Since there is enormous variation in color across the many gem varieties, we have organized this chart around color families. We have also included sections for multicolor, color change and star/cat's eye gems.
Red Gems
Red is one of the rarest colors in the gems world, and a pure red, such as the famed pigeon's blood ruby, is exceptionally rare. Most red gems are orangey-red (spinel), pink-red (spinel, garnet) or purplish-red (rubellite tourmaline).
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| Burma Ruby |
Red Spinel |
Rhodolite Garnet |
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| Rubellite Tourmaline |
Rhodonite | Red Zircon |
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| Cuprite |
Blue Gems
Though blue is a more common gem color than red, very few gems occur in a pure saturated blue. Sapphire is really the only example, though tanzanite sometimes comes close. Other blue gems tend to be a grayish-blue (spinel, benitoite), greenish-blue (blue zircon, apatite, tourmaline, gem silica) or a pastel blue (aquamarine, topaz).
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| Blue Sapphire | Tanzanite | Blue Spinel |
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| Aquamarine | Blue Zircon |
Blue Apatite |
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| Color Change Fluorite |
Benitoite | Blue Topaz |
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| Paraiba Tourmaline |
Gem Silica |
Blue Tourmaline |
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| Iolite |
Green Gems
Green presents the most choices in the gems world, but many of the finest green gems, such as emerald, jadeite, tsavorite garnet and demantoid garnet, are quite rare. Green hues are mainly due to traces of chromium and vanadium or iron.
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| Emerald | Tsavorite Garnet |
Chrome Tourmaline |
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| Demantoid Garnet |
Chrome Diopside |
Peridot |
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| Sphene | Idocrase | Prehnite |
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| Green Tourmaline |
Jadeite Jade | Green Sapphire |
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| Mali Garnet | Chrysoberyl | Actinolite Cat's Eye |
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| Chyrsoprase | Chrome Chalcedony |
Amblygonite |
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| Green Quartz | Green Fluorite |
Oligoclase |
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| Apatite | Williamsite |
Pink Gems
The finest pink gems are sapphire, spinel and tourmaline, with tourmaline exhibiting the widest range of pink hues. Kunzite and morganite are popular because they are relatively inexpensive and can be found in large sizes.
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| Pink Sapphire | Pink Spinel | Pink Tourmaline |
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| Kunzite | Morganite | Pezzottaite |
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| Padparadscha Sapphire |
Rhodochrosite |
Yellow/Gold/Bronze Gems
The most valuable yellow or gold gems are sapphire and imperial topaz. Citrine and yellow beryl are quite attractive, but relatively common. Yellow tourmaline is rare.
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| Yellow Sapphire |
Yellow Beryl | Yellow Tourmaline |
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| Honey Zircon |
Citrine | Yellow Fluorite |
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| Scapolite | Sphene | Imperial Topaz |
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| Kornerupine |
Orange Gems
Spessartite garnet is considered the finest of the vivid orange gems, but a number of other gems can be found in shades of orange, including sapphire, spinel, tourmaline and mexican fire opal.
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| Orange Sapphire |
Spessartite Garnet |
Orange Tourmaline |
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| Imperial Topaz |
Citrine | Orange Spinel |
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| Mexican Opal | Sphalerite | Padparadscha Sapphire |
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| Rhodochrosite |
Violet/Purple Gems
There are relatively few violet or purple gems. Amethyst is the most famous and by far the most popular for jewelry. Sapphire and spinel can sometimes be found in violet, while chalcedony typically occurs in a greyish-lilac color.
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| Amethyst | Purple Fluorite |
Chalcedony |
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| Scapolite | Violet Sapphire | Purple Spinel |
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| Jeremejevite | Iolite |
White/Colorless Gems
Diamond is the hardest and most valuable of the colorless gems, but a number of other gems have been popular over the years as alternatives, particularly white sapphire, white zircon, goshenite (white beryl), petalite and danburite.
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| Diamond | White Sapphire | White Zircon |
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| Danburite | White Tourmaline |
Moonstone |
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| Goshenite Beryl |
Petalite |
Multicolor Gems
Some unusual gems displays regions of different color, notably the bi-color and tri-color tourmalines and the purple/gold quartz known as ametrine. Opal is famous for its play of color.
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| Bi-Color Tourmaline |
Ametrine | Precious Opal |
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| Multicolor Fluorite |
Color Change Gems
Some rare gems change color under varying lighting conditions. Alexandrite is the most famous example of a color change gem, displaying green or brown under daylight and a purplish-red under incandescent light.
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| Color-Change Alexandrite |
Color-Change Sapphire |
Color-Change Garnet |
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| Color-Change Diaspore |
Color-Change Fluorite |
Star and Cat's Eye Gems
The phenomena of asterism (the star effect) and chatoyancy(the cat's eye effect) have been known for centures, and these rare gems are coveted by collectors. Star sapphires and star rubies are the best known gems that can display a star, while cat's eye chrysoberyl is the most famous cat's eye gem.
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| Blue Star Sapphire |
Black Star Sapphire |
Star Ruby |
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| Cat's Eye Chrysoberyl |
Cat's Eye Apatite |
Actinolite Cat's Eye |
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Cat's Eye Tourmaline |
Cat's Eye Opal |
