One of the greatest advantages of working together with Jewelry by Johan is the ability to personalize most of the engagement rings, wedding bands and other unique accessories with different elements that best fit your style and personality, including gemstones! Customizing a design with a different gemstone, or supplying your own gemstone, is very common and simple. This ultimate guide to gemstones by color is designed to help you find your perfect gemstone to create your dream ring or other accessory.
One last thing to know before you go treasure hunting for your perfect stone. The ability to swap gemstones is usually based on the setting type and Mohs scale rank for stone hardness. Here are the general rules:
- Prong Setting - Hardness of 5.5 or higher
- Bezel Setting - Hardness of 6.5 or higher
- Flush Setting - Hardness of 7 or higher
- Tension Setting* - Hardness of 8.5 or higher
*For softer stones, in many cases a faux tension setting can be used; it appears the same, but has a supportive piece of metal to secure the stone vs. using only the tension of the metal.
YOUR GUIDE TO GEMSTONES BY COLOR
Below you’ll find information on gemstones, grouped by common colors, and we’ve included a general comparison on cost ($ = low to $$$$$ = high) and each stone’s Mohs rank for you to make it even easier to find the best stone for your style and budget!
WHAT GEMSTONES ARE RED?
Red, the color of love, is most commonly represented in citrine (November birthstone), garnet (January birthstone), ruby (July birthstone) and topaz (November birthstone). The ruby has a pinkish hue while the garnet boasts a darker, rich red color. Swarovski™ offers a rainbow of 10 topaz gemstones, including the Blazing Red Topaz.
| STONE | STANDARD COLOR | MOHS RANK | COST |
|
Mozambique Garnet |
Med-Dark Red, Brown |
7 - 7.5 |
$ |
|
Madeira Citrine |
Dark, Reddish Brown |
7 |
$ |
|
Ruby* |
Med-Dark Pinkish Red |
9 |
$$$$ |
|
Swarovski™ Blazing Red Topaz |
Red |
8 |
$ |
*Lab-created options available for a lower cost
WHAT GEMSTONES ARE PINK?
Pretty in pink gemstones include morganite, tourmaline (October birthstone), sapphire (September birthstone), spinel (August birthstone) and topaz (November birthstone).
| STONE | STANDARD COLOR | MOHS RANK | COST |
|
Pink Morganite |
Light-Medium Pink |
7.5-8 |
$$ |
|
Pink Tourmaline |
Medium Pink |
7-7.5 |
$$ |
|
Swarovski™ Baby Pink Passion Topaz |
Light Pink |
8 |
$ |
|
Pure Pink Mystic Topaz |
Pink |
8 |
$ |
|
Pink Sapphire |
Medium Pink |
9 |
$$$ |
|
Pink Spinel |
Medium Pink |
8 |
$$ |
|
Champagne Sapphire* |
Medium Peachy Pink |
9 |
$$$$ |
|
Padparadscha Sapphire* |
Pinkish Orange |
9 |
$$$$ |
*Lab-created options available for a lower cost
WHAT GEMSTONES ARE ORANGE?
Go bolder with one of the orange gemstones that include citrine, morganite, opal (October birthstone), and topaz.
| STONE | STANDARD COLOR | MOHS RANK | COST |
|
Citrine |
Yellowish Orange |
7 |
$ |
|
Swarovski™ Sunrise Mystic Topaz |
Med-Light Yellow Orange with Pink Hues |
8 |
$ |
|
Swarovski™ Passion Poppy Topaz |
Medium Dark Orange |
8 |
$ |
|
Mexican Fire Opal |
Med-Dark Orange-Red |
5-6.5 |
$ |
|
Spessartite Garnet |
Medium Yellowish Orange |
7-7.5 |
$$ |
|
Peach Morganite |
Light Peachy Pink |
7.5-8 |
$$ |
WHAT GEMSTONES ARE YELLOW?
Yellow gemstone options include diamond (April birthstone), topaz, quartz, sapphire.
| STONE | STANDARD COLOR | MOHS RANK | COST |
|
Canary Diamond* |
Light Yellow |
10 |
$$$$$ |
|
Lemon Quartz |
Light Slightly Greenish Yellow |
7 |
$ |
|
Swarovski™ Honey Passion Topaz |
Light-Med Slightly Orangey Yellow |
8 |
$ |
|
Yellow Sapphire |
Yellow |
9 |
$$ |
*Lab-created options available for a lower cost
WHAT GEMSTONES ARE GREEN?
