SIE7E. Alta Joyería Valencia. Alta Joyería Madrid. Joyas de Lujo

EMERALD

Belongs to the family of beryl together with other gems such as aquamarine and morganite.

Its colour varies depending on their place of origin, being the most desirable colour a deep green slightly bluish. Colombian emeralds are pure green with a slight blue shade. Brazilian emeralds are slightly lighter in colour and have more yellow. Zambia stones are a good emerald green and clarity is good.

Emeralds often have inclusions or irregular colour distribution and may seem “sleepy”. The emerald cut was designed to give the best of the precious stone and intensify its colour.

*Ring with an emerald-cut emerald and diamonds.

RUBY

Belongs, together with the sapphire, to the most important family of gems; corundum.

Its range of colour goes from bluish-violet to orange red. The best colour is pure red with a trace of blue. The “pigeon blood” Burmese rubies have this excellent colour, and are the most expensive and sought rubies. Colour of rubies may be slightly different and they often have minor inclusions which indicate the area of origin. Some rubies are fluorescent under ultraviolet light, and good gems even under sunlight.

The hardness of corundum, -the most hard material after the diamond- provides longevity to the stones, making it ideal for use in jewellery.

*Ring with an oval-cut ruby and diamonds.

SAPPHIRE

Like the ruby, sapphire is from corundum family.

The most valuable colour is blue, Burmese and Kashmir blue sapphires -on the border between India and Pakistan-, are the most sought gems. Burmese stones are deep and bright blue (royal blue) with a touch of violet. The Sri Lanka ones are a medium blue with a touch of purple to pastel blue. African blue sapphires can have different colours.

The colour range of sapphire is extensive, fancy sapphires can be found in any colour other than blue. The pink sapphire is very popular with shades ranging from pale pink to deep pink bluish.

*Ring with an oval-cut sapphire and diamonds.

AQUAMARINE

Belongs to the beryl family.

The colour of aquamarine can vary from sea green, blue sky and dark blue. The best blue sky aquamarine is mined in Brazil and Mozambique and dark blue colour in Nigeria and Madagascar. It is a dichroic stone, colour intensity changes depending on the angle at which one looks at it and it’s cut according to the best angle of colour.

*Ring with three marquise-cut aquamarines and diamonds.

AMETHYST

Belongs to the family of quartz.

They can be found in all shades of purple, from pale lavender to deep purple (Siberian amethyst). The highest quality amethyst is mined in the Russian Urals. It is also a slightly dichroic stone, seen from different angles it can show a bluish tone or reddish tone.

*Ring with pear-cut amethyst and diamonds.

ROSE QUARTZ

One of the quartz most commonly used minerals in jewellery.
Colour range varies from pale pink to a strong peachy pink.

Its origin is from Africa, Brazil, India and Madagascar.

*Ring with an oval-cut rose quartz and diamonds.

CITRINE QUARTZ

Also called yellow quartz, has a pastel lemon yellow to deep reddish brown and amber colour. The most common natural colour is golden and tends to be rather pale. The darker the colour, the more expensive the material.

Palmeira Citrine has an orange-amber colour and Madeira citrine a nice intense brandy colour. Quality citrine is mined in Africa, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Myanmar and Spain.

*Ring with a trilliant-cut citrine and diamonds.

SMOKY QUARTZ

The smoky quartz or “smoked” may appear in various soft and subtle colours, including a soft yellowish brown, deep chocolate, anthracite brown and almost black.

There is abundant amount of natural smoky quartz and it’s available in large sizes. It is mined in the same places that citrine quartz.

*Ring with a triangle-cut smoky quartz and diamonds.

RUTILATED QUARTZ

This quartz includes yellowish brown or gold needles, sometimes with a wave like mane around the stone, which caused the ancient name of “Venus Hair” stone. The inclusions are best seen when the stone is completely clean, without any veil or inclusions.

*Ring with an emerald-cut rutilated quartz and ice diamonds.

ROCK CRYSTAL QUARTZ

This transparent quartz resembles a mass of ice. It is a fragile and difficult to work material and often has very visible inclusions that make each stone unique.

We can find it in Africa, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Myanmar and Spain.

*Earrings with a pair of pear-cut rock crystal quartz and diamonds.

AMETRINE

Ametrine belongs to the family of quartz and has a natural two-colour combination of amethyst and citrine. It usually has a stripe design in yellow and purple tones, but never very dark.

The world’s largest producer is in Bolivia and is also found in Brazil. It is considered a clean and very durable stone.

*Pendant with a unique-cut ametrine.

GARNET

This gem comes in a range of colours from shades of red, orange and gold (including rodolite violet) to the greens of tsavorite. Garnet is a durable gem, and has a glassy, adamantine sparkle (diamond-like) or resinous.

Its origin comes from Argentina, Brazil, Germany, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Namibia, Pakistan, Russia, Scandinavia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland and Tanzania.

*Aquamarine earrings with a pair of pear-cut garnets.

OPAL

Intense colours on opal are the result of diffraction of light on tiny silica spheres grouped in the stone. The larger and more orderly spheres are, the greater the range and intensity of colours produced.

Opals often are cut maximizing cabochon stone, leading to irregular shapes that make each opal unique. Between the types of opals we find fire opal, which can be from yellow to red.

*Opal fire pendant with diamonds.

PERIDOT

Peridot is green; pale yellowish green, olive green, bottle green or intense and deep green apple (the most desirable). It is an idiocromática gem, colour comes from the basic chemical composition of the stone (iron) and not of impurities which normally give colour to gems. Peridot is transparent and its brightness can be vitreous to greasy.

The best cut material comes from Pakistan.

*Earrings with octogonal-cut peridots and black diamonds.

TANZANITE

Tanzanite is a beautiful and rare transparent indigo-violet gem found in a place of Tanzania; and nowhere else. It is the most important stone of zoisite group despite its late discovery in 1967.

It can be deep sapphire blue, blue violet, lilac or soft lavender. This gem can show a slight effect change of colour depending on the light source.

*Ring with a central cushion-cut tanzanite and diamonds.

TOPAZ

Topaz is a transparent gem that often contains inclusions; cracks and veils. It is durable, with a hardness of 8 on the Mohs scale and very large.

It has a good luster and vitreous brightness with several soft colours that depend on the impurities present. The most common natural colours are yellow, yellow-brown, orange-brown, pink-brown, red, blue and colourless. The most desirable are cherry topaz (reddish orange), the imperial topaz (orange peach) and pink topaz.

*Ring with an imperial topaz.

TOURMALINE

Tourmaline is a gem that offers a variety of fabulous colours; sometimes some in one stone.

It is dichroic varying degrees, different colours or shades of colour can be seen depending on the viewing angle. Tourmaline has a brightness between vitreous and crystalline. Common inclusions are cracks parallel between each other. The long thin pencil shape of the crystals means that stones are often rectangular.

*Ring with a 100 carats tourmaline.