Color : Garnet occurs in every color except for blue (Red, reddish-brown, brown, green, yellow, orange, pink, purplish-red, white, etc.)
Hardness : 6½ - 8½

Due to the great color variations of garnet, many other gemstones may be confused with it. Garnets are often thought of as dark red gems. Garnets, however, have a great color variation, and gems of all colors (except blue) are cut from them. Garnets do possess high indices of refraction, are hard enough (except for demantoid garnet), have pretty colors, are wonderfully transparent, lack cleavage and are durable; thus making good candidates for gemstones. Garnets come from different parts of the world.

Here are some most popular colors and their origins:

Rhodolite garnet: Ranges from pink to purplish red in color. Mined in Africa, India, and Sri Lanka.

Tsavorite garnet: Bright yellow green to grass green. Mined in Tanzania and Kenya. Demantoid garnet (extremely rare today): Bright green with dazzling brilliance. Mined in Russia.

Malaya garnet: Ranges from orange to gold in color. Mined in Tanzania and Kenya. Pyrope garnet: Very saturated red. Mined in Arizona.

Color : Green to dark green.
Hardness : 7 ½ - 8

Fine emeralds come from Colombia, Zambia, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Russia and other countries. Deep green is the most desired color in emeralds. The paler the color of the emerald, the lesser its value. Flawless emeralds are very uncommon, and are noted for their great value. Some people actually prefer an emerald with very minute flaws over a flawless emerald, as this proves authenticity of the stone. Although many people consider Colombia to be the source of the best emeralds, country of origin is never a guarantee of quality. Even the best mine produces mostly low quality gemstones because good qualities are very rare! Emeralds are traditionally filled with oil to minimize the impact of their flaws. Cleaning emeralds with hot soapy water, steam or in an ultrasonic cleaner should be avoided as this may remove or damage the oil, making the flaws more visible. They are most often cut in a rectangular step-cut, which is now popularly known as the emerald cut, developed specifically for this gem to reduce the amount of pressure during cutting. Emerald is the most famous and favored green gemstone. Its beautiful green color, combined with durability and rarity, make it one of the most valuable gemstones. Emeralds are durable gemstones. With a little care, your emerald will be treasured by you and your descendants thousands of years to come!

Color : Light to dark purple
Hardness : 7

Diamond ,as the hardest known naturally occurring material, (scoring 10)have been treasured as gemstones since their use as religious icons in India at least 2,500 years ago.Popularity of diamonds has risen since the 19th century because of increased supply, improved cutting and polishing techniques, growth in the world economy, and innovative and successful advertising campaigns.

Color : Various shades of yellowish gray to blue to a blue violet.
Hardness : 7 – 7 ½

Lolite is mined in India, Sri Lanka, Burma, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Brazil. It has an attractive violet blue color that is unlike other gemstones. It has been compared to a light blue sapphire, for this reason it is sometimes known as "water sapphire". Not being an extremely rare gemstone makes this gem available for an affordable price.

Color : Colorless, white, yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, green, gray, brown, and black.
Hardness : 5½ - 6½

Opal is found in Western USA localities, Mexico, Australia, England, Czech Republic and many other localities around the world. It is the most colorful of all gems. The most desired and beautiful form of opal is black opal, which is opal with a dark blue, dark green, or black background with a strong play of color. Black opal is followed by white opal (opal with a light colored body color with strong play of color) and Mexican fire opal (transparent to translucent orange red color). Precious opals (black and white) are used in all forms of jewelry.

Color : White, pink, peach, lavender, plum, purple.
Hardness : 3 to 7

Most pearls today in the market are cultured pearls, because of scarcity of natural pearls. A natural pearl starts to form as a foreign object, such as a sea parasite or piece of shell that accidentally lodges itself in an oyster's soft inner body where it cannot be expelled. To rid itself from this irritant, the oyster begins to secrete a smooth, hard crystalline substance around the irritant. This substance is called "nacre." As long as the irritant remains within its body, the oyster will continue to secrete nacre around it, layer upon layer. The final lustrous pearl is the result of this continuous coating process.

Color : Varies from greenish blue to sky blue shades
Hardness : 7

Blue topaz has a definite, uniform color ranging from sky blue to Swiss blue. It is sometimes confused with the more costly aquamarine - yet whereas aquamarine sometimes has a greenish-blue or bluish-green tint, blue topaz will always look blue or bluish gray. The one exception is for surface-enhanced topaz, a process introduced in 1998 that enhances the stone's appearance and brings out colors such as blue to greenish-blue to emerald green.

