What Gives Fancy Diamonds & Sapphires Their Colors?

A  rare blue diamond

Diamonds, the element carbon in nature, are usually thought of as clear, transparent, or white. Sapphires, corundums, or aluminum oxide, are abundantly blue in nature. Yet both precious gemstones also come in several fancy colors when trace minerals (impurities) bond within each stone's chemistry as they form over billions of years in the earth's crust. 

Have you ever wondered what gives fancy diamonds and sapphires their various colors? Since I couldn't find charts via Google searches, I created 2 charts for you below, my lovely readers, listing the mineral or impurity present in each gemstone that produces its rare color. 

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First up let's take a look at fancy diamonds --

Diamond is an allotrope (meaning it has molecular modifications) of pure Carbon

Color of Diamond	Trace Impurities or minerals causing the color
Blue	Boron
Yellow	Nitrogen
Green	Sulfur
Purple	Has an unusually high presence of Hydrogen
Red and pink DeYoung Red Diamond	No trace elements are present. The color is caused by a distortion in the diamond's crystal lattice produced by intense heat and pressure from all directions after the stone's formation in the earth. A special configuration of molecules lets us see the stone as pink or red as light passes through it.
Black	Clouds of minute mineral inclusions such as graphite, pyrite, or hematite extend throughout the stone. In short, a black diamond is a bundle of inclusions in the stone.

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Next up is our 2nd featured gemstone fancy sapphires  --

Effy Jewelry in common blue and multi-colored sapphires

Below is our 2nd chart listing the trace minerals or impurities that give sapphires their most common and fancy colors.

Sapphire is a corundum, chemically, extremely hard aluminum oxide. Red corundum is a ruby, not a sapphire.

Color of Sapphire	Trace Impurities or minerals causing the color
Blue (the most sold)	Iron or Titanium
Green and Yellow	Iron or low-level radiation within the earth
Orange (padparadscha sapphire) The Natural Sapphire Company	A combination of chromium (red) and iron (yellow) or natural radiation
Purple and Violet	Vanadium or natural radiation
Pink	Chromium
When the corundum is red it is a ruby. All other colors of corundum except red, are sapphires.	Chromium

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Interesting fact: Red gemstones are the rarest in nature often making them the most costly. Red diamonds are extremely rare and expensive. Rubies tend to cost more than sapphires. The jewelry industry has a well-known saying about corundum, "If you're a buyer, you want to buy a sapphire, and if you're a seller you want to sell a ruby." So don't be fooled: Pink corundum is always a sapphire while red corundum is always a ruby. Take heed if a merchant is selling pink rubies!😁

What a fun Van Cleef & Arpels design with emeralds and fancy carnary yellow diamonds! We'd all be dancing if we could afford to buy it.

I hope you find my 2 charts helpful in understating what makes fancy diamonds and sapphires. Fancy is a real term in the gemology world used for the lesser-known colors of these gemstones.

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Did You Know Red Emeralds Exist?

Photo: gemstones.com

Although an accurate and characteristically fitting name to describe red beryl, there's a bit of controversy in calling it a red emerald. Emeralds are so associated with the color green that some geological associations are afraid consumers will feel deceived by the term red emerald. Personally, I disagree. The adjective "red" lets you know the beryl is not green.

Photo: Equatoial Imports

Red beryl was discovered in 1904 in the Wah, Wah mountains of Utah by Maynard Bixby, an American mineralogist. The gemstone is very rare and thus far has only been found in Utah and New Mexico. 

Just like it sibling beryl, green emerald, red beryl is a class 3 gemstone, meaning it's very brittle and highly included. Also like green emeralds, oil treatments are acceptable to improve the appearance of a red emerald's inclusions. Oil treatments don't change or damage the gemstone. 

Photos (including the next one on the right) courtesy of Christian Library

All beryls are distinguished by hexagonal crystal systems. In nature, pure beryl is colorless but acquires its color from trace amounts (that is to say, impurities) of additional elements. While chromium and vanadium give emerald its green color, and iron makes aquamarine blue, when manganese produces a deep red color, it's called red beryl or red emerald. Of course, beryls also come in pink, and yellow, but for now, let's discuss red.

Registering 7.5 - 8 on Moh' Hardness Scale, red emeralds come in red-red, purplish-red, or orangy-red. Big stones are especially rare finds. According to the Gemmological Association of Great Britain, a 2-carat red beryl is as rare as a 40-carat diamond. The gem association says, "only one red beryl is mined for every 150,000 diamonds.'' And consider this, the scarlet gem is scarcer on earth than gold.

What I think is super cool ... May babies have another color of birthstone!

