Jewelry is one of humanity’s most expressive acts. Wherever people wear metal and stones, the adornment usually contains hidden stories, captured within the semi-precious stones set into its bed.

Diamonds might be a girl’s best friend, to borrow a phrase, but, for many collectors, other precious stones delight and amaze with their colors, their cultural value and, of course, their rarity.

In this post, we’ll explore the top 10 treasured gemstones used in jewelry worldwide.

Diamonds

A diamond is unquestionably the most coveted gemstone in the world of fine jewelry and its superior quality is backed up by extraordinary beauty and incredible staying power. Hardness speaks to the resistance of an object when pressed from one surface to another.

This extra-hard quality, among others, makes it extremely durable and desirable. The brilliance of this gemstone is said to be second to none and the translucency of a diamond allows it to sparkle like no other when light passes through it.

Beyond the specific cultural values of each branch of the global diamond trade, love is the most famous. Today, diamonds cost the most of all the gems available. Their rarity and emotional resonance ensures that they maintain the relevance of these associations. They continue to be the gem of choice for engagement and anniversary rings.

Sapphires

Rich, royal blue tones are Sapphire’s most common saturation, but the gemstone also shows up in pink, yellow, green and white. The sensory-resonant royal blue varieties are best-known – hence the name ‘stone of kings’.

British royalty were particularly fond of sapphires, and Princess Diana’s engagement ring became as much an icon as the princess herself. Sapphires are associated with wisdom, fidelity and sincerity. In the Middle Ages, members of the clergy wore them, to symbolise the serenity of heaven.

This September’s birthstone confers mystical powers on its wearer and bestows inner calm. Sapphire is a common gemstone that unites people across the globe because of its velvety blue sparkle and its associations with royalty spanning recorded history.

Emeralds

Emeralds, with their crystalline greens, seduce their owners to think of it as beauty and life. Trace amounts of chromium and vanadium give them their verdant greens. Ancient Egyptian royalty and Cleopatra herself coveted these emeralds, and many still do: Colombia supplies most of the world’s emeralds from its lush mines.

Emeralds score between 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale of hardness, less hard than both diamonds and sapphires, and making them more susceptible to physical damage. The interior structure also ensures that they are brittle, and lower-grade emeralds will normally have additional materials and oils, especially oil, worked into the fissures to toughen them.

Emeralds are May’s birthstone, and according to tradition, they are said to represent hope, growth, peace and tranquility. However, it’s emerald’s lustrous green color that played a deciding role in its status. Emerald was a gemstone coveted by nobility.

Rubies

Flames of love’s desire illuminate the ruby, while the intensity of love and passion are reflected in the red incandescence. The ruby was also called the ‘king of gemstones’, and the word itself comes from the Latin ruber (red) The red color in rubies comes from the element chromium.

The best rubies are a saturated, deep red with a touch of blue – called ‘pigeon’s blood’ red – and large rubies of pale pink and this color in high clarity can easily beat diamonds for value. Myanmar and Thailand are sources of fabulous rubies.

A ruby is a variety of in depth-colored red gemstone. On the Mohs’ scale of mineral hardness, ruby ranks a 9 (out of a possible 10). This makes it one of the most durable gemstones, and suitable for set in all kinds of jewelry.

It is designated the birthstone for July, and is traditionally seen as a symbol for passion, protection and prosperity. In many cultures it is valued as the most precious red gem, and Its bold color make it particularly suitable for gifts of romance.

Amethysts

Amethyst is a variety of crystalline quartz that has a strong purple and violet color. Amethyst owes its purple color to small amounts of iron. Deposits of amethyst can be found around the world.

Once highly popular and revered, in that distant prehistory, gods and goddesses both exalted amethysts as symbols of sobriety and spirituality. The purple amethyst formed the headpieces and jewelry of the old nobility and priests. Today this relatively inexpensive purple gem is still February’s birthstone and symbolizes peace, bravery and security.

