Coloured Diamonds and Gemstones
Coloured Diamonds
While colourless, or “white” diamonds are prized for their beauty and purity, diamonds can be found in a full spectrum of colours.
These range from chic and elegant yellow and cognac tones, through to flirty and precious pink diamonds to the rarest blue and red stones, of which only a few true examples have ever been discovered.
Yellow Diamonds
The Yellow Diamond, otherwise referred to as the canary diamond is the second most iconic type of colour diamond. Commonly found in South Africa, yellow fancy diamonds can come in quite intense saturations and vary all the way down to faint yellow.
Ranging from yellow to brownish hues, the fancy yellows hue is the most precious. It is often said, the more heightened the colour, the more value the diamond holds over time.
Pink Diamonds
Fancy pink diamonds are rare, with the majority minded from Argyle in Western Australia.
Pink Diamonds offer a variety of pink colour hues and saturations. The more vivid and pink in appearance, the more valuable the Pink Diamond is.
Blue Diamonds
Blue diamonds are among the rarest and most captivating gemstones in the world, prized for their natural colour and extraordinary brilliance. Their distinctive blue hue is caused by trace amounts of boron within the diamond’s crystal lattice.
Found in only a few mines globally, including the Argyle mine in Australia, they are exceptionally rare and highly sought after by collectors and connoisseurs.
Gemstones
Gemstones which are highly valued for their hardness and rarity are known as Precious Stones. Precious Stones are generally more expensive than Semi-Precious Stones.
PRECIOUS GEMSTONES
Ruby
The red colour of ruby results from a small admixture of chromic oxide. Only red corundum is entitled to be called ruby, all other colours being classified as sapphires. In Sanskrit, the ruby is called ‘Ratnaraj’, means ‘the king of precious stones’.
For thousands of years, the ruby has been considered one of the most valuable gemstones on Earth. It has everything a precious stone should have: magnificent colour, excellent hardness and outstanding brilliance. In addition to that, it is an extremely rare gemstone, especially in its finer qualities. The ruby is considered as an excellent choice for the jewellery. Beyond its incomparably rich red hue, which alone might be enough attraction, the ruby is second only to the diamond for strength and durability.
Sapphire
Blue is the main colour of the Sapphire whereas this gemstone is also found in colours like green, orange, pink, grey, colourless, black, brown, and purple. Sapphire is the most precious blue gemstone. It is a most desirable gem due to its colour, hardness, durability, and lustre. Top-quality sapphires are extremely rare in all the gemstone mines of the world. Cutting of this gemstone requires great skills and experience and it is the job of the cutter to orientate the raw crystals in such a way that the colour is brought out to its best improvement.
The Sapphire is also considered as an excellent choice for jewellery. In terms of hardness and durability, it is second only to the diamond (and equal to the ruby). It can be worn everyday without the caution needed with more fragile gemstones like the opal or topaz.
Emerald
The name of this remarkable gemstone comes from the Greek word ‘Smaragdos’, meaning ‘Green Stone’. Its beautiful green colour, combined with durability and rarity, makes it one of the most valuable gemstones. Deep green is the most desired colour in Emeralds.
Although Emeralds are notorious for their flaws they have been considered as high esteem gems since ancient times. Flawless stones are very uncommon, and are noted for their great value, sometimes even more than diamonds. Its good hardness protects the stone to a large extent from scratches but it may develop internal cracks if knocked hard or if exposed to extreme temperature.
SEMI-PRECIOUS GEMSTONES
Pearl
A pearl is an organic gem, produced when certain mollusks, primarily oysters cover a foreign object with beautiful layers of nacre.
A good-sized pearl can take between five to eight years to form, which is usually the entire life of the oyster or mollusk.
There are two types of pearls: natural pearls, formed inside wild oysters, practically impossible to find nowadays, and cultured pearls in which the production of the pearl is artificially induced.
Opals
Opals are one of the most unique and captivating gemstones, renowned for their ethereal appearance - a vibrant display of shifting hues that makes each opal truly one-of-a-kind.
This enchanting optical effect is caused by microscopic silica spheres within the stone that diffract light, producing different colours.
Australia produces over 90% of the world’s opals, including the highly prized black opals from Lightning Ridge.
Semi Precious Gemstones and Birthstones
Semi-precious gemstones and birthstones offer a rainbow of meaningful options for jewellery design, each with their own unique beauty and symbolism.
Popular semi-precious stones include tourmaline, amethyst, garnet, citrine, topaz, and peridot. Many semi-precious gems are associated with birth months and are referred to as 'birthstones’.
Semi-precious gemstones are widely used in fine jewellery for their diverse and vibrant colours, symbolic significance, and versatility.
