Blog
4 Green Gemstone Varieties
An intriguing colour for a unique piece of jewellery, green gemstones have been used in jewellery for centuries. Gemstones can be found in many different shades and styles from deep forest greens, to bluish green tones, to bright sunny greens. Here are my 5 favourite green gemstones to use in custom made jewellery.
An intriguing colour for a unique piece of jewellery, green gemstones have been used in jewellery for centuries. If you love the colour green, you’ll undoubtedly have a type of green you love most. From deep forest greens, to bluish green tones, to bright sunny greens, the world of gemstones has them all. Here are my 4 favourite green gemstones to use in custom made jewellery.
1. Green Sapphire
While best known for their blue colour variants, Sapphires offer an incredible variety of green hues that make for wonderfully unique jewellery. From deep rich greens, to pastel bluish green ocean tones, to parti colour gems (which feature green alongside one or more other colours within the same gem), there are so many Green Sapphire variations to explore.
Sapphire is also one of strongest green gemstone varieties, making it an excellent option for a green engagement ring. Australia is home to beautiful Green Sapphires, so it’s possible to find a locally sourced gemstone for your custom ring design.
2. Emerald
By far the most famous green gemstone variety, Emerald have been loved in jewellery for centuries. From bright green colours, to bluish green hues, and ‘jardin’ stones with dreamy garden-like scenes with the gem, Emeralds are timelessly elegant.
Best suited for pendants, earrings, and well protected designs in rings, they’re a statement green gemstone that creates beautiful custom jewellery designs.
3. Green Tourmaline
A stunning gemstone variety in many colour shades, Tourmalines offer a wonderful variety of greens. They’re more commonly found in longer rectangular shapes due to the way this gemstone naturally forms, though can also be found in a wide variety of shapes. A particular favourite at the Harlequin studio are vibrant bluish-green hues, that create pieces with a wonderful story.
4. Green Garnet
More commonly associated with the colour red, Garnet actually offers one of the most diverse range of colours in its gemstone family. Due to the way the garnet species forms at a structural level, nuances in Garnet formation leads to a huge range of variations in colour, tone, and characteristics.
Of the greens, two garnet types are the most sought after. Tsavorites are often a bright fresh green, and vibrant in colour even in small sizes, making them perfect as either feature gems or accents in a piece. Demantoid garnets are often a more subdued yellowish green colour, and can feature beautiful “horsetail” inclusions within the gemstone.
Looking to design a piece of jewellery with your very own green gemstone? Book an appointment to explore these beautiful green gemstone varieties.
How to Incorporate Colour in Your Engagement Ring Design
From colourful statements, to subtle accents, coloured gemstones are a beautiful way of making an engagement ring unique and meaningful. Here are 5 ways to incorporate colour in your design.
Coloured gemstones are a beautiful way to make your engagement ring entirely unique. While you might be sure that you want some colour in your engagement ring, it can be trickier to decide exactly how you want to incorporate coloured gems into your design.
We’ve got you covered.
From colourful statements, to subtle accents of colour, here are 5 ideas for how to include colour in your engagement ring design.
1. Solitaire coloured gemstone engagement rings
Coloured gemstones are a beautiful statement all on their own, in a ‘solitaire’ engagement ring design. Whatever its size, a single coloured gemstone makes for a personal, unique, and practical engagement ring. Solitaire engagement rings can feature coloured gemstones in claw settings, bezel settings, wraparound designs, or inset into a band.
2. Coloured gemstone engagement rings with diamond accents
Coloured gemstones pair beautifully with diamonds of all shapes, sizes and styles. Surround a centre coloured gemstone with a halo, include diamonds in the band, or choose matching side stones for a modern trilogy engagement ring design. All these options work beautifully alongside a personal coloured gemstone, keeping the colour the focus of the design.
3. Engagement rings with coloured gemstone accents
If you love the idea of colour, but want a white diamond as the main feature of your engagement ring, coloured gemstones can be incorporated as a secondary feature of the design. Use them as accent stones in your band, halo, or side stones for a diamond engagement ring that’s uniquely yours.
4. Engagement rings with multiple coloured gemstones
You can steer away from white diamonds entirely, and incorporate multiple different coloured gemstones into an engagement ring design. Whether you’re looking to represent multiple meanings, or have multiple favourite colours to include, you can create a ring that uses multiple colours in a way that’s both beautiful and unique.
5. Engagement rings with hidden coloured gemstones
For a more subtle way of incorporating colour into an engagement ring, you can consider setting a hidden coloured gemstone into your engagement ring design. Whether embedded inside a band, or below a setting, it’s a beautiful way to incorporate a sentimental meaning that only you and your partner know about.
These 5 ideas are just the beginning of what you can design for your unique coloured gemstone engagement ring. Book a time to meet with me, to begin designing your very own design with colour.
4 Coloured Gemstones for Engagement Rings
Looking for an alternative to a white diamond for your engagement ring? Here are 4 coloured gemstone varieties that are perfect for engagement rings.
While white diamonds have been the dominant choice of gemstones for engagement rings for many years, there are many more gemstone options out there if you’re looking for an engagement ring with colour.
Engagement rings are often a piece of jewellery that’s worn every day, so it makes sense to choose a gemstone variety that’s durable. Luckily, there are durable gemstone varieties that are found in a stunningly diverse range of colours. Here are my 4 go-to coloured gemstone varieties for including in an engagement ring design.
1. Coloured Diamond Engagement Rings
White diamonds are the most well known of all diamonds, but they aren’t the only colour that diamonds can be. Coloured diamonds are just as strong and durable as their white counterparts, so are an excellent choice for a coloured engagement ring.
The range of colours, and the subtle variations within them make each coloured diamond stunningly unique. We often reach for Pink Diamonds and Yellow Diamonds as both feature gemstones, or secondary accents in engagement ring designs. Blue diamonds make for beautiful icy blue additions, and there are even diamond colours so unique that they defy conversational colour descriptions.
Coloured Diamonds also allow a choice of local Australian mined gemstones, with Pink, Cognac, and Champagne diamonds found locally.
2. Sapphire Engagement Rings
One of the most famous blue coloured gemstones for very good reason, Sapphires make for beautiful features in engagement rings. They’re one of the strongest coloured gemstone varieties, making them a sensible and stunning choice for an engagement ring that will be worn every day.
Blue Sapphires are found all around the world, including Australia, Sri Lanka, Montana, and Madagascar. They’re found in shades from deep rich blues, right through to pastels, and are faceted into a wide variety of shapes, giving you endless options for a unique feature gemstone in your engagement ring. Small blue sapphires are also beautiful bright additions as accents to a diamond engagement ring.
3. Fancy Sapphire Engagement Rings
While Blue Sapphires are by far the most famous, ‘Fancy Sapphire’ is the term used to describe all other colours Sapphire can be found in - and that spectrum of colour is huge. From bright yellows, to deep greens, to rare peachy pink Padparadscha sapphires, and even Parti Sapphires that feature multiple colours in one gems, there’s a colour for every taste in this magnificent gemstone family.
If you’re looking for a statement gemstone in an engagement ring, in a very specific colour, or one so unique that no one else will have, Fancy Sapphire is an excellent rabbit hole to explore for your perfect coloured gemstone.
4. Spinel Engagement Rings
If you haven’t heard of Spinel (pronounced spi-NEL), get ready to be in awe. It’s a lesser known, yet exquisite gemstone that’s perfect for a unique engagement ring.
Spinels are especially beautiful in big bold colours that make an incredible statement in a coloured engagement ring. Our favourite spinel colours include neon pink, rich red, peachy tones, and bright cobalt blues, though they are also found in a huge range of other colours.
There’s something about the way Spinels play with colour and light that makes them intriguing from the second you see one in real life. Plus, their relative obscurity in common gemstone knowledge makes them an excellent conversation starter every day that engagement ring is on your finger.