Due to the gemstone's rarity and the lack of abundant production, good quality red emeralds can fetch up to $10,000 per carat. Still be aware that like its sibling green emeralds, or diamonds, sapphires, and rubies, there are various degrees of gem-quality stones. Not all red beryl is equal, and clarity, color, and size apply to determine its value. According to gemstone wholesaler Equatorial Imports, red beryl tends to price twice the value of emerald.🟩 

Would you like to own a red emerald?

Equatorial Imports

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Ametrine The Bicolor Quartz

All photos are from Macy's unless otherwise noted. Find them here.

On THE SAVVY SHOPPER, we've discussed amethyst and citrine, both members of the quartz family of gemstones. Quartz is the chemical compound silicon dioxide, shortened to silica.

 

Mother Nature also makes a bicolor quartz that uniquely combines the purple of amethyst and the golden yellow of citrine. Called Ametrine, a mixture of amethyst and citrine, its defining feature is having both colors in a single stone. 

Like most quartz, ametrine has great clarity, meaning it is transparent with few inclusions. Color gives ametrine its value -- the more intense the purple and yellow are, the more desirable, plus there should be an even split between the 2 hues with a clear boundary. On Moh's Scale of Hardness, this eye-catching quartz rates a 7 just like its quartz siblings, making it suitable to fashion into jewelry.

The reason ametrine has 2 colors is due to different temperatures existing while the crystal was forming in the mine. A lower temperature left the iron within the crystal unoxidized to form amethyst while a higher temperature oxidized the iron within the same crystal to form citrine. {Bracelet linked here.} A gemologist would have to confirm what I envision ... a ray of sunshine hitting or more poetically, kissing the stone to make ametrine.

Nearly all commercially sold ametrine is mined in the Anahi mine in Bolivia, and for this reason, the gemstone is sometimes known as bolivianite. In fact, ametrine is the national stone of Bolivia.

Considering its beauty and rarity on earth, ametrine is surprisingly budget-friendly compared to similar gemstones. Unlike more common gemstones like diamonds that are in higher demand, not everybody knows to want ametrine. 

Often fashioned into emerald or Asscher cuts, the violet and golden gemstone looks lovely set in yellow or rose gold, as well as, complements every skin tone as it has dual cool and warm undertones.

Let's play a game: If you could only have one gemstone in a ring or necklace, would you want an amethyst, citrine, or ametrine?

Photo: Wikipedia to show you ametrine as found in nature.

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Another Of Nature's Pretties: Peridot

Photo: Cartier

Over millions of years, Mother Nature has formed a variety of gorgeous rocks that the artistry of man turns into sparklers. Peridot, available for many types of jewelry, is one of its more affordable and lively green gemstones. Today let's learn more about this semi-precious beauty, which is a silicate mineral [(MgFe)2SiO4], as well as, a magnesium-rich variety of olivine that forms in molten rock on the earth's upper mantle (as do diamonds, and not further down in its crust like amethyst). Peridot's green hue comes from iron, which is also part of its chemistry (see the formula above👆). In fact, the gemstone occurs in only one color: olive green. However, the intensity and tint of the green can vary from yellow-green -- to olive green -- to brownish-green, and the purer the green, the more valuable the stone.

 

Most of the finest colored peridot comes from Myanmar (Burma) and the Himalayas of Pakistan. Other countries where it is found include China, Tanzania, Vietnam, and the USA. Intriguingly, peridot is sometimes found in meteorites that fall to earth, meaning the gemstone also forms in outer space! Some land on the beaches of Hawaii.

If you like wearing bigger gemstones you are in luck because without breaking the bank, you'll find large pieces of pure green peridot with excellent clarity on the market. You will pay a couple of hundred, as opposed to, thousands of dollars for bigger carat sizes of peridot in a ring, earrings, bracelet, or necklace than you would for emeralds, rubies, sapphires, tanzanites, or diamonds.

Readily visual black spots (i.e., not eye clean) are inclusions to look out for in this stone, as they substantially lower its value.

Peridot rates a 6.5 - 7 on Moh's Scale of Hardness, the same as Tanzanite, Citrine, Tourmaline, Tiger's Eye, Zircon, and Onyx. Harder than opal and pearls, peridot is cut into a variety of standard shapes including round, oval, emerald, cushion, pear, triangle, and marquise.

Peridot is the modern birthstone for everyone born in the month of August. 

Everything featured (except for the top necklace) is available in Macy's online jewelry department. Posted are some of my favorite pieces from Macy's budget-friendly and sophisticated designs. Wow, peridot looks equally flattering in white, yellow, or rose gold. Do you agree?

What a beautiful twinkling, green gemstone ... and less common than the usual suspects! It's budget-friendly because the supply is good and not everybody knows to want it!

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A Hearts And Arrows Cut Diamond: What Is It?

All post photos courtesy of James Allen, including this Hearts and Arrows diamond.

