Agate

No gemstone is more creatively striped by nature than agate, chalecedony quartz that forms in concentric layers in a wide variety of colors and textures. Each individual agate forms by filling a cavity in host rock. As a result, agate often is found as a round nodule, with concentric bands like the rings of a tree trunk. The bands sometimes look like eyes, sometimes fanciful scallops, or even a landscape with dendrite trees.

Alexandrite

One of the most fascinating gemstones throughout history is alexandrite: a gem variety of the mineral chrysoberyl that actually changes color from green in daylight to red in incandescent light. The first time you see it, it is hard to believe your eyes! Gems that show special optical effects are known as phenomenal stones. Chrysoberyl dominates this category, because not only is alexandrite the most spectacular color change gem, cat's-eye chrysoberyl has the most dramatic eye. Alexandrite has a distinguished and glamorous past: it was discovered in 1830 in Czarist Russia. Since the old Russian imperial colors are red and green it was named after Czar Alexander II on the occasion of his coming of age.

Amber

Although amber's use in adornment is probably as old as mankind, in recent history it has had a limited market. Demand is especially strong for amber with insects inside. "Amber is like a time capsule made and placed in the earth by nature herself," said David Federman, author of Consumer Guide to Colored Gemstones. "It has helped paleontologists reconstruct life on earth in its primal phases. More than 1,000 extinct species of insects have been identified in amber." The two main sources of amber on the market today are the Baltic states and the Dominican Republic. Amber from the Baltic states is older, and therefore preferred on the market, but amber from the Dominican Republic is more likely to have insect inclusions. Prices of amber can range from $20 to $40,000 or more.

Amethyst

Romans believed the amethyst would ward off the intoxicating powers of Bacchus - the god of wine. Amethyst was also thought to protect soldiers and bring them victory. And, in the Middle Ages, only persons of nobel birth were allowed to wear them. Amethyst is the birthstone for February.

Ametrine

With ametrine, you can have both gem colors for the price of one! Ametrine is especially inexpensive when you consider that it comes from only one mine in the world. The Anahi Mine in Bolivia is the major world producer of ametrine. The mine first became famous in the seventeenth century when a Spanish conquistador received it as a dowry when he married a princess from the Ayoreos tribe named Anahi. Ametrine was introduced to Europe through the conquistador's gifts to the Spanish queen.

Topaz

The enduring symbol of love and affection, the topaz is believed to bring the wearer friendship and ensure fidelity. Available in a wide array of colors, topaz is the birthstone for November and the suggested gift for the twenty-third anniversary.

Tourmaline

Tourmaline's name comes from the Sinhalese word "turmali," which means "mixed." Bright rainbow collections of gemstone varieties were called "turmali" parcels. Tourmaline, occurring in more colors and combinations of colors than any other gemstone variety, lives up to its name. There is a tourmaline that looks like almost any other gemstone! Many stones in the Russian Crown jewels from the 17th Century once thought to be rubies are actually tourmalines. Perhaps this is why this gemstone is said to encourage artistic intuition: it has many faces and expresses every mood.

Zircon

Hindu poets tell of the Kalpa Tree, the ultimate gift to the gods, which was a glowing tree covered with gemstone fruit with leaves of zircon. Zircon has long had a supporting role to more well-known gemstones, often stepping in as an understudy when they were unavailable. In the middle ages, zircon was said to aid sleep, bring prosperity, and promote honor and wisdom in its owner. The name probably comes from the Persian word zargun which means "gold-colored," although zircon comes in a wide range of different colors.

Quartz

If you gaze deep inside a crystal ball, you will see a versatile gemstone, one of the most popular gems on earth. Beautiful quartz, the "rock crystal" used in ancient times to make crystal balls and bowls, is today more often seen set in gold jewelry. Despite the popularity of quartz gems like amethyst, citrine, ametrine, rose quartz, onyx, agates, chrysoprase, rutilated quartz, and other quartz gemstone varieties, many people in the jewelry industry take quartz for granted because of its affordable price. Throughout history, quartz has been the common chameleon of gemstones, standing in for more expensive gemstones ranging from diamond to jade. But the incredible variety of quartz is now beginning to be appreciated for its own sake.

Ruby

The fiery color of the ruby symbolizes devotion and desire. It was once believed that the wearer of a ruby was blessed with health, wealth, wisdom and outstanding success in affairs of the heart. Ruby is the birthstone for July and the anniversary gemstone for the fifteenth and fortieth wedding anniversaries.

Sapphire

Although "sapphiru" means blue in Latin, sapphires can be found in a rainbow of colors. Kings once believed these stones offered protection from harm and envy. Sapphire is the traditional gift for the fifth and forty-fifth wedding anniversaries and the birthstone for September

Spinel

Spinel is the great imposter of gemstone history: many famous rubies in crown jewels around the world are actually spinel. The most famous is the Black Prince's Ruby, a magnificent 170-carat red spinel that currently adorns the Imperial State Crown in the British Crown Jewels after a long history: Henry V even wore it on his battle helmet! The Timur Ruby, a 352 carat red spinel now owned by Queen Elizabeth, has the names of some of the Mughal emperors who previously owned it engraved on its face, an undeniable pedigree!

