Gemstones by Color

Colored Gemstones from GemSelect - Large Image

Many people purchase gems by type - for example, they want to buy a sapphire, a tourmaline or an amethyst. But one thing we've learned in the colored gem business is that most customers are concerned above all with color, and are less concerned with gem variety, as long as the stone they buy is durable enough for their purpose. Since color is indeed the most important factor for most people when it comes to buying loose gemstones, it only makes sense to start your search by shopping for gemstones by color.

Finding gems by color can often be difficult; since websites tend to organize their inventory around gem varieties rather than colors. So for those who want to know what their options are in particular colors, here is a list of gem types organized by color.

Since there are hundreds of color variations in colored gems, we have organized this list around "base" colors or color families. This means that a red-orange gem can fall into the "orange" or "red" category and a blue-green stone would be in the "green" or "blue" category.

Red Gemstones

Red gemstones are actually quite rare, and mainly occur in ruby, spinel and garnet. There is some very fine red tourmaline (sometimes called rubellite), but it is not often found.

Ruby

Almandine Garnet

Andesine Labradorite

Red Coral

Pyrope Garnet

Rhodolite Garnet

Red Spinel

Star Garnet

Strawberry Quartz

More information on red gemstones for jewelry.

Pink Gemstones

The most popular pink gemstones are tourmaline and spinel. Pink sapphire is lovely but rare, especially in gems weighing over 1 carat. Rhodolite garnet tends to be purple-pink. Compared to other colors, the list of pink gemstones is quite short.

Pink Sapphire

Pink Spinel

Rose Quartz

Pink Coral

Kunzite

Malaya Garnet

Morganite

Pink Mystic Topaz

Pink Opal

Pink Pearl

Rhodolite Garnet

Star Rose Quartz

Pink Tourmaline

Pink Zircon

More information on pink gemstones for jewelry.

Blue Gemstones

The classic blue gemstone is sapphire. Deeply saturated blue is also found in spinel and kyanite. There are a number of choices in the lighter blues, including topaz, zircon and aquamarine. Tanzanite and iolite are more of a violet blue, while Paraiba tourmaline, apatite and fluorite tend to be blue-green.

Blue Sapphire

Tanzanite

Blue Topaz

Blue Zircon

Iolite

Kyanite

Larimar

Blue Agate

Blue Apatite

Aquamarine

Chalcedony

Azurite Druzy

Blue Jadeite

Lapis Lazuli

Rainbow Moonstone

Sodalite

Blue Star Sapphires

Turquoise

More information on blue gemstones for jewelry.

Green Gemstones

The traditional green gem is emerald, but tsavorite garnet, chrome tourmaline and chrome diopside are also good alternatives. See our feature article on chrome diopside for the recent history of the market for the finer green gemstones. Peridot, which tends to be olive green, has become an important jewelry gemstone.

More information on green gemstones for jewelry.

Yellow / Gold Gemstones

Citrine is the most common yellow to gold gem, but yellow sapphire is highly sought after. There are also good choices in harder gems such as beryl and chrysoberyl. Canary yellow tourmaline from Malawi is very rare.

Citrine Yellow Quartz Yellow Sapphire Yellowish Golden Zircon Golden Beryl Yellow Opal Yellow Agate Yellow Apatite Cat's Eye Opal Yellowish Golden Diamond Mali Garnet Rutile Quartz Yellow Sillimanite Yellow Sphene Yellow Tourmaline

More information on yellow gemstones for jewelry.

Violet / Purple Gemstones

The list of violet and purple gemstones is quite short. Amethyst is the classic example, though fluorite can also be found in an amethyst-like purple. There are wonderful violet hues in spinel, tourmaline and sapphire. Chalcedony frequently occurs in a unique lavender hue.

Amethyst Amethyst Geode Charoite Violet Purple Sapphire Violet Purple Spinel

More information on violet and purple gemstones for jewelry.

Orange Gemstones

Spessartite garnet is the most famous orange gem but there are a number of other options as well. Orange sapphire is produced by heat treatment, while the finer fire opal occurs in hues from yellow-orange to red-orange.

Spessartite Garnet Orange Sapphire Orange Sunstone Citrine Orange Agate Orange Andesine Labradorite Hessonite Garnet Orange Mali Garnet Orange Moonstone Orange Opal Orange Tourmaline Orange Zircon

White Gemstones

This category includes both colorless gems, such as diamond, sapphire, zircon and topaz, as well as white gemstones like opal and moonstone.

White Moonstone Howlite White Opal White Quartz White Sapphire Scolecite White Topaz White Zircon

More information on white gemstones for jewelry.

Brown / Bronze Gemstones

It is fair to say that brown is not the most popular color in gemstones. But there are some notable exceptions, such as the peach-orange-bronze of imperial topaz.

Brown Cat's Eye Opal Brown Cat's Eye Scapolite Brown Moonstone Brown Rutile Quartz Smoky Quartz Star Sunstone Tiger's Eye Brown Tourmaline

Gray / Silver Gemstones

There are very few gemstones which are predominantly gray or silver. In our experience the most popular is spinel, whose brilliance and single refraction show gray and silver at its best.

Gray and Sliver Gemstones from GemSelect

Hematite Labradorite Gray Silver Mother of Pearl Silver Pearl Pyrite Cat's Eye Sillimanite Gray Star Sapphire

Black Gemstones

We occasionally stock black diamonds (produced by irradiation). But by far the most popular black gemstone is tourmaline. The black star sapphires only found in Chanthaburi, Thailand are also very popular.

Black Spinel Obsidian Star Diopside Black Star Sapphire Black Tourmaline Black Cat's Eye Scapolite

More information on black gemstones for jewelry.

Multicolor Gemstones

In the category of multicolor gemstones we list those gems which display multiple colors in a single stone. Some of these gems, such as tourmaline, fluorite and ametrine, have zones of different colors. Others, such as andalusite, are strongly pleochroic and display different colors from different angles.

First Published: January-09-2008
Last Updated: December-17-2019