Red & pink gems
Ruby: Ruby is from the corundum group of minerals The Price of a ruby is mainly determined by the colour. Pigeon-blood red, is considered the most valuable. After colour, clarity determines the price. High quality demands a much higher premium over standard material.
- Deposits in Sri Lanka, Greenland, North America, Burma,
- Mohs hardness scale: 9 Mohs scale
Spinel: Spinels were only recognised in the1850s, as a separate mineral to ruby .(They reflect light differently.) They also occur in pink, green, blue, orange, yellow and violet. Some very famous ‘rubies’ in the English crown jewels are in-fact, spinels. Synthetic spinel came onto the market in the 1920s and became quite popular in the white form. Hence, spinel can sometimes be wrongly thought of, as non-precious. Good quality, red spinels fetch a high premium.
- Deposits in Sri Lanka, Burma, North America, Brazil, Thailand
- Mohs hardness scale: 8 Mohs scale
Garnet : Garnets form their own group of six minerals call nesosilicates, encompassing Almandine ( red-violet) pictured right , Pyrope ( browny red) pictured left, Tsavorite (green) to name a few. There are other coloured varieties of garnet, the rarest being a blue garnet, that changes colour from blue, in daylight, to purple in artificial light .This type of garnet can often be mistaken for Alexandrite
- Deposits in US, Turkey, Russia, Norway, Albania, Madagascar, Italy.
- Mohs hardness scale: 7 - 7.5 Mohs scale
Tourmaline : Tourmaline is another gem found in multi-colours. It’s one of those gems designated according to colour. The pinkish to red specimens are known as Rubellite. It’s the most valuable colour and over recent years, demand throughout Europe has been high.
- Deposits in mainly in Brazil and Africa but also in Sri Lanka, North America, , Afghanistan,
- Mohs hardness scale: 7 - 7.5 Mohs scale
Pink Sapphire: Sapphire is from the corundum group of minerals. Its colours range from yellow, orange, pink, green, purple, to blue. All reds are designated as Rubies. There is no definite demarcation between sapphires and rubies, so light reds, pinks or violets are termed sapphires The most desirable and valuable colours are the cornflower blues.
- Deposits in Sri Lanka, Burma, Brazil, Thailand, Africa and Australia
- Mohs hardness scale: 9 Mohs scale
Morganite : Morganite is pale pink to violet sometimes called Pink Beryl, Rose Beryl or more recently Pink Emerald, It belongs to the beryl family of gems.
- Deposits in Brazil, Africa, United states.
- Mohs hardness scale: 7.5 - 8 Mohs scale
Kunzite : Kunzite is from the spodumene group of minerals. It was first found at beginning of the twentieth century. It’s a really delicate pink to violet colour. It can sometimes be confused with Amethyst. Often found in hues of pink, stronger colour demand a higher price. But it's still comparatively affordable. It can fade, if exposed to long periods of sunlight.
- Deposits in the US, Brazil, Burma, Namibia
- Mohs hardness scale: 6.5 - 7 Mohs scale
Red & pink gems
Ruby: Ruby is from the corundum group of minerals The Price of a ruby is mainly determined by the colour. Pigeon-blood red, is considered the most valuable. After colour, clarity determines the price. High quality demands a much higher premium over standard material.
- Deposits in Sri Lanka, Greenland, North America, Burma,
- Mohs hardness scale: 9 Mohs scale
Spinel: Spinels were only recognised in the1850s, as a separate mineral to ruby .(They reflect light differently.) They also occur in pink, green, blue, orange, yellow and violet. Some very famous ‘rubies’ in the English crown jewels are in-fact, spinels. Synthetic spinel came onto the market in the 1920s and became quite popular in the white form. Hence, spinel can sometimes be wrongly thought of, as non-precious. Good quality, red spinels fetch a high premium.
- Deposits in Sri Lanka, Burma, North America, Brazil, Thailand
- Mohs hardness scale: 8 Mohs scale
Garnet : Garnets form their own group of six minerals call nesosilicates, encompassing Almandine ( red-violet) pictured right , Pyrope ( browny red) pictured left, Tsavorite (green) to name a few. There are other coloured varieties of garnet, the rarest being a blue garnet, that changes colour from blue, in daylight, to purple in artificial light .This type of garnet can often be mistaken for Alexandrite
- Deposits in US, Turkey, Russia, Norway, Albania, Madagascar, Italy.
- Mohs hardness scale: 7 - 7.5 Mohs scale
Tourmaline : Tourmaline is another gem found in multi-colours. It’s one of those gems designated according to colour. The pinkish to red specimens are known as Rubellite. It’s the most valuable colour and over recent years, demand throughout Europe has been high.
- Deposits in mainly in Brazil and Africa but also in Sri Lanka, North America, , Afghanistan,
- Mohs hardness scale: 7 - 7.5 Mohs scale
Pink Sapphire: Sapphire is from the corundum group of minerals. Its colours range from yellow, orange, pink, green, purple, to blue. All reds are designated as Rubies. There is no definite demarcation between sapphires and rubies, so light reds, pinks or violets are termed sapphires The most desirable and valuable colours are the cornflower blues.
- Deposits in Sri Lanka, Burma, Brazil, Thailand, Africa and Australia
- Mohs hardness scale: 9 Mohs scale
Morganite : Morganite is pale pink to violet sometimes called Pink Beryl, Rose Beryl or more recently Pink Emerald, It belongs to the beryl family of gems.
- Deposits in Brazil, Africa, United states.
- Mohs hardness scale: 7.5 - 8 Mohs scale
Kunzite : Kunzite is from the spodumene group of minerals. It was first found at beginning of the twentieth century. It’s a really delicate pink to violet colour. It can sometimes be confused with Amethyst. Often found in hues of pink, stronger colour demand a higher price. But it's still comparatively affordable. It can fade, if exposed to long periods of sunlight.
- Deposits in the US, Brazil, Burma, Namibia
- Mohs hardness scale: 6.5 - 7 Mohs scale
