Peridot

Round
Oval Gray
Round Orange
Rainbow Oval
Oval White

Topaz is a fluorosilicate and can contain trace elements that cause different colours within the Topaz. Origin of name: from Greek Topazion, a Red Sea Island often covered in mist. Topaz wasn’t really known about before the classical era, in the Middle Ages the name topaz was used to refer to any yellow gemstone. Deposits of topaz are found in the regions of Russia, Siberia, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Africa and China, Japan, Pakistan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Australia, Mexico, and in the United States.

Colour: Varies in a broad range of: yellow, blue, pink, peach, gold, green, red, and brown.

Hardness: 8

N.B. Topaz is often heated to change or enhance it’s colour.

Citrine is a form of quartz with ferric iron impurities and is rarely found naturally. Origin of name from the French word “citron” meaning lemon. Also called citrine quartz. Most commercial citrine is in fact heat treated amethyst or smoky quartz. Brazil is the leading producer of naturally mined citrine.

Shapes: Round, Square,Oval , Octagon, Marquise

Colour: the different shades range from yellow, gold, orange brown shades of transparent quartz.

Hardness: 7

N.B. Citrine and Amethyst are the exact same minerals, the only difference is the level of oxidation of the iron contained in the mineral. As this can be done artificially by heat or irradiation a large majority of Citrine sold today is heat treated amethyst. There are currently no scientific ways to determine if Citrine was changed artificially.

Garnets are nesosilicates. 0rigin of name: from ancient Greeks as colour reminded them of the pomegranate seed or granatum. Garnets do not show cleavage (the tendency of crystalline materials to split along definite planes, creating smooth surfaces) so when they fracture under stress, sharp irregular pieces are formed. Because the chemical composition of garnet varies, the atomic bonds in some species are better than in others. The harder species are often used for abrasive purposes.

 Colour: virtually all colours

 Hardness: 6-7.5

Labradorite is a member of the Feldspar family. The Feldspar group of Minerals is a large group within the Silicate Minerals family, the largest group of Minerals in the world. They make up over 50% of Earth’s crust, but they aren’t all as beautiful Gems we know and love! As well as Labradorite, other popular Gemstones in the Feldspar family include Moonstone, Sunstone and Amazonite. It is the chemical makeup of these Gems that categorises them as Feldspar.

Labradorite comes in a range of different body colours. Labradorite can have a very light grey body colour to a dark, almost black colour. The Labradorite’s body colour enhances the flash seen within the Gem. The darker the body colour, the clearer the Labradorescence

The Rhodolite is a species of a mineral from the Pyrope Garnet variety. The shades range from light violet to pinkish red rising to deep red. The pinkish part of the Garnet family called Rhodolite means “rose stone” in Greek. While it looks similar to a ruby, the Rhodolite has more violet tones and seems softer.