As I researched diamond cuts for my last jewelry blog, I ran into the term hearts and arrows cut, so I thought it would be a fun topic to explore, letting you know what it is. Although gemstone browsing is a joy, I'd never seriously consider buying this cut of diamonds. Such cut stones cost a bundle, and you don't need such precision to get a nice sparkly diamond. {Now if I received one in a suite of jewelry like a royal bride from Arabian princes, I wouldn't turn it down. Hey Emir, right-hand ring!}

See the hearts and arrows yet?

A Hearts and Arrows diamond is a 57 faceted round brilliant cut. The diamonds are cut to "Ideal" proportions. In the face-up (crown) position, there is a near-perfect pattern of 8 symmetrical arrows and when looking at the stone in its tabletop (pavilion - see top image) position, there is a near-perfect pattern of 8 symmetrical hearts. The diamonds have good optical symmetry, polish, and this exacting, precision, repeating pattern. A hearts and arrows cut diamond looks bigger than non-Ideal cuts because it reflects more brilliance (i.e., white light) across the diamond.

Yes, it sparkles and dazzles like mad, but since only 1% of the world's diamonds are hearts and arrows cuts, you can guess the expense. Want to mortgage your house today to buy one? 

So what adds to the cost? The 1% rarity of the diamonds for one. More of the rough diamond is lost to produce a hearts and arrows diamond, and it takes an expert, experienced diamond cutter and polisher to cut and polish the diamond. As expected, deep pockets are going to pay for it. 

Here's why you may want to select a more common, closer to budget-friendly diamond. It takes a specially designed light-direction viewer called a Hearts and Arrows scope to see the near-perfect precision pattern of this super Ideal-cut diamond. So this might mean 2 purchases ... and what are you going to do, carry around a scope to offer people a look?😁😃😆  

Certainly, we can cherish a peek at rarity, symmetry, and skillfully cut diamonds, but when it comes to pulling out my wallet, I'll go with eye clean every time. I can enjoy stones that are not as rare or absolutely perfect because I get to keep my home, as well as, wear my sparklers with more abandon!

To me, buying jewelry and gemstones is similar to buying computers. I can only afford to pay the piper up to a certain amount and could never keep up with the latest, the greatest, the apex of quality, Great Britain's Spencer sisters, or LA's Kylie Kardashians. But I bet I love my affordable bling just as much! They don't stay in a box.

Here's an extra diamond buying tip: Be flexible on color. A rating of E, F, or G color may not be where you want to spend your money. Consider up to a "J" rating, which is still colorless, yet costs far less. Buying a HUGE diamond is where you'll notice the difference between an E and J color. Save money by sticking with eye-clean, and perhaps you will be able to afford a bigger diamond for the money. Mother Nature produces a range of beauties. Out in public, nobody notices a diamond as a J color! 

Likewise, while you need a good cut, only a bionic eye could spot a hearts and arrows pattern. But hey, whenever you have the chance to feast your eyes on the top of the heap, do! Twinkle, twinkle, little star (of the show) !!! It's free ... a JOY to behold! ... and your money stays in the bank!!

Here's the Hearts and Arrows Diamond on a hand, dream-sized! 😍

By the way, within the Hearts and Arrows diamond cut, there's an even rarer cut called the Decagon 10. It's a 111 (as opposed to 57-58) faceted diamond with 10 hearts and arrows (instead of 8) that reflects fire (color light) and flashes of white light like no other diamond cut. The Decagon 10 Hearts and Arrows diamonds are only cut in the D - G colors, VS2 clarity (flawless), and certified with triple ideal (0) stones (i.e., shimmers enough to blind you!). See what I mean by can't keep up with the latest, the greatest, the pinnacle, the most expensive? The bar always rises!

Photo: JannPaul - Hello, gorgeous!

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Radiant Tsavorite Garnet

Photo: Geology In

An emerald is the birthstone of May babies. The gorgeous green beryl is rarer and more expensive per carat than diamonds, sapphires or rubies. Emeralds also have more inclusions than other precious or semi-precious gemstones. Unlike diamonds where clarity is prized, inclusions (in emeralds called Jardins) are accepted because natural emeralds are never clean.

If you long for a clean (free of inclusions) brilliant green stone, you might consider a radiant tsavorite garnet (Ca3Al2Si3O12) first discovered in 1967 by British gem geologist Campbell Bridges, which Tiffany and Co. began selling as jewelry in 1974. Usually when people think of garnets they visualize a cinnamon (dark red) color, which many garnets are. Yet garnets come in a variety of rarer colors. Garnets are composed of aluminum and calcium but when there are traces of 2 additional minerals, chromium and vanadium, the color is bright green and the semi-precious stone, rating a 6.5 - 7.5 on Moh's Scale of Hardness, is referred to as a tsavorite garnet. This stunning green stone, mined in Kenya (and less intense hues in Tanzania), is incredibly sparkly due to its high refractive index. 

