We’re passionate about helping you find jewellery that’s personal as well as beautiful. While diamonds remain a timeless, classic choice, coloured gemstones are becoming increasingly popular thanks to the individuality, colour and rarity they offer.
Let’s take a look at some of the most popular coloured gemstones we use in our bespoke jewellery, and why we love them.
Sapphire
Colour: Best known for their rich blue colour, sapphires are also found in pink, yellow, green, orange, purple and white.
Hardness: 9 on the Mohs scale, making them one of the hardest gemstones and ideal for everyday wear.
Value: Fine natural sapphires, particularly untreated stones with exceptional colour and clarity, are highly sought after and can command significant prices.
Interesting facts: Sapphires belong to the corundum family. Every colour of corundum except red is classified as sapphire. Some sapphires display a star effect known as asterism, caused by tiny needle-like inclusions reflecting light in a six-rayed star pattern. The rarest sapphires, a delicate pink-orange blend, are known in the trade as padparadscha.
Emerald
Colour: Best known for its rich green colour, emeralds range from light, grassy greens to deep, velvety forest tones.
Hardness: 7.5–8 on the Mohs scale, slightly softer than sapphire and ruby, so a protective setting is recommended for rings.
Value: Fine emeralds with vivid colour and good clarity are highly prized, and exceptional stones can be worth more than a diamond of the same size.
Interesting facts: Emeralds are a variety of the mineral beryl, with their green colour coming from traces of chromium, vanadium and iron (iron is what pushes emerald toward bluer green). Emeralds naturally form with inclusions, often described as a “jardin” (French for garden), which are part of the gemstone’s character rather than a flaw.
Ruby
Colour: Known for its rich red colour, ranging from pinkish-red to deep crimson, with the most prized shade referred to as “pigeon blood” red.
Hardness: 9 on the Mohs scale, the same as sapphire, making it extremely hard-wearing and ideal for everyday jewellery.
Value: High-quality rubies with minimal treatment are among the most valuable gemstones in the world.
Interesting facts: Rubies and sapphires are both varieties of corundum – it’s the presence of chromium that gives ruby its red colour. Like sapphires, rubies can occasionally show asterism, caused by fine needle-like inclusions known as “silk”. Star rubies with a crisp, distinct star are especially prized.
Tourmaline
Colour: One of the most colourful gemstone families, tourmalines are found in pink, green, blue, purple and even watermelon (a pink centre with green edges).
Hardness: 7–7.5 on the Mohs scale, making them durable and well suited to everyday jewellery.
Value: Rarer shades, such as vivid green (chrome tourmaline) and blue-green (Paraiba), command higher prices, though tourmaline generally offers excellent value.
Interesting facts: A single tourmaline crystal can contain two or more colours, a feature prized in bi-colour and watermelon stones. Paraiba tourmalines, coloured by traces of copper, produce an intense neon blue-green unlike any other gemstone, and can rival rubies or emeralds in value.
Aquamarine
Colour: Known for its clear, pale blue tones, sometimes with a hint of green or teal.
Hardness: 7.5–8 on the Mohs scale, making it a durable choice for rings and everyday wear.
Value: Larger, clearer stones with strong blue saturation are the most valuable, though aquamarine is generally more accessible than sapphire or emerald.
Interesting facts: Aquamarine belongs to the beryl family, the same mineral group as emerald. Crystals can grow to remarkable sizes – the largest on record, found in Brazil in 1910, weighed over 110kg!
Peridot
Colour: Known for its fresh green hues, ranging from yellow-green and olive to vibrant lime green.
Hardness: 6.5–7 on the Mohs scale, so it’s best suited to earrings, pendants and rings with protective settings (or rings that don’t need to be worn daily).
Value: Offers excellent value, with larger, more vivid stones commanding higher prices.
Interesting facts: Peridot is one of the few gemstones formed in the Earth’s mantle rather than its crust, and has even been found in meteorites. In 2005, peridot was identified in comet dust returned by NASA’s Stardust probe.
Find Your Perfect Gemstone
Whether you’re drawn to the rich blue of a sapphire, the vivid green of an emerald or the fiery red of a ruby, we can help you select the perfect gemstone for your jewellery.
Every gemstone is individually sourced for its beauty, quality and character, and our experienced goldsmiths can create a bespoke piece designed specifically around your chosen stone.
Visit us in-store or book an appointment to explore our collection and discover the remarkable world of natural coloured gemstones.
Emerald is a variety of beryl, a crystalline mineral that grows with six sides and up to 30cm long. Sorry – we just need to take a moment here to imagine a foot long emerald… Formed by great pressure and heat more than two million years ago, the colour of an emerald, like all coloured gems, has a spectrum and can range from light green at one end (though there is some argument whether these very light beryls should really be classified as emeralds) to a deep, rich green. The colour of the emerald can actually be enhanced by its cut, so a really good gem cutter can really bring the best out of the stone.