Green gemstones include alexandrite (June birthstone), emerald (May birthstone), garnet, topaz, tourmaline, moldavite and peridot (August birthstone).
| STONE | STANDARD COLOR | MOHS RANK | COST |
|
Emerald* |
Medium Green |
7.5-8 |
$$$$ |
|
Swarovski™ Rainforest Passion Topaz |
Bluish Green |
8 |
$ |
|
Tsavorite Garnet |
Medium Slightly Yellowish Green |
7-7.5 |
$$ |
|
Alexandrite*^ |
Light Green - Greenish Blue |
8.5 |
$$$$$ |
|
Green Tourmaline |
Dark Yellowish Green |
7-7.5 |
$ |
|
Peridot |
Light-Medium Yellowish Green |
6.5-7 |
$ |
|
Moldavite (Meteorite) |
Medium Greenish Brown |
5.5 |
$ |
*Lab-created options available for a lower cost. ^Alexandrite has a unique, color-change phenomena that results in it appearing to be different colors in different types of light.
WHAT GEMSTONES ARE BLUE?
There are a variety of beautifully, blue gemstones, including aquamarine (March birthstone), sapphire and many shades of topaz.
| STONE | STANDARD COLOR | MOHS RANK | COST |
|
Blue Sapphire* |
Medium Navy to Royal Blue |
9 |
$$$ |
|
Aquamarine |
Light-Medium Blue |
7.5-8 |
$ |
|
Swarovski™ Kashmir Passion Topaz |
Bright Blue |
8 |
$ |
|
Swiss Blue Topaz |
Medium-Dark Bright Blue |
8 |
$ |
|
Sky Blue Topaz |
Light Blue |
8 |
$ |
|
Swarovski™ Ice Blue Passion Topaz |
Light-Medium Blue |
8 |
$ |
|
Swarovski™ Passion Paraiba Topaz |
Light-Medium Greenish Blue |
8 |
$ |
|
London Blue Topaz |
Medium-Dark Greyish Blue |
8 |
$ |
*Lab-created options available for a lower cost
WHAT GEMSTONES ARE PURPLE?
Find your perfectly, purple gemstone from options that include amethyst (February birthstone), alexandrite, tanzanite (December birthstone) and topaz.
| STONE | STANDARD COLOR | MOHS RANK | COST |
|
Alexandrite*^ |
Purplish Red |
8.5 |
$$$$$ |
|
Amethyst |
Deep, Dark Purple |
7 |
$ |
|
Swarovski™ Violac Passion Topaz |
Medium Purple |
8 |
$ |
|
Mystic Topaz |
Light Green With Purple |
8 |
$ |
|
Tanzanite |
Medium-Dark Bluish Purple |
6-7 |
$$ |
|
Iolite |
Medium-Dark Greyish Purple |
7-7.5 |
$ |
*Lab-created options available for a lower cost. ^Alexandrite has a unique, color-change phenomena that results in it appearing to be different colors in different types of light.
WHAT GEMSTONES ARE WHITE, COLORLESS, CLEAR?
Lack of color definitely doesn’t mean lack of beauty with these sparkling, white gemstone options that include diamond (April birthstone), moissanite, sapphire and topaz.
| STONE | STANDARD COLOR | MOHS RANK | COST |
|
White Sapphire |
Near Colorless (may be slightly yellow, blue or grey) |
9 |
$$ |
|
White Topaz |
Colorless (may be slightly grey) |
8 |
$ |
|
Diamond** |
Colorless |
10 |
$$$$$ |
|
Forever One Moissanite |
Colorless |
9.25 |
$$$ |
**A diamond's colorlessness and ultimate cost will be dependent on exact color grade of D-to-Z with grades D,E,F being considered most colorless and coming with the highest costs.
WHAT GEMSTONES ARE BLACK?
Dark and distinguished, your black gemstone options are diamond, spinel, onyx and tourmaline.
| STONE | STANDARD COLOR | MOHS RANK | COST |
|
Black Diamond |
Black to Opaque Black |
10 |
$$ |
|
Black Spinel |
Opaque Black |
8 |
$ |
|
Black Onyx |
Black |
6.5-7 |
$ |
|
Black Tourmaline |
Black |
7-7.5 |
$ |
WHAT GEMSTONES HAVE MULTIPLE COLORS?
Alexandrite, mentioned previously, has a unique stone phenomena that makes it appear to have multiple colors. In daylight, Alexandrite appears more greenish-blue; at night, it has a more prominent purple-reddish hue. It’s like a two-for-one! Opals and salt and pepper diamonds also boast more than one color. Moonstones are slightly opaque with an adularescence of pink and/or blue.
| STONE | STANDARD COLOR | MOHS RANK | COST |
|
Alexandrite*^ |
Greenish-blue (daytime)/Purplish-red (night) |
8.5 |
$$$$$ |
|
White Opal |
White Background, Multi-colors |
5-6.5 |
$ |
|
Salt and Pepper Diamond |
White, Grey and Black |
10 |
$$$ |
|
Moonstone |
Semi-translucent, pink/blue adularescence |
6-6.25 |
$ |
*Lab-created options available for a lower cost. ^Alexandrite has a unique, color-change phenomena that results in it appearing to be different colors in different types of light.
We hope you were able to find the perfect gemstone with the help of our extensive guide. If you still have questions, don't hesitate to contact us by phone at 651-321-9267 or send us a message. We're here to help with anything and everything!