Tsavorite is less likely to shatter than emerald because it is a stone without inclusions. Sans inclusions, tsavorite can be cut into more facets to reflect light more brilliantly than an emerald. And, tsavorite is translucent in nature without requiring treatments like heat or oil.

While emeralds are unmatched in their green-blue color, tsavorites have more brilliance or life than typical emeralds. Still both gems are undeniably gorgeous in their own right.

Finally, tsavorites are not as pricey as emeralds, so in general, you can get more value for the money, either paying less for similar sized stones, or perhaps getting a bigger tsavorite garnet for less money than what you will pay for an emerald. Definitely a radiant green stone ... a beauty of nature not to be overlooked!💚

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Spinel: A Case of Mistaken Identity

Photo: jewelry.org - Spinel often grows in limestone

Spinel has a "long, storied history." Some of the most famous "rubies" in the world belonging to monarchs, including the Black Prince's Ruby, a centerpiece of the British Imperial State Crown, turned out to be spinel once modern science caught up with it. Why it was impersonating a ruby nobody knows! Perhaps it's because spinel and ruby often grow in the same mine.

You may notice the Black Prince's Ruby has a tiny stone in it. Why? Some Einstein thought it a great idea to cut a hole in this lovely stone to place a feather in it! WTH, did he not know that fads come and go!!

In fact, spinels (MAI2O4) are minerals, namely octahedral crystals, consisting mostly of magnesium and aluminum. They tend to be more reflective -- glittering more than rubies, its former neighbor. Like sapphires, spinels come in a range of vibrant colors, perhaps the most coveted hues being red and blue. Yet, all the colors are gorgeous!

The Tumur "Ruby" in the Imperial Crown of Russia

Luckily spinel registers an 8 on the Moh's Hardness Scale making it a sturdy gemstone to cut and wear as necklaces, rings, earrings and bracelets. These oxide minerals are mined in Afghanistan, Brazil, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Canada, Kenya, Russia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand and Vietnam. Since 2000 glowing spinels in bright pink and blue come from Myanmar, Tanzania and Vietnam. In 2018 bright blue spinel was also discovered in the Baffin Island of Canada. Small additions of cobalt is the element which gives spinal a pure blue color.

Fortunately for Savvy Shoppers, the popularity and demand for spinel gemstones hasn't caught up with its beauty, so you can get a big rock for much less than you'd pay for sapphires or rubies.

Moreover, today's jewelers are praising Tanzanite for its value, color and shine. I understand the reasons: Tanzanite is a shimmering, vivid blue or blue-violet gemstone only found in one place, Tanzania; and once depleted, its price will rise. But Tanzanite is softer and more delicate (a 6.5 - 7) to spinel's enduring hardness (an 8 like emeralds, topaz or amethyst).

I want a spinel!😍 How about you?

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Cabochon Cut Gemstones

Photo: 1stdibs - A cabochon cut emerald 

Cabochons are smooth, polished gemstones without facets. They are often cut with a convex (rounded and bulged), i.e. a dome with a flat bottom. A cabochon cut is the earliest known method of cutting gemstones into jewelry. Not until the 13th century were gemstones first cut into facets.

Photo: Raf Jewels - ruby

Nowadays transparent (light passes through) stones are usually cut faceted, whereas translucent (some light passes through) or opaque (no light passes through) gemstones are good candidates for cabochons.

Some of the reasons for cabochons include 1) enhancing a gemstone's color or texture; 2) highlighting its unique inclusions or optical effects; and 3) turning softer stones into jewelry that would fracture if cut into facets.

Tsavorite (a green garnet) cabochon

Below are several more cabochon cut gemstones. Some are costly, others are less pricey depending on rarity and demand for the stones. Clearly natural gemstones are lovely at every price point. Who cares how common it is?

1) Chatoyancy (a cat's eye); 2) Asterism (the star effect) - Real star corundums (sapphires or rubies) are rare and expensive.

(3) Adularescence - has a glow when light bounces off of it (a moonstone); (4) Iridescence - changes color with moment (a white opal); and 

(5) Aventurescence - has a twinkling shine (pink and green aventurine) - These stones can be chiseled into hearts, ovals, other shapes, or left as free form.

According to Barlows Gems, the shape of a cabochon can be symmetrical, calibrated, or free form. "Symmetrical" means a cabochon is mirror imaged on both sides. "Calibrated" is a term used for rounds or ovals as they are standard sized stones measured in millimeters. "Free form" cabochons have no definite shape like the aventurine stones shown above↑.

Photo: Barlows Gems

Now that we'd discussed what cabochon gemstones are and I've shown you a few types, would you splurge on a cabochon? In jewelry do you like cabochon stones: a) better; b) the same as; or c) not as much as faceted cut stones? Tell us why.

Photo: Gem Select

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