Because amethyst has a Mohs hardness of 7, it can be used for jewelry of all kinds, and people still adore its calming purple. There are nuances of purple tone and saturation among the amethysts.

Opals

Opals are famed for their ‘play of color’: light enters an opal, its components are refracted and seen as flashes of all the colors of the rainbow, against the opal’s white ‘body color’. No two opals display quite the same color patterns. Indeed, that is what makes opals particularly desirable as gems.

This magical effect arises from the diffraction of light by the air gaps between silica spheres that are stacked in the lattice that comprises the opal. More than 90 per cent of the world’s supply of opals come from Australia. In ancient Rome, opals represented hope and virginity.

Opals’ position as the October birthstone means they now symbolize love, passion and desire. Their beauty is matched by their variability; with a hardness of between 5.5 and 6.5 on the Mohs scale, they’re softer than well-known stones such as quartz, amethyst, and semi-precious tourmaline, and sensitive objects should be kept away. However, this hardness cannot detract from the beauty of the rainbow flashes that give opals their appeal as a jewelry stone.

Aquamarine

The light blue to green-blue and crystal clear watery tones of aquamarine symbolise tranquility. Indeed, the name aquamarine translates from the Latin word for seawater. Its gentle and soothing ocean and water-blue colors invoke cool, calm feelings. This stone supports a sense of lightness, ease of energies, and enhanced clarity of expression.

Aquamarine is primarily mined in Brazil and also in Zambia. In terms of the Mohs scale of hardness, aquamarine scores between 7.5 to 8, and this stone can be worn daily. As March’s birthstone, the serene blue aquamarine symbolizes fresh beginnings and calm, and is perfect to be worn with the spring and summer looks.

Pearls

Pearls are the only gems that form within a living mollusc as layers of nacre – calcium carbonate – accumulate around an irritant inside the mollusc, resulting in this iridescent sheath.

Cultured pearls are nucleated by hand to force the oyster into producing nacre. Pearls appear from the classic white to black. The largest, roundest pearls with unblemished smooth skin and glow are the most valuable.

Pearl has long represented purity, wisdom and faith. It is between 2.5 and 4.5 on the Mohs scale (hardness index). It is very organogenic and its generally feminine pattern gives it a flavour useful in ornaments.

Garnets

However, they come in many different colors, from the deep red of pyrope garnets to the emerald green hues of uvarovite garnets. The best-known variety is the pyrope with its classic rich, red (often slightly brownish) color. Garnets were very fashionable in ancient Egyptian and Roman jewelry.

Garnet is still the birthstone for January today. Garnets continue to symbolise peace, prosperity, and good health. Garnets are rated 6.5 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale of hardness, which makes them hard enough for use in almost all jewelry. Garnets look good not only in rings, but in more modern styles for necklaces, bracelets and earrings, and their deep, warm, fiery glow can add life to any jewelry piece.

Topaz

Topaz, a rare silicate mineral, occurs in a dazzling palette of sky blue, sunshine yellow, rose pink, and crisp white. Blue topaz is the most-favoured, if inexpensive, of the varieties. Gem’s connoisseurs recognise topaz for its exceptional hardness, exceptional clarity, and exceptional shimmer (natural and not-so-natural).

Historically, topaz was also thought to afford both protection and healing, and to this day, topaz remains November’s birthstone while supposedly facilitating clear-sightedness and tempered strength.

A high-performing silicate mineral, topaz is a 8 on the Mohs scale – hard enough for all kinds of jewelry. Topaz comes from sources in Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria and the Ural Mountains.

Final Thoughts

Throughout history, they have been regarded as emblems of power and prosperity, protection and healing, even magic. Some were associated with the zodiac, others linked to healing, while royalty could own only precious stones. Precious stones are, perhaps, humanity’s greatest attempt to adorn itself with the pinnacle of nature’s gifts.