The term "precious stones"

The term "precious stone" refers to gems that have been considered to have a higher value than other stones since time immemorial. The origin of the term itself is not clearly established, but it is certainly linked to the value and rarity of the stones in question. The first precious stones identified were diamond, sapphire, ruby ​​and emerald.

The terms "fine stone" and "semi-precious stone" refer to hard, transparent colored stones that do not fall into the "precious stone" category but can be cut and polished by jewelers. The latter are less rare and have a lower value than so-called "precious" gemstones.

In order to close the debates on these multiple expressions, it is more appropriate to talk about the term gemstone. In French law, the terms "precious stone", "semi-precious stone" and "fine stones" do not exist. In fact, these terms are grouped under the single term "gemstones" for the sake of harmonization with the nomenclature of the International Commission for Jewelry, Jewelry, and Goldsmithing (CIBJO), which does not make any distinction.

The different types of "precious stones"

As we have previously mentioned, we speak of "precious stones" to refer to rare and valuable gems, such as diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds. You can find models of antique rings decorated with these stones in our shop.

The diamond

Diamond is a gemstone composed entirely of carbon. Its name comes from the word adamas , meaning "the invincible" in ancient Greek. In fact, according to our current knowledge, it is the hardest gemstone in the world. Diamond is at 10 on the Mohs scale of hardness of stones. This means that only a gemstone as hard as it, another diamond, can scratch it.

The diamond is very generally colorless. This is the diamond that sits on engagement rings. The diamond can sometimes be naturally colored, there are yellow, blue, red, pink, champagne, brown, orange diamonds...

Historically, diamonds come from India, where deposits have been mined since ancient times until the 18th century. From the 18th century, Brazil took over until the discovery of diamond mines in South Africa at the end of the 19th century. Today, the main diamond-producing countries are Russia, Botswana, Canada, Angola and South Africa.

What makes a diamond valuable is what we call the 4Cs of diamonds: C for Carat, C for Color, C for Clarity, and C for Cut. The combination of these four criteria allows a professional to evaluate the value of the stone.

Considered the king of precious stones, the diamond is mainly set on the traditional engagement ring. It is also used in jewelry on any type of jewelry accompanied by any type of stone: colored stones, organic stones and ornamental stones.

The sapphire

Sapphire is a variety of corundum, it is an oxide of aluminum accompanied by titanium and iron, giving it its blue color. Its name comes from the word sappheiros , meaning "blue" in Greek.

Sapphire has colors ranging from light blue to dark blue. This gem can also naturally adopt other colors: yellow, orange, green, pink... These colors depend on the chemical impurities it may contain. These gems are called yellow sapphire , orange sapphire (also called Padparadsha sapphire when it is pink orange).

Sapphires come from all over the world. The most sought-after sapphires are those historically from Kashmir (in India), which have a cornflower blue color with silky reflections. In Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), we also find sapphires with a beautiful intense royal blue color; and those from Burma with a beautiful intense blue. Sapphires from Cambodia and Thailand are produced in very large quantities, but are of lower quality and a less remarkable color.

The Ruby

Ruby is a variety of corundum, it is an aluminum oxide accompanied by chromium, giving it its red color. Ruby is actually a "sapphire". It is exactly the same composition, the only difference is its red color. Its name comes from the word ruber , meaning "red" in Latin.

Ruby has a color that varies from bright red to dark red, purplish, to raspberry red. Pigeon blood red ruby ​​is the most sought after color in the gemstone and jewelry market. We have a beautiful example of a Belle Époque ring adorned with a natural pigeon blood red ruby, you can see the ring by clicking here.

The finest carmine-red rubies - pigeon blood rubies - are currently found in the Mogok Valley in Burma. These rubies are very rare and therefore very expensive. Rubies in greater quantity and of lower quality are also found in Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Afghanistan.

The Emerald

Emerald is a variety of beryl, it is a silicate of aluminum and beryllium embellished with chromium and vanadium, giving it its special green color. Its name comes from the word smaragdos , meaning "green stone" in Greek.

