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.

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!

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.

*Lab-created options available for a lower cost

Pretty in pink gemstones include morganite, tourmaline (October birthstone), sapphire (September birthstone), spinel (August birthstone) and topaz (November birthstone).

*Lab-created options available for a lower cost

Go bolder with one of the orange gemstones that include citrine, morganite, opal (October birthstone), and topaz.

Yellow gemstone options include diamond (April birthstone), topaz, quartz, sapphire.

*Lab-created options available for a lower cost

Green gemstones include alexandrite (June birthstone), emerald (May birthstone), garnet, topaz, tourmaline, moldavite and peridot (August birthstone).

*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.

There are a variety of beautifully, blue gemstones, including aquamarine (March birthstone), sapphire and many shades of topaz.

*Lab-created options available for a lower cost

Find your perfectly, purple gemstone from options that include amethyst (February birthstone), alexandrite, tanzanite (December birthstone) and topaz.

*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.

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.

**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.

Dark and distinguished, your black gemstone options are diamond, spinel, onyx and tourmaline.

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.

*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!