Tanzanite

Named for Tanzania, the country where it was first mined in 1967, tanzanite is a relative newcomer to the gemstone kingdom. This exotic, vivid stone has been found nowhere else on earth.

Moonstone

Moonstone almost seems magical with a ghostly shimmering glow floating in a crystalline material. The Romans thought that moonstone was formed out of moonlight. Moonstone is a variety of feldspar and the shimmer, which is called schiller or adularescence, is caused by the intergrowth of two different types of feldspar, with different refractive indexes. In Europe, moonstone is considered the birthstone for June, although in the United States it shares that distinction with alexandrite and pearl.

Onyx

In jewelry design as in fashion, colors look crisper against a background of black and black and white always looks right. In fine jewelry, the black backdrop is often supplied by onyx, a chalcedony quartz with a fine texture and black color. Some onyx also displays white bands or ribbons against a black background. If the layers are even, this type of onyx can be carved into cameos. Onyx was very popular with the ancient Greeks and Romans. The name comes from the Greek word onux, which means fingernail. The story is that one day frisky Cupid cut the divine fingernails of Venus with an arrowhead while she was sleeping. He left the clippings scattered on the sand and the fates turned them into stone so that no part of the heavenly body would ever perish. True, black isn't normally the color one associates with fingernails. (Did Venus wear Vamp?) But in Greek times, almost all colors of chalcedony from fingernail white to dark brown and black were called onyx. Later, the Romans narrowed the term to refer to black and dark brown colors only.

Opal

Arabs believed opals fell from heaven in flashes of lighting and thus acquired the unique glow of internal fire. Some believed opals give their owners the gift of prophecy. Others consider the stone a fitting symbol of hope, innocence and purity. The opal is the birthstone for October and the suggested gift for the fourteenth wedding anniversary.

Pearl

Old Arabian legend suggest the pearl was formed when dewdrops filled with moonlight fell into the ocean and were swallowed by oysters. Cultured pearls are a traditional gift for brides, June birthdays and third and thirteenth wedding anniversaries, and are believed to have life-giving powers to restore youth.

Peridot

Are peridots the divine tears wept by Pele, Hawaiian goddess of the volcano? Or the powerful talismans against evil of ancient Egyptian lore? Today, people prize the fresh green color of this gemstone, the birthstone for August and the suggested gift for the sixteenth wedding anniversary.

Garnet

The garnet is a symbol of friendship, love and devotion. Legend holds that Noah used the brilliant stone as a boat lamp. It is also the birthstone for January and the suggested gift for the second anniversary.

Iolite

When Leif Eriksson and the other legendary Viking explorers ventured far out into the Atlantic Ocean, away from any coastline that could help them determine position, they had a secret gem weapon: iolite. The Viking mariners used thin pieces of iolite as the world's first polarizing filter. Looking through an iolite lens, they could determine the exact position of the sun, and navigate safely to the new world and back. The property that made iolite so valuable to the Vikings is extreme pleochroism. Iolite has different colors in different directions in the crystal. A cube cut from iolite will look a violetish blue almost like sapphire from one side, clear as water from the other, and a honey yellow from the top. This property led some people to call iolite "water sapphire" in the past, a name that is now obsolete.

Jade

The English "jade" comes from the Spanish "piera de ijada" or "lion stone", so called because it was believed to cure kidney ailments. Jade is actually two chemically different gemstones. Nephrite is the dark green stone prized by the ancient Chinese. Jadeite, used for fine jewelry, comes in a range of naturally occurring colors and is considered to have more value.

Kunzite

Kunzite, the pale pink to lilac gem variety of the mineral spodumene, is named as a tribute to George Kunz, the legendary gem scholar, gemologist, and gem buyer for Tiffany & Co at the turn of the century. The author of The Curious Lore of Precious Stones, Kunz searched the globe for old stories and legends about gems as he searched for new varieties and new deposits. Kunzite was first found in Connecticut, USA. But the first commercially significant deposit was discovered in 1902 in the Pala region of California, where morganite beryl was also first discovered. Kunzite is often found in association with morganite and pink tourmaline, the other popular pink gemstones. Today most kunzite is mined in Brazil, Afghanistan, and Madagascar.

Lapis

The beautiful blues in paintings from the Renaissance are thanks to the blue of lapis lazuli, the blue rock loved by the ancients, from Mesopotamia, to Egypt, to Persia, to Greece and Rome. The ancient city of Ur has a thriving trade in lapis as early as the fourth millennium B.C. The name is international, from the latin, lapis, which means stone, and from the Arabic, azul, which means blue. When lapis was first introduced to Europe, it was called ultramarinum, which means beyond the sea. Ground lapis was the secret of the blue in ultramarine, the pigment which painters used to paint the sea and the sky until the nineteenth century. Lapis was also popular in inlays.

