Despite the immense popularity of diamonds, coloured gemstones have always been among the most popular and expressive forms of jewellery. The bright colours of coloured gems give each a unique personality, and personal tastes in colour often dictate preferences for particular stones.

PRECIOUS GEMSTONES
Only three coloured gemstones are considered precious. These are the emerald, sapphire and ruby, which have retained their prized positions among jewels due to their extraordinary colours and extreme rarity. Precious gemstones with good colour and large size are very hard to come by. Because of their rarity, it is common to use stones with inclusions and blemishes in jewellery.

SEMI-PRECIOUS GEMSTONES
A semi-precious gemstone includes any gemstone other than sapphire, emerald or ruby. The value of semi-precious gemstones can vary depending on the availability of the mineral; natural black opal, for example, is hard to come by and more valuable than most other semi-precious stones. As a rule, however, semi-precious stones are always more plentiful than precious stones. That makes it easier to find large, well-coloured, very clean stones appropriate for jewellery. In addition, the wide range of colours available makes semi-precious stones the choice for people who want to create their own look with their jewellery