Another factor to consider is availability. Availability may sound like a no-brainer, but many forget to consider the nature of the gems and how large they may naturally occur. No matter how plentiful garnets may be, you may find that trying to find a 30 millimeter heart-shaped pink gemstone for your cocktail ring may be near impossible in some gem types. Also, cost is important when it comes to choosing the perfect pink gemstone for your jewelry, since most of us can't afford to spend thousands of dollars on gemstone jewelry, thus gemstones like pink diamond are really not an option, leaving us with the following reasonably priced pink gemstones to choose from:
Pink Sapphire
Pink sapphire is of course one of the most popular pink gemstones. Like all sapphire, it has superior hardness and durability, making it ideal for wearing as any type of jewelry.
Pink Sapphire Two-Tone Ring
Pink sapphire's color is owed to chromium with traces of titanium. Highly-saturated pink sapphires are extremely rare and valuable. They often command prices that rival that of padparadscha sapphire, especially pink sapphire from Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Pink sapphire is becoming increasingly popular as an alternative for diamond in engagement rings and bridal jewelry.
Pink Tourmaline
Pink tourmaline is one of the most popular jewelry gemstone today. Pink tourmaline comes in all the same shades as pink sapphire and spinel, but at more affordable prices - and untreated in most cases. Many would even assign pink tourmaline as rubellite tourmaline, though most consider rubellite tourmaline to be only the most saturated forms of purplish-red or red tourmaline. Pink tourmaline is consistently featured in fine jewelry, made by some of the world's finest designers. Pink tourmaline may sometimes intentionally be cut with green tourmaline to create bicolor 'watermelon' tourmaline. Pink tourmaline exhibits excellent jewelry qualities, including wearability, affordability and durability. Pink tourmaline compliments other gemstones especially well, particularly white diamond, sapphire and pearl, and sets well in platinum or white gold alloy mountings.
Pink Spinel
Pink spinel has been worn in jewelry since ancient times, particularly throughout Asia. Exceptionally large spinel gemstones have been worn by Princes, Kings and Emperors around the world, including the famous 'Black Prince's Ruby', which wasn't actually a ruby at all. Pink spinel can also be used as an affordable substitute for pink sapphire, even in fine jewelry set with diamond. Spinel has excellent hardness and its vibrant color is extremely attractive. Many spinel gemstones have been known to be perfect enough to be set into jewelry without even needing to be polished.
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| Pink Rhodolite Pendant |
Pink Rhodolite Garnet
Rhodolite is the most valuable of the red garnet varieties. It is a hybrid mixture of pyrope and almandine garnet and was first discovered in the United States. It is highly desired for its attractive raspberry red color, but many jewelry lovers admire its lighter rosy pink shades too. Rhodolite often occurs with excellent clarity and in very large sizes. Due to more recent finds in East Africa, it has become plentiful in supply. Rhodolite is an excellent material to work into exotic fantasy and designer custom jewelry pieces. With its gorgeous, unique color, pink rhodolite garnet looks stunning in any shade of precious metal and is durable enough for rings that are worn daily.
Pink Zircon
Pink zircon is another popular gemstone choice for jewelry, but because of its brittle tenacity, it needs some special handling and care. Zircon is not recommended for rings, since facet edges tend to wear down over time despite good hardness (7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale). Pink zircon is typically given the brilliant 'zircon' cut to intensify its fire and luster. Pink zircon color is often rosy pink, and step cuts are popular to bring out the color. Zircon is quite dense, so stones will look smaller when compared to other gemstone types of the same weight. Pink zircon is best set in jewelry that receives minimal knocks and blows, such as pendants, earrings, pins and brooches. Jewelers should protect edges both when designing mountings and during the actual mounting process as well.
Pink Rose Quartz
Pink rose quartz is named after its soft, light to medium pink color. Large stones have the most attractive colors. In fact, small rose quartz stones with good color are actually quite rare, which is why rose quartz is perfect for fashion and costume jewelry, such as cocktail rings. Since it is a variety of quartz, it has the qualities one would expect, such as good hardness, durability and perhaps best of all, affordability. Pink rose quartz can sometimes exhibit an attractive hazy translucency, which is caused by small internal fractures. Highly transparent pink quartz is quite rare and is often faceted. Delicate colors can be accented by applying unique cutting styles, such as concave or Portuguese cuts. Pink rose quartz is perfect for beaded and strung jewelry designs as well as cabochon jewelry. It's equally stunning set in silver or yellow precious metal.
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| Pink Cultured Pearl and Black Diamonds in White Gold |
Pink Cultured Pearls
Pink pearls are one of the world's most luxurious jewelry gemstones. Natural pink pearls are rare, so most pearls are cultured. Some pink pearls may be dyed for jewelry. Detection of treatment can be very difficult in dyed pearls. In some cases, the dye can be seen in surface imperfections on the pearl nacre or through looking at color concentration in drill holes. The dye treatment is sometimes referred to 'pinking' or 'tinting' in the trade, and should always be disclosed. Pearls are of course seen in all kinds of fine jewelry, such as rings, earrings, bracelets and brooches. Pearl necklaces vary widely, from single pearl
pendants to single strand or extravagant multi-strand necklaces.
Pink Morganite
Pink morganite has been a recent favorite for many jewelers. It has been seen more in fine jewelry use, and rightfully so, since it is related to both emerald and aquamarine. It has exceptional color, hardness and wearability. Although morganite is relatively rare, its prices remain quite affordable. Morganite can be found in very large sized gems, which often exceed 100 carats. This makes morganite ideal for oversized jewelry - and for those seeking something unusual. Since morganite belongs to the beryl family of gemstones, it's perfectly suitable for any jewelry design, including eye-catching fashion and cocktail rings.
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| Sterling Silver and Pink Opal
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Pink Opal
Pink opal is a fine choice for pink jewelry. Like most opal it is rather delicate, but in some cases, pink Peruvian opal can be mixed slightly with chalcedony, which tends to give it a slightly harder composition. Pink opal has less color play than other types of precious opal. However, like fire opal, it has exceptional body color, which makes it desirable. Top grade pink opal gems are extremely stable and are excellent for beaded jewelry and cabochon designs. They're best suited for pendants, pins or brooches, and can be worn in
rings as long as some care is taken to prevent hard knocks and blows.
Pink Kunzite
Pink kunzite is lovely pink gemstone that has become a favorite for many jewelry designers. It can be found in a wide range of jewelry styles. Deeper pink colors are found in larger stones, while smaller kunzite gems exhibit softer and more delicate pink hues. Large, clean stones are very affordable which makes kunzite a bargain. Its color is known to fade in sunlight, so it's best to keep jewelry stored away from direct sunlight when not in use. Pink kunzite looks exceptionally beautiful when set into jewelry that can intensify its color, such as deep settings. Since kunzite exhibits its most intense color along the length of its axis, elongated cuts are best - such as teardrop earrings. Oval and pear-shaped rings also make exquisite kunzite jewelry.
More Pink Gemstones
Other pink gems include pink topaz, pink smithsonite, pink rhodochrosite, pink color-change diaspore (zultanite) and pink coral. This is certainly not a complete and comprehensive list of all the pink gemstones available today, but it is a good starting point. We hope this article can at least help you get some ideas together for your next big pink gemstone jewelry project whether it's for you or a client.
