of gemstone information on the internet. Info on more than 60 varieties of gemstones.

Many people tout hard assets like gemstones as good investments. Is investing in precious stones a good idea?

Many cultures have contributed to the legends and lore surrounding gemstones. These rare products of nature have inspired philosophers and mystics to attribute unusual powers to these special minerals.

The names of many semi precious stones seem confusing and awkward. But accuracy of naming is extremely important in the gemstone industry.

Why is there such an enormous disparity between prices for the different types of gemstones? It's not just supply and demand, there are other forces at work as well.

Many superstitions have become associated with different gemstones throughout the ages.

An illustrated list of all the types of precious and semi precious gemstones.

Cutting gems is a traditional craft, but a new art has developed in the last 30 years.

Africa has become one of the largest producers of colored gemstones, including fine sapphire, tourmaline and garnet.

Gemstones are believed by many to have special healing properties. Is this an idea that makes sense?

Gemstones have been assigned to signs of the zodiac for centuries. But the idea of wearing your birthstone is a recent one.

The briolette, a pear-shaped gemstone with triangular facets, is one of the oldest styles of cut gems.

In the 19th century, the cushion-cut was the dominant gemstone style. Now it's undergoing a revival.

Some gemstones get their color from their essential chemistry; others from trace elements or impurities. Learn how the different gem varieties get their color.

G.F. Kunz introduced Tiffanys to tourmaline and created the modern market for colored gemstones.

Huge gems are popular with both collectors and fashion designers. Learn what's available and affordable in big gemstones.

Learn how colored gemstones reach the international market from the mines in far-flung locations. The key is to cut out the middleman.

Mystic Topaz and Mystic Quartz are produced with a technology used in the optical and electronic industries. Learn how they this technology is used to enhance gemstones.

Matching pairs are highly sought after by gemstone buyers. But a lot of work is required to produce them.

What is the difference between a mineral, a rock and a gemstone? You'll find some answers here.

Australia is most famous for opal, but sapphire from Queensland is important in the world market.

The most valuable sapphires are blue sapphires from Kashmir, Burma and Sri Lanka. The record price for a sapphire was set in April 2007.

Buy loose gemstones even if you can't spell padparasha, pariba, saphire, alexanderite, dimond, tanzinite or andasine.

Hundreds of online dealers offer gemstones for sale. How do you find a good one?

Australia has the largest opal deposits in the world, and the finest opals as well.

High quality photos of thousands of gems. More than 60 gem varieties, including sapphire, ruby, emerald, tourmaline, spinel, zircon, amethyst, topaz and garnet.

Planetary gemologists prescribe gems based on astrological principles. Using the right gems is said to enhance health, wealth, power and popularity.

Some gemstones display different colors when viewed from different angles. Andalusite, iolite, kyanite, kunzite, sphene and tanzanite exhibit pleochroism to a strong degree.

The well known distinction between precious and semi-precious gems is often misunderstood. We sort out the myth from the reality.

The popular image of garnet is that of an inexpensive dark red gem. But there are some rarer varieties -- tsavorite, spessartite and rhodolite -- that have stunning colors and are highly sought after by collectors.

Natural spinel is rare and can be difficult to find. The traditional source of the best spinel is Burma, but African spinel is starting to make the gem more available.

Tourmaline is famous for its rainbow of colors, but some tourmaline are very rare. These include chrome tourmaline, paraiba tourmaline and watermelon tourmaline.

Prices for rutile quartz cabochons are rising rapidly. Why are these quartz gems getting expensive?

How much is a good sapphire? It depends on color, grade and carat weight. Learn about how sapphires are priced in today's market.

The world of semiprecious stones is incredibly diverse. Some are as rare and valuable as any precious stone. Others are very affordable. In between is a remarkable range of fascinating stones.

The distinction between gemstone shape and cut is often misunderstood. Here's a simple explanation of the difference.

Fake gemstones may be synthetics or simulants. Learn how to identify the difference between these.

Fine ruby gemstones are found in only a few locations in the world: principally Burma, Thailand and Madagascar. Learn about the different characteristics of rubies from these locations.

Fine sapphires are found in only a few locations in the world: principally Burma, Kashmir, Sri Lanka, Madagascar and Thailand.

Spodumene is species of gemstones that includes hiddenite and kunzite. Gem-quality spodumene occurs very rarely.

In 1902 the French chemist Verneuil invented the flame fusion method for creating synthetic corundum. It is still being used today.

How did tanzanite become so popular and so expensive? It's not just because it's a lovely gemstone.

Sphene is one of very few gemstones with an adamantine or diamond-like luster. Sphene's dispersion or fire even exceeds diamond.

Fire opal is unique in the opal family because high grade material is transparent enough to be cut in facets.

Loose gemstones are not a renewable resource. Gem mining is declining in many parts of the world and prices are rising. What does the future hold?

An attractive red feldspar called andesine has attracted a lot of attention in the gems world. What is really known about andesine?

Spinel is a gemstone that is not well known in the commercial jewelery world, but one which has become a great favorite with gem dealers and gem collectors. Learn what makes spinel a very special gem.

Lapis, the original blue gemstone of antiquity, has a long and romantic history. It has been mined continuously in Afghanistan for over 6,000 years.

Red diamond is the world's rarest and most expensive gemstone, selling at more than $1 million a carat.

Learn what to look for in a fine tourmaline gemstone, including paraiba, chrome, rubellite, indicolite and watermelon varieties.

Some varieties of gemstones are never treated, and they represent exceptional value in today's gem market.

Conventional wisdom about colored gemstone inclusions is that less is more. But some inclusions are valuable.

Natural sapphires are mined from the earth; synthetic sapphires are produced in a lab. But are natural sapphires enhanced by humans still natural?

Chrysoberyl is a rare gems with some outstanding characteristics, but it is so little known that even many gem dealers don't stock it.

We sell more than 60 varieties of gemstones direct to customers at true wholesale prices. No minimum quantity required.

Why are some gemstones cut as cabochons and others as faceted gems?

Quartz is a very common mineral but the quartz family is incredibly diverse and endlessly fascinating.

Zircon is the oldest mineral on earth, over 4.4 billion years old. It is also a fine gemstone with great brilliance and fire.