Chrysoberyl

Like the eye of a panther, cat's-eye chrysoberyl seems almost supernatural in origin. How could something so feline be mineral and not animal? Cat's-eye chrysoberyl, a cousin of color-changing alexandrite, is a variety of chrysoberyl which has a distinct band of light across its face which sweeps from side to side.

Citrine

Revered by the ancients as a gift of the sun and a powerful antidote to the viper's venom, citrine is derived from the French word for lemon. Citrines come in glorious golden and vibrant yellow colors.

Coral

Coral is among the most ancient of gem materials, used for adornment since prehistoric times. Coral inlays and ornaments have been found in Celtic tombs from the Iron Age. Coral has a history of religious significance. Coral is one of the seven treasures in Buddhist scriptures and Tibetan Lamas use coral rosaries. Coral was long thought to be a powerful talisman that could stop bleeding, protect from evil spirits, and ward off hurricanes.

Diamond

Diamonds are usually colorless. However, brown, yellow, green, blue, pink, red, gray and black variations are also found depending on the impurities present. Diamonds are mostly found in Australia, Ghana, Zaire, the former USSR, USA Arkansas, California, Colorado, and North Carolina), and Brazil.

Emerald

Known to bring good fortune, the emerald is said to empower its owner with foresight. Its rich green hues reflect nature and symbolize fertility, rebirth and springtime. Legends claim wearing an emerald will strengthen memory, guard against evil spirits and reveal the truth of a lover's love. Once a favorite of Cleopatra, emeralds are the birthstone for May.

Andalusite

Andalusite is named after Andalusia, the province of Spain where it was first discovered. Andalusite is pleochroic, different colors in different directions. When cutting most pleochroic gemstones, such as iolite and tanzanite, the trick is to minimize the pleochroism and maximize the single best color. Andalusite is the opposite: cutters try to orient the gem to get a pleasing mix of colors: orangey brown and a yellowish green or gold. When they succeed, andalusite looks unlike any other gemstones, with patterns of color dancing around the facets. The best color play is seen in fancy shapes, particularly rectangular cushion shapes: in round cuts, the colors blend together. Andalusite is mined in Brazil and Sri Lanka.

Aquamarine

From the Latin word for "sea water", aquamarine was said to be a gift to the mermaids from Neptune, the Kinf of the Sea. Some believe aquamarine to help the wearer conqure wickedness, and to have magical power to convey insight and foresight. It is the birthstone for March and symbolizes happiness and everlasting youth.

Beryl

Everyone admires the green fire of emerald and the watery blue charm of aquamarine, but not many realize that they are different colors of the same mineral: beryl. There are other members of the beryl family much less known then their famous cousins. Pink and peach morganite, named after gem collector extraodinaire J.P. Morgan; heliodor, also known as golden beryl; rare red beryl, which is as red as emerald is green; pale green beryl, which is a green version of aquamarine; and colorless beryl, or goshenite, which shows off the brilliance of this gem family. In fact the word brilliance is probably derived from the ancient greek word for beryl, berullos, which means crystal.

Bloodstone

Bloodstone, green jasper dotted with bright red spots of iron oxide, was treasured in ancient times and long served as the birthstone for March. This attractive chalcedony quartz is also known as Heliotrope because in ancient times polished stones were described as reflecting the sun: perhaps the appearance of the gem reminded the ancients of the red setting sun reflected in the ocean. Medieval Christians often used bloodstone to carve scenes of the crucifixion and martyrs, leading it to also be dubbed martyr's stone. The legend of the origin of bloodstone says that it was first formed when some drops of Christ's blood fell and stained some jasper at the foot of the cross. A beautiful example of carved bloodstone with the seal of the German Emperor Rudolf II can be seen at the Louvre museum in Paris. Even today, finely powdered bloodstone is used as a medicine and aphrodisiac in India. Perhaps that explains why today it is difficult to find fine specimens of bloodstone on the market. Bloodstone is mined in India, Australia, and the United States.

Chrome-Diopside

Chrome diopside won't win any contests for the most beautiful name. To most people, it sounds more like a car polish rather than a gemstone. But don't jump to any conclusions! Chrome diopside has a beautiful rich green color and an amazingly low price. It is the most affordable gemstone with a pure rich green color. There are a few drawbacks. The chrome diopside is most available in small sizes: in the rare large sizes, the color becomes so rich it is too dark. But for bright green accent stones, chrome diopside is ideal. However, it is relatively soft, with a hardness of 5.5, so it is a better choice for earrings or a pendant than for a ring which will receive a lot of wear. Chrome diopside is mostly mined in Yakutia and Siberia and the liberalization of the economy of the former Soviet Union has made it more available than even before.