gemstones library

Alexandrite

Alexandrite, al ihg ZAN dryt, is a rare gem that has a high luster.

Amethyst

Amethyst, AM uh thihst, is a purple or bluish-violet gem.

Aquamarine

Aquamarine, ak wuh muh REEN, is a light blue or bluish-green variety of a gemstone called beryl.

Carnelian

Carnelian, kahr NEEL yuhn, is an orange to reddish-brown variety of quartz that can be cut and polished as a jewel.

Cat's-eye

Cat's-eye is a gem that produces a thin streak of white light across the top of the stone when the gem is cut a certain way.

Chalcedony

Chalcedony, kal SEHD uh nee or KAL suh doh nee, is a mineral that consists chiefly of tiny crystals of quartz with extremely small pores.

Diamond

Diamond is the hardest naturally occurring substance, and also one of the most valuable natural substances.

Garnet

Garnet is any of a group of hard, glassy minerals.

Gem

Gem is a mineral or other material used in jewelry and other ornaments.

Jade

Jade is a hard, tough, and highly colored stone widely used for fine carvings and jewelry.

Moonstone

Moonstone is a whitish variety of the mineral called feldspar (see Feldspar).

Onyx

Opal

Opal, OH puhl, is a gemstone that contains a rainbow of colors.

Pearl

Pearl is one of the most valuable gems.

Peridot

Peridot, PEHR uh dot, is a transparent gem that is almost always some shade of green because of its iron content.

Petoskey stone

Petoskey stone, puh TOS kee, is a rounded, polished fragment of fossilized coral found near Petoskey, Mich.

Tanzanite

Tanzanite, TAN zuh nyt, is a semiprecious gemstone.

Turquoise

Turquoise, TUR koyz or TUR kwoyz, is a mineral widely used as a gemstone.

Zircon

Zircon, ZUR kon, is a mineral composed chiefly of the elements silicon, oxygen, and zirconium.