Color : Light blue, blue, blue-green
Hardness : 7 ½ - 8

Aquamarine, named for the Latin phrase "water of the sea", is a durable and lively gemstone that is appropriate for all jewelry uses. Aquamarine is found in Brazil, Zambia, Mozambique, Angola, Nigeria, and other countries. It is often completely flawless. In fact, an aquamarine gem with a visible flaw is rarely seen. Light blue topaz is easily mistaken for aquamarine. The colors of these two gems are identical, and their physical properties are very similar. Topaz is the less expensive gem.

Color : Light to dark purple
Hardness : 7

Amethyst is one of the most popular gems. Amethyst is mined in Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia and Argentina in South America and Zambia, Namibia, and other African countries. Generally, amethyst from South America tends to be available in larger sizes than African amethyst but amethyst from Africa has the reputation for having better, more saturated, color in small sizes. Very dark amethyst, mostly in small sizes, is also mined in Australia.

Color : Shades of green usually from yellow-green to greenish yellow.
Hardness : 6½ - 7

Peridot is mined in Arizona in the U.S., Myanmar (formerly Burma) China, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Norway, the Ural Mountains of Russia and Germany. The finest Peridot comes from St. Johns Island (Zebirget) in the Red Sea off Egypt. But new sources in Pakistan are challenging that claim with some exceptional specimens. Although peridot is distinctly a different shade of green, many jewelers refer to peridot as "evening emerald". Emerald is a dark green as opposed to a yellow green and always contains inclusions. Peridot has been mined as a gemstone for an estimated four thousand years. It is the gem variety of Olivine.

Color : Various shades of blue to lavender.
Hardness : 6½ - 7

Tanzanite’s blue-lavender color is rather unique and a wonderful addition to the gemstone family. It is found in Tanzania in 1967 and has since become a well known and widely distributed gemstone. Its only one direction of cleavage is somewhat of a problem because it is the gem-cutter who would usually select the direction to maximize the color. However, with tanzanite’s strong color that is hardly an issue.

Color : Bright red, brownish-red, purplish-red, dark red.
Hardness : 9

Fine rubies are found in Thailand, India, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, North Carolina in the U.S., Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Tanzania, Cambodia, and perhaps most notably, Burma. Ruby is the second hardest natural mineral known to mankind, the red variety of corundum. Beside for its color, it is a most desirable gem due to its hardness, durability, luster, and rarity. The best shade of red for ruby is often given the name "pigeon blood red", but ruby can be any shade of red up to almost pink. To possess gem value Ruby must be transparent and “pigeon blood red” (deep blood red with a slightly bluish hue). Transparent, flawless rubies exceed all other gems in value, except for deeply colored "fancy diamonds".

Color : Various colors (Blue, yellow, green, white, colorless, pink, orange, brown, and purple), except for red.
Hardness : 9

Fine Sapphires are found in Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Thailand, Australia, and Cambodia. Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, China, Vietnam, Madagascar, and the United States also produce some sapphire. The non-red variety of corundum is Sapphire, encompasses all colors of corundum aside from red (Ruby). The most famous and valuable sapphires have a medium intense, vivid blue color, a truly royal hue. Any black, gray, or green overtones mixed in with the blue will reduce its value. Sapphire is the most precious of blue gemstones. It is a most desirable gem due to its color, hardness, durability, and luster. The blue color is by far the most popular color for sapphire but a rare orange-pink variety, known as padparadscha, is even more valued than blue sapphire.

Color : Colorless, white, yellow, orange, brown, pink, light purple, gray, light blue, greenish blue, green.
Hardness : 8

Topaz is mainly found in Brazil. Huge, transparent, gem-quality crystals are found there. Topaz has also come from the Ural Mountains of Russia, Mexico and the U.S. (Texas, Colorado and Utah). Topaz is often confused with the less valuable citrine. Topaz is a very hard gemstone but it can be split with a single blow, a trait it shares with diamond. Any "Topaz" labeled with a prefix name (such as Gold Topaz, Madeira Topaz, False Topaz, Brazilian Topaz, Bahia Topaz, and Citrine Topaz) is heat-treated Citrine. Topaz is a popular gemstone. All colors are fashioned into gemstones, and the yellow-brown ("Imperial") and pink varieties are the most valuable.

Color : Variety of tourmaline, which exhibits a deep red color.
Hardness : 9

It is perfectly reasonable as a gemco customer to ask to see your stone with a loupe or under a microscope. Look to see if the inclusions adversely affect the overall look of the gemco or if they are severe enough to threaten its integrity. Fractures that reach the surface present risks. The less expensive the ruby, the more inclusions you may see. Avoid inclusions so numerous as to make the gemco cloudy or even opaque.