This gem has a rare intense green color ranging from yellow-green to blue-green. The emerald has natural inclusions called “gardens”. This gem is, most of the time, filled with small frosts composed of water, this is due to its hydrothermal origin (water-based) in the veins rich in chromium (giving it its color) and beryllium (giving it its structure). It is therefore quite common to find these inclusions in the emerald.

The most beautiful emeralds come mainly from South America, from Colombia. Quality emeralds also come from Russia (in the Urals). This gem has been found in Brazil since the beginning of the 20th century and on the African continent since 1925, in greater quantity, but of lower quality: in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The different types of fine stones

As mentioned above, gemstones and semi-precious stones are transparent, translucent to opaque gems that are found in large quantities on the surface of the globe. They can be cut or polished to be used in jewelry or jewelry. Find out what you didn't know about stones .

Fine stones

Gemstones are transparent colored stones, cut in multiple ways, used throughout time in the making of jewelry. These gems do not have a single specific color, they have a wide range of color varieties.

Aquamarine

Aquamarine is the little sister of the emerald, in other words a variety of beryl. This gem contains iron in small quantities. Iron is the element responsible for its color ranging from light blue to intense blue, even slightly green. The most sought-after aquamarines are those from Santa Maria, Brazil.

Amethyst

Amethyst is a gemstone from the quartz family. It gets its color, ranging from mauve to violet, from the presence of iron in its composition. Amethyst has natural frost inclusions, which sometimes give it a cloudy appearance. Quartzes such as amethyst and rock crystal are the most common gemstones on the surface of the planet.

Citrine

Citrine is a gemstone from the quartz family. It gets its color ranging from light yellow to orange, also called Madeira. Its color comes from the level of iron content in its composition. Citrine is less easily found than amethyst in nature. To compensate for its rarity, amethysts are artificially heated to obtain citrine. These citrines obtained by heat treatment are announced by the professional seller of the gem.

Garnet

Garnet is a gemstone from a very large family of minerals. It has a very wide variety of colors. The best-known garnet is the almandine garnet with a dark wine-red color. It was widely used in the making of Perpignan jewelry. Garnet can also be bright red (pyrope garnet), green (tsavorite garnet, demantoid garnet from Russia), orange (spessartite garnet, hessonite garnet), pink-red (rhodolite garnet) and color-changing (malaya garnet). These different varieties come from different regions of the world, including India, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Tanzania.

Tanzanite

Tanzanite is a gemstone with special characteristics, which was discovered in Tanzania in the late 1960s. It has a characteristic purplish-blue color. Tanzanite has the particularity of having different color flashes depending on its orientation: going from sapphire blue to purple, then to dark red. This gemstone is mainly set on vintage and contemporary jewelry due to its late discovery.

Topaz

Topaz is a gemstone that can be found in a wide range of colors. The most common colors are yellow, pink and bright blue. The names "Blue London topaz" and "Swiss blue topaz" are very often found on contemporary jewelry sales sites. These names are commercial terms for topaz that have undergone treatment (by irradiation or heat) in order to artificially obtain a color that does not exist or hardly exists in nature. The law provides that the treatments undergone by gemstones must be mentioned.

Tourmaline

Tourmaline is a gemstone that can come in all the colors of the rainbow. Here are the names of some particular tourmalines: Rubellite (bright pink to red), Dravite (yellow to brown), Verdelite (light to dark green), Indicolite (deep indigo blue), Shörl (black), Elbaite: multi-colored, Watermelon tourmaline (green and pink) and finally Archroite: (colorless). A gem like Paraiba tourmaline, which is neon blue or turquoise with a hint of green, can sometimes be very valuable due to its great rarity.

Agate

Agate is a variety of chalcedony that has a wide variety of colors, mainly gray, white and brown. This stone has been appreciated for the manufacture of cameos and intaglios since ancient times. Today, it is common to find agates with bright colors (blue, red, etc.), it is important to specify that these colors are not natural and result from artificial dyeing.

The opal

Opal is a hydrated silica gem. There are two types of opal, noble opal and common opal. Noble opal has plays of light like Harlequin Opal, Australian Black Opal, Fire Opal. Common opal has no light effect, or very little. In France, you can find Quincy opal, a pink opal called quincyite and whose color is due to the inclusions of colored sepiolites and organic pigments.