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Zircon has been known since ancient times under various names. Zircon’s name most likely derives from the Persian word zargun for (“golden colored”). Zircon was also known in those times as hyacinth. Zircon comes in a variety of colors due to its prismatic to dipyramidal crystals, which can be colorless, yellow, gray, green, brown, blue,…

Unakite is a form of granite consisting of quartz, pink feldspar and green epidote. It is opaque but when polished it becomes a very attractive stone. Unakite’s name derives from the region where it was found, the Unaka mountain range in North Carolina, United States. Good quality unakite is considered a semi-precious stone; it will…

Turquoise’s name derives from the old French word pierre tourques, meaning “Turkish stone” because it was believed that the Persian (Iranian) stone was imported to Europe via Turkey. Turquoise forms as a porous blue cryptocrystalline aggregate and is found as encrustations, nodules, or botryoidal masses, or in veins within rocks in arid regions. Pure blue…

Tourmaline is a group of aluminoborosilicates, notably elbaite, dravite, schorl, and uvite. They crystallize as characteristic long prisms of triangular cross-section. Tourmalites are found in granites, pegmatites and quartz veins, and as an accessory in schists and gneisses. The true name for most gem tourmaline is elbaite, named for its type locality. Tourmaline was discovered…

Topaz is a high temperature mineral generally found in igneous rocks and high temperature veins. It is aluminum silicate fluoride hydroxide. Sodalite’s name comes from the Greek topazion, which may originate from the Greek topazin, which may originate from the Sanskrit tapas, meaning “fire,” or from the Egyptian island of Topazos (now Zebirget or St.…

Found in Tanzania deep within the Mererani mines, Tanzanite was first discovered back in the year 1967. This zoisite variety, which was first introduced by Tiffany & Co out of New York State, reflects the colors of a violet blue and happens to be quite a popular gemstone. Perhaps its most notable feature is it’s…

Spinel is magnesium aluminum oxide, in which magnesium can be partly or completely replaced by iron, zinc, or manganese. Spinel was considered an individual mineral only 150 years ago. Before that it was classified as ruby. It is believed spinel got its name from the Latin spina, meaning a thorn, in reference to its sharply…

This beautiful blue stone has a high content of sodium. Sodalite is member of the feldspathoid group of minerals; which are similar to feldspar but with less content of silica. It occurs in syenite and trachyte rocks, as well as pegmatite. It is also found in volcanic ejecta and in contact metamorphosed limestones and dolomites.…

Any color of corundum other than red is called sapphire. Sapphire’s name derives from the Greek “blue.” Sapphires can be blue, black, purple, violet, dark blue, bright blue, light blue, green, yellow, and orange. Colorless sapphire is called leuko-sapphire, name deriving from the Greek “white;” pinkish orange sapphire called Padparadscha, which is a Sinhalese word…

Ruby is the red variety of the mineral corundum, an oxide of aluminum. It has a purplish-bluish red to yellow-red color. The finest color of ruby is pure red with a hint of blue, which is called “pigeons blood.” The substance that provides the color in ruby is chromium, and in the case of brownish…