Looking to bring to life your very own coloured gemstone engagement ring? Book your complimentary appointment to begin exploring your ideas and the wonderful world of gemstones with our colour-loving jeweller.
Why Sapphire Engagement Rings Are A Popular Diamond Alternative in Australia
Looking for a coloured gemstone to include in your engagement ring? Sapphires are a popular diamond alternative for engagement rings in Australia for good reason. Explore why here.
While diamonds are often the default option for engagement rings, there’s one other gemstone variety that’s a strong favourite for engagement rings in Australia: Sapphire. This incredible coloured gemstone variety is an increasingly sought after option for engagement rings, particularly for couples looking for a locally sourced Australian gemstone.
Here’s why.
1. Sapphires are one of the strongest coloured gemstones.
For a ring you’re going to wear on your hand every day, you want a gemstone that’s strong. Diamond is the strongest of all gemstones, and it’s this strength factor (rather than any rarity factor) that makes diamond the most popular gemstone option for engagement rings.
While no other gemstone is quite as strong as a diamond, there are other gemstones that are still strong enough to use in an engagement ring. So, diamonds aren’t the only strong option. Sapphires are one of the strongest coloured gemstones around, and they typically hold up very well in an engagement ring.
The infamous Sapphire is one of the few coloured gemstones that are strong enough for engagement rings.
2. Sapphires are found in a huge range of colours.
While sapphire is strongly associated with the colour blue, this gemstone variety isn’t exclusively blue. Fancy sapphires are available in many more colours than the traditional deep blue we’re all familiar with. The world’s sapphires includes colours from pale pastels through to bold colours in every shade you can imagine (except red, because a red gemstone with sapphire’s chemical makeup is classed as a ruby). There are even that display different colours in different lights as you go about your day, known as colour shift sapphires, or colour change sapphires.
If there’s a colour you love, chances are you’ll be able to find a sapphire in that shade. Locally in Australia, sapphires for engagement rings can be found in blues, greens, yellows, teals. Australia is particularly famous for gemstones that display multiple zones of these colours, known as parti sapphires. Other sought after favourites around the world include the peachy pink Padparadscha Sapphire, and the pastel ocean-like colours of Montana Sapphires.
Sapphires can be many colours other than the familiar Blue Sapphire, including peachy pink shades of the rare Padparadscha Sapphire.
3. Each Sapphire is wonderfully unique.
If you’re looking for a ring that’s unique, a coloured gemstone like sapphire is a wonderful way to know that no one has a ring exactly like yours. Natural sapphires have subtle variations in the colour, colour distribution, and patterning that gives each individual gemstone its own unique character. This uniqueness goes even further when you add your choice of shape and faceting style.
It’s a true joy making each and every sapphire engagement ring we create here at Harlequin Jewellers, and seeing how the uniqueness of the gemstone creates a personalised engagement ring for every client.
Colour variations in Natural Sapphire, especially Australian Parti Sapphires, make each gemstone wonderfully unique.
4. Sapphires are one of the few Australian gemstones suitable for an engagement ring.
If you’re looking to support Australia’s local industries instead of choosing an engagement ring with a gemstone from overseas, an Australian sapphire engagement ring is a wonderful way to achieve that. Australian sapphires are one of the few gemstone varieties found in our beautiful country that are strong enough for an engagement ring. We’re so lucky that the colours of Australian sapphires are breathtaking as well.
Choosing a local Australian jeweller to create the piece for you goes even further to support our local industries, and you’ll start your next life chapter with a unique, beautifully made piece to celebrate it.
Australian Sapphires are exceptionally beautiful, unique, and one of the few local gemstone options strong enough to consider including in an engagement ring.
Design your own sapphire engagement ring with an Australian jeweller
To bring your on unique Australian sapphire engagement ring to life, book an appointment directly with our jewellery maker, to explore some incredible gems, and get all the advice you need to create a practical and beautiful design.
You may also like:
