Gemstones

Since ancient times, gems have expressed beauty, bounty, passion and power. Most gems, like sapphire, emerald, garnet, are minerals – natural, inorganic materials with specific chemical compositions. However, some gems are organic. Made form once-living organisms, organic gems include pearls, ivory, amber and coral.

According to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), all gems share three basic traits: beauty, rarity, and durability. What makes a gem desirable varies gem by gem. Maybe its beauty coupled with extraordinary durability, as in diamond; or rarity in color and type, as in red beryl, purplish blue tanzanite, and green tsavorite; or it could be a stone's phenomenal special effects, as in the magnificent play-of-color in opal or glorious iridescence and orient of a fine pearl.