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Gemstones: Precious & Semi-Precious Stones

Gemstones are minerals, rocks or organic materials that are cut and polished for jewelry. This guide covers the precious and semi-precious stones in the StoneSnap database with hardness, color range, typical value and the tests that separate natural stones from glass and imitations.

Hardness matters twice for gems: it determines durability in jewelry and it is the quickest way to rule out a fake, since glass sits near Mohs 5.5 while most gems are 7 or harder.

Mohs hardness in this group runs from 2.5 to 10.

Also browse:Types of Igneous RocksTypes of Sedimentary RocksTypes of Metamorphic RocksMinerals A to ZMetals & Alloys

All gemstones (28)

Diamond specimen: colorless and yellow gemstoneDiamondMohs 10 · None streakRuby specimen: red and pinkish red gemstoneRubyMohs 9 · White streakEmerald specimen: green and bluish green gemstoneEmeraldMohs 7.5 · White streakSapphire specimen: blue and pink gemstoneSapphireMohs 9 · White streakPearl specimen: white and cream gemstonePearlMohs 3 · White streakOpal specimen: white and black gemstoneOpalMohs 5.5 · White streakTanzanite specimen: blue and violet gemstoneTanzaniteMohs 6.5 · White streakAlexandrite specimen: green in daylight and red in incandescent light gemstoneAlexandriteMohs 8.5 · White streakMoldavite specimen: forest green and olive green gemstoneMoldaviteMohs 5.5 · White streakAmber specimen: yellow and orange gemstoneAmberMohs 2.5 · White streakMoonstone specimen: white and gray gemstoneMoonstoneMohs 6 · White streakAquamarine specimen: light blue and blue-green gemstoneAquamarineMohs 7.5 · White streakGarnet specimen: red and orange gemstoneGarnetMohs 7 · White streakTopaz specimen: colorless and blue gemstoneTopazMohs 8 · White streakPeridot specimen: yellow-green and olive green gemstonePeridotMohs 6.5 · White streakSpinel specimen: red and pink gemstoneSpinelMohs 8 · White streakKunzite specimen: pink and lilac gemstoneKunziteMohs 7 · White streakZircon specimen: colorless and blue gemstoneZirconMohs 7.5 · White streakIolite specimen: violet-blue and blue gemstoneIoliteMohs 7 · White streakRed Coral specimen: red and pink gemstoneRed CoralMohs 3.5 · White streakAmmolite specimen: gemstoneAmmoliteMohs 7 · White to light-colored streakJadeite specimen: green and white gemstoneJadeiteMohs 6.75 · White streakJet specimen: black and dark brown gemstoneJetMohs 3 · Brown streakMorganite specimen: pink and peach gemstoneMorganiteMohs 7.75 · White streakMoss Agate specimen: colorless and white gemstoneMoss AgateMohs 6.75 · White streakPrasiolite specimen: green and pale green gemstonePrasioliteMohs 7 · White streakPyrope specimen: red and deep red gemstonePyropeMohs 7.25 · White streakSunstone specimen: orange and red gemstoneSunstoneMohs 6.5 · White streak

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common gemstones?

The most searched gemstones in the StoneSnap database are Diamond, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, and Pearl.

How do you identify gemstones?

Start with luster and color, then bracket the Mohs hardness with a scratch test and check the streak on unglazed porcelain. Mohs hardness in this group runs from 2.5 to 10. Each entry below lists the diagnostic properties and its common look-alikes.

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