Throughout history coloured gemstones have held a fascination, sometimes even a legendary power, for people of all cultures. In the earliest days, coloured gems were coveted as charms or amulets, to ward off evil. Later, their rarity and beauty established them as a status symbol, worn by the very powerful and the very rich.

Today coloured gemstones are gathered from all corners of the world and new discoveries and modern mining techniques have made them more affordable. New varieties have also been discovered such as tourmaline and garnet, to add to the traditional selection of ruby, emerald and sapphire. However, of the more than 3000 minerals found on earth, only a small percentage qualify as gemstones due to their beauty, colour, durability and rarity.

Some of the most popular and beautiful coloured gemstones include:

Sapphire – The finest colour is a rich velvety cornflower blue, though they come in a wide spectrum of shades of blue. Sources include Sri Lanka, Thailand and Australia. They are also found in a range of other colours of which pink, gold, orange and purple are the most valuable.

Ruby – A close relative of the sapphire, rubies are rarer, and therefore can be much more valuable. In fact large rubies may be worth more than a diamond of a comparable size. The traditional source of rubies was Burma (Myanmar) but most of its mines are now exhausted. The cherry red rubies often favoured in Australia primarily come from Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Africa.

Emerald – Intense grassy green emeralds with plenty of sparkle and life are the most valuable with stones of more than 2 carats being extremely rare. Sources include Columbia, Russia, Southern Africa and Australia.

Aquamarine – Related to the emerald, aquamarine is Latin for seawater. The stones come in a range of shades from greenish blue to bluish grey. Usually free of the inclusions that can make emeralds fragile, they are found in a number of countries including Brazil, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Russia.

Collecting coloured gemstone jewellery is fun, easy and affordable. The range of colour, size and shape is practically limitless and at Lawrence Sanders we would be delighted to assist you in choosing exactly the piece of jewellery that best suits you, your style, and your personality, or helping to select a gift for someone special.