Orange Gemstones: A Guide to Colored Stones

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When it comes to colored gemstones, color is king. Today, many customers prioritize color and are less concerned with the actual gemstone variety as long as the stone is durable enough for their purpose.

However, finding gems by color can often be very difficult especially since gemstone dealers tend to list availability by gem type or gem variety rather than by gem color.

Using our guide below, you can learn about some of the most popular orange gemstones choices available today:

Orange Sapphire Gemstones

Sapphire occurs in every color except for red, and the mineral group which it's from corundum occurs in all colors only red corundum is known as ruby rather than sapphire. Orange sapphire comes in a range of hues from yellowish orange to orange to reddish orange, and it also varies in color intensity. Orange sapphire with a pink secondary color is known as padparadscha sapphire, and it is highly prized. As with all Sapphire, Orange Sapphire may undergo treatments to enhance the gemstones natural color. These treatments are widely used and acceptable in the gems, and jewelry industry as the color enhancements they produce are permanent. Untreated sapphire stones are available and the samples that display exceptional color are prized, valuable, and rare.

Orange Hessonite Garnet Gemstones

Hessonite is orange, honey yellow, or reddish brown gemstone and it is a variety of Grossular Garnet, so it gets its color from Manganese. Hessonite has a couple of other names which include cinnamon-stone and kaneel stone these names are due to its color. Hessonite garnet is a significant astrological stone, and it is one of the January birthstones along with all other Garnet. Hessonite garnet is translucent to transparent and often heavily included. Hessonite garnet has stunning brilliance, a vitreous luster, and a high refractive index which all come together to make this stone stunning in person.

Orange Zircon Gemstones

Zircon is a wonderous stone and a favorite diamond substitute due to its remarkable brilliance, and it is also one of the oldest known minerals on earth. Many people confuse this stone with cubic zirconia which is synthetic, but this misnomer couldn't be further from the truth. Zircon is incredibly brilliant, with exceptional clarity, and remarkable fire and color. Two more beautiful qualities zircon has its affordability and its availability in colors orange, green, blue, pink, brown, yellow, colorless, pink, and violet.

Orange Sunstone Gemstones

Sunstone is a gemstone that is known for its aventurescence or Shiller which is a 'milky' luster or glowing that originates from below the surface fo the gem. This optical phenomenon, caused by inclusions that are usually composed of hematite or goethite which vary in size and density. The colors of Sunstone are orange, pink, red, and brown and it also has another name 'aventurine feldspar.' Sunstones can sometimes appear with an additional optical effect known as asterism they are called star sunstone gems, but these pieces are incredibly rare.
Sunstone is a feldspar gemstone, and mining occurs in the state of Oregon in the United States of America.

Orange Spessartite Garnet Gemstones

Spessartite garnet is a variety of Garnet that received its name from the Geman word for forest and the mountain range in where its discovery occurred. Spessartite Garnet, colored by manganese, may be yellowish orange to reddish brown. Its brilliant orange color and excellent luster make Spessartite a wonderous gemstone. Spessartite garnet made its name in the gem and jewelry industry when deposits found in Mozambique and Namibia in the 1990s increased the availability of Spessartite. Spessartite is a gem type that usually has inclusions, and eye-clean pieces are scarce.

Orange Fire Opal Gemstones

Fire opal is an Opal variety that's hue ranges from red to yellow which of course includes orange in the middle. Fire opals value comes from its body color rather than the aspects that give Precious Opal its value, its play of color. Fire Opal comes in vivid oranges and orange-reds that are difficult to surpass in the world of colored gems. Like all Opals, Fire opals have a Mohs hardness of 5.5-6.6 making them wearable and suitable for jewelry. The majority of fire opal seen today come from Mexico, the leading producer of this type of Opal.

Orange Carnelian Gemstones

Carnelian is a beautiful reddish orange to brownish orange variety of quartz. Carnelian is a lovely gemstone because of its vivid color that comes from iron. The name Carnelian was thought to have come from the cornel cherry that has a similar color. This gem was known as Carbuncle for years a term that was reserved for red garnet but is now used to describe any red cabochon gemstone. Carnelian gemstones have appeared throughout the history of human civilizations and comes from many parts of the world.

Orange Agate Gemstones

Agate gemstones are banded chalcedony quartz that naturally occurs in many colors; such as, orange, yellow, blue, brown, green, red, and multicolor. Orange Agate gemstones comes in a wide variety of hues and intensities that range from deep brownish oranges to amber-like oranges and truly clean orange samples. Some samples of Orange Agate will be translucent while other will be opaque and size ranges can vary greatly as well with Orange Agate.

Orange Citrine Gemstones

Citrine is a golden orange to a yellow form of macrocrystalline quartz and is very popular due to its excellent color and its affordable price. The name citrine comes from the French word for lemon, but the hue of citrine is often far from a lemon yellow. On the Mohs scale of hardness, Citrine gemstones are a seven out of ten, and its luster is vitreous. The largest source of citrine is Brazil, but citrine is in many other parts of the world. Some citrine is heat treated which permanently enhances its color, but many citrines are natural and untreated.

Orange Opal Gemstones

Orange Opal is capable of displaying some fantastic colors their color saturation is hard to match in the world of colored gems. This particular Opals color is its attractive quality rather than its play of color like precious opal. Orange opal as with all other forms of Orange Opal comes cut cabochon. The gemstones can range from translucent to opaque, and the colors of Orange Opal can vary from reddish orange to yellowish orange.

Orange Moonstone Gemstones

Moonstone, made of orthoclase potassium feldspar, is known for its sheen or glow. Adularescence is the name for this glow, and it occurs when the light is interrupted as it is passing through the transparent or translucent gemstone. Moonstone comes in many colors including orange, peach, yellow, brown, and white. Orange Moonstone can be a delicate orange or an intense orange depending on the sample. Some samples with exhibit an additional effect that is known as asterism, these samples are considered to be rare and are known as Star Moonstones.

Orange Andesine-Labradorite Gemstones

Andesine-labradorite is a newer gemstone that came to the market in 2003 and is also known as andesine, Congo sunstone, red feldspar, and red labradorite. It is, in fact, a color enhanced version of labradorite that is a mixture of labradorite and andesine. Andesine-labradorite is included more often than not and range in color from yellow to deep red in hue. Orange Andesine-labradorite gems can be pink-orange, amber, honey-orange and can have a fantastic metallic sheen.

Orange Tourmaline Gemstones

Tourmaline is a lovely gem type. Made of boron silicate Tourmaline appears in every color including peach, orange, and champagne. One of the greatest attributes of Tourmaline is its ability to display different colors based on the angle at which one views the stone with certain viewing angles providing an incredible depth of color to the gem. The other properties of Tourmaline that are quite interesting are its durability, affordability, and availability in large sizes and many shapes.

Orange Clinohumite Gemstones

Clinohumite was discovered in 1876 by a British mineralogist named Sir Abraham Hume, and it is now a rare magnesium silicate gemstone. The original specimens found in limestone had erupted from Mount Vesuvius, Italy. A century later more deposits found in central Asia, Russia, and Tanzania put this gemstone on the map. The colors of Clinohumite are oranges, yellows, and reds. On the Mohs scale of hardness, it is a six out of ten, and the gem type usually has inclusions.

Orange Mali Garnet Gemstones

Mali garnet is one of many forms of this beautiful gem type, but it is one of the rarer forms indeed. It originates in Mali West Africa and is a hybrid garnet discovered in 1994. Mali garnet comes in a large variety of colors like orange, yellow, green, and brown. Mali garnets qualities go beyond its color due to its remarkable dispersion and incredibly high refractive index that both give Mali garnet a great fire and brilliance. When Mali garnet is faceted, all of its attributes are enhanced making it an incredibly popular gemstone. On the Mohs scale, this gem type is a seven out of ten making it very durable and suitable for use in numerous jewelry applications.

Orange Imperial Topaz Gemstones

Natural Orange Topaz is known as Imperial Topaz and is one of the most valuable of all the topaz varieties and many other colored gemstones. It comes in a variety of hues as it can appear yellow-orange, pinkish-orange, from bright yellow to golden brown. One the Mohs scale it earns a respectable eight out of ten making it incredibly durable and suitable for use in jewelry for daily wear. It is a very versatile material which allows it to facet into a variety of different shapes some of which are fascinating and stunning.

Orange Spinel Gemstones

Spinel is one of the most beautiful stones on the market today, and it is steadily increasing in value. Spinel is a magnesium aluminum oxide gem and often is mistaken for precious gemstones such as ruby and sapphire due to its brilliance. Orange happens to be one of the most sought-after colors of Spinel. Spinels popularity is due to its incredible color, remarkable durability, excellent luster, and incredible brilliance. On the Mohs scale of harness, Spinel is an eight out of ten making it very durable and suitable for any jewelry application.

Orange Coral Gemstones

Coral is an exciting gem type that is formed deep in the sea by coral polyps. It is available in many shapes and sizes it will often appear carved due to its low hardness on the Mohs scale. Coral is composed of calcium carbonate that is the same material that forms pears and calcite. Precious coral comes in a variety of colors as well one of which is orange but it is also available in white, red, pink, golden, and salmon colors. Many types of Fossil coral are protected and are therefore not-harvested, but some varieties are still free to trade.

Orange Sphalerite Gemstones

Sphalerite is a form of zinc ore that's considered a gemstone. Sphalerite has an incredibly high dispersion that creates 'fire' the separation of light into its spectral colors in addition to fiery yellow, red, orange, and brown colors. It's adamantine or resinous luster adds to Sphalerite's beauty. Sphalerite lacks toughness and is therefore mainly a collectors stone. This gem type exists in many places including the USA, Zaire, Namibia, Congo, Spain, Canada, and Bulgaria but most of the material found is not gemstone quality material.

Orange Sphene Gemstones

Sphene is a rare gemstone comprised of calcium titanium silicate because of its composition many call it titanite. Sphene can appear in numerous colors including orange, yellowish green, green, and brown. Sphene has a remarkably high dispersion that gives it a fire that rivals the diamond so when one turns Sphene in the light the color display is sure to impress. Sphene also has an incredibly high refractive index that creates a fantastic brilliance. The adamantine luster Sphene possesses indeed makes it a more attractive stone when combined with all of these other qualities.

Orange Amber Gemstones

The Pinus Succinifera tree is the source of resin that makes Amber. Amber is golden yellow to honey brown, and it forms when this tree resin fossilizes. Some pieces of Amber will trap insects or other inclusions inside of the resin before hardening, and these pieces are highly prized. The different types of amber that are most desirable are those with 'exciting inclusions' and the 'transparent pieces.' Amber has a low density and is quite fragile so one must care for amber to avoid scratching it. Most amber gemstones come from Russia, the Baltic, the Dominican Republic but other areas are known to produce gem quality amber with less frequency.

First Published: August-07-2017
Last Updated: February-04-2019