In the world of gemstones, you have precious stones and semi-precious stones. The four main precious stones used in jewelry industry are diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds. These stones are normally natural occurring minerals and are considered more valuable based on its rarity, the cut, and size. Precious stones normally have a glass like appearance and tend to be faceted in its cut.
Semi-precious stones are usually rocks made from organic material and are opaque in appearance. The stones are cut and polished to give a luster to its appearance. Sometimes the cut exposes various colors, striations and textures in the stone and that adds character and uniqueness to it. It is not easy to get semi-precious stones that look the same in every jewelry piece, this is what makes every piece unique. Some examples of semi-precious stones include jasper, larimar, malachite, amethyst and turquoise. Stones are normally classified by their hardness (Moh's scale) which ranges from 1-10, with diamond , the hardest naturally occurring mineral being rated at 10.
Some semi-precious stones such as pearls, tsavorite, opals and garnets are in some cases considered more valuable than precious stones because of their rarity and difficulty to mine. "Precious" or "Semi-precious", all stones are beautiful ornaments used to create statement pieces in jewelry. Check out some innovative ways we are incorporating semi-precious stones into our designs.
Precious Stones:
Semi-precious Stones:
