Popular Semi-Precious Gemstones

Semi-precious stone

Gemstones are the foundation for jewelry making.  While some jewelry is made without gemstones, perhaps made with metals only such as silver, gold, or copper, or using glass and crystal beads, I love semi precious stones and feel that other components should be used to accent the semi-precious stones.  There are precious and semi-precious, but all are beautiful and as far as I am concerned, all belong to the same class: gems.  In fact, diamonds are the most valuable, but in my eyes, they certainly are not the most beautiful.

There is a range of mythology around the properties of gemstones.  While some swear to effectiveness of powers in gems and crystals, I personally have no opinion either way.  But I do enjoy the beauty of gemstones.  In fact, the more “imperfections” in a stone, such as striping or variations in color, the more I like it.  Perhaps the “power” of gemstones stems from your believing that they work.

The following is a short list of popular semi-precious gemstones:
AGATE: one of the most uniquely patterned gemstones.  Wide range of colors and textures.
AMETHYST:  definitely my favorite semi-precious stone!  Colors range from almost clear lilac to deep dark purple.  Can be either opaque or transparent, and everything in between.
AQUAMARINE: beautiful blue gemstone, with variation in color from light sky blue to deep sea blue.
ADVENTURINE: a quartz often referred to as “new jade” is a green stone, often with speckles
CARNELIAN: a quartz in the red color family.  Can be clear or translucent with colors from orange to dark red-orange.
CHALCEDONY:  fine grained quartz. Comes in a variety of colors, ranging from bluish-white all the way to brown.
CITRINE: usually refers to any crystal or quartz that is in the yellow family, ranging from bright yellow to dark orange.  Natural citrine starts out as amethyst and turns yellowish when heated to a molten state.
CORAL: not a gemstone, but used in jewelry none the less. Coral is a product of marine life.  Color ranges from white to red, but most coral used in jewelry is dyed.
FLOURITE: a mineral that has a wide range of color, usually in a striped pattern.  Colors most usually seen are purple, blue, and green, with occasional yellow, pink, and brown, as well as clear areas.  A beautiful and unique semi-precious stone.
GOLDSTONE: also referred to as “flaked stone” is a man-made semi-precious stone.  There are different color variations including blue, green, and lemon.  Goldstone is made from glass mixed with metal flakes to create that beautiful sparkle.
GARNET: a beautiful deep red to red brown gemstone.
GASPEITE: a rare mineral, light green in color
HEMATITE: one of the most common minerals, a black or dark charcoal grey stone.
HOWLITE: a mineral much turquoise in appearance, but a grey or white color.  Commonly dyed to make it look like turquoise.
JADE: most common color is green, however, jade also comes in yellow, lavender, white and grey.
JASPER: a type of quartz, crystalline in nature that has foreign material that gives it a striped or spotted multicolor appearance.  Jasper comes in many different colors and varieties.
JET: a soft black stone, composed of carbonized wood.  A light opaque stone.
LAPIS: or “Lapis Lazuli” is probably the deepest blue gemstone.  Deep dark blue and often has flecks of sparkly gold created by iron pyrite.
MALACHITE: beautiful green gemstone with black striping.  Sometimes seen with sparkles or flecks of red ruby.
MOOKAITE: from western Australia, consisting of the left over skeletons of microscopic organism.
MOONSTONE:  ooh another one of my personal favorites.  A translucent stone that can be anywhere from almost clear to almost totally opaque.  All will have a moon-like glow.  Moonstone can also range from pure white to grey, yellow, or peach.  My favorite is what is referred to as “Rainbow Moonstone” and is almost clear with a distinctive blue sheen.  A high quality moonstone is exquisite, and perhaps should be considered "precious" as opposed to semi-precious.
OBSIDIAN: is a natural glass formed when volcanic lava cools quickly.  Normally a very hard, black, and shiny stone.  SNOWFLAKE OBSIDIAN: has small white “snowflakes” that is caused by silica crystals in the black glass.  Other types of Obsidian are caused when bubbles are trapped while the lava cools.
ONYX:  is a crystalline quartz that is normally brown, white, or grey.  The gorgeous black color it is known for is dyed.
OPAL:  all the colors of the rainbow and more can be seen in this expensive and exquisite gem from Australia.
PERIDOT: colors range from transparent lime green to dark olive green.  Often found in rocks by volcanoes.
RHODONITE: similar to malachite, but rather than green with black stripes, it is pink with black stripes.  Colors can also be red to orange, and even almost all black.
SODALITE: a beautiful blue stone decorated with white calcite.
TIGER EYE: well known for its shimmering bands of glowing golden browns.  Color ranges from golden to dark brown.
TOPAZ: yellow to golden brown gemstone
TURQUOISE: one of the more popular semi-precious stones, especially in the western USA.  A soft opaque gem formed when volcanic rock reacts to copper deposits.  Colors can vary greatly from light green to dark sky blue, all have veining in grey, brown, or black.  Turquoise is a very soft stone and so must be protected with coating when used in jewelry.  Uncoated turquoise will eventually turn green.
ZEBRA STONE:  gorgeous gemstone with black and white striping