Semi-precious stones are genuine stones, like amethyst and garnet, used in fine and fashion jewelry. Although they are as beautiful and have lots of commercial value, semi-precious stones aren’t typically as rare or expensive as a precious stone, like diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds.

In more recent times, however, these stones have become more available and less expensive with the help of modern technology. Using various methods, genuine semi-precious stones are processed to enhance colors, maintain cut and size constancy. Although these stones are processed, they are still genuine semi-precious stones

Amethyst
Amethyst is a transparent purple quartz gemstone and is one of the most important quartz variety used in jewelry. Amethyst is the birthstone for the month of February. Although its colors range from pale lilac to purple and deep violets, it is closely related to the citrine stone, which is the yellow form of quartz. Varieties of both amethyst and citrine can occur in the same stone, creating beautiful stones called ametrines. Mined all over the world in places like Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia, Argentina, Australia and parts of Africa, amethyst can vary in colors from different areas. The darker stones tend to be more popular and expensive.

Amethyst has a deep history and has been known to be a spiritual healing and cleansing stone. The word amethyst comes from the Greek work “amethustos” which means sober or not drunk. It has been said that amethyst was to protect against intoxication and poisonings and has been the symbol for sobriety. It has also been known to be used in crowns, rings and other jewelry for royalty. Amethyst is the stone of choice for the rings of Bishops and has been used in Catholicism, as well as other churches, throughout history.

Citrine
Citrine, also called citrine quartz or citrine topaz, is an amber-colored gemstone. It is a golden yellow form of quartz and its name comes from the French word, “citron” which means lemon. It includes various shades of yellow, yellow-brown, gold, orange, orange-brown and reddish-brown and is an alternative birthstone for the month of November.

Besides its inherent beauty, citrine is very affordable, generally more inexpensive than other gemstones and is available in various shapes and sizes.

Garnet
Garnet is probably best known as the deep red gemstone. However, this semi-precious stone’s colors can range from red, orange, yellow, green, purple, brown, black and can even be colorless. It is a very sturdy stone, making it an excellent stone to wear and work with in jewelry. Today these stones are mined all over the world, including North, Central and South Americas, Russia, India and many African countries.

Garnets have a high refraction of light which gives it pretty brilliance. Reportedly, garnets were used by Noah as a guide and to light the Ark. The word garnet comes from the Latin word “granum” which means grain. It was a reference to its shape and how garnet resembles pomegranate seeds.

In addition to the various colors, there are multiple names for other garnet types like andradite, demantoid, grossularite, hessonite, pyrope, rhodolith, tsavorith, spessartine, uwarowite and many others. Although the colors may vary, all these types share a similar chemical structure and belong to the garnet family. Garnet is also the birthstone for the month of January.

Topaz
Commonly known for its golden hue, topaz is one of the better recognized semi-precious stones. It comes in an assortment of colors: yellow, pink, red, orange, blue, green, purple, brown and colorless. The classic topaz colors are yellow to orange-brown and are often referred as Sherry, Madeira and Imperial topaz in the trade.

Like many other stones, topaz is believed to have spiritual healing powers and has been used throughout history. The word topaz is derived from the Greek word “topazos” which was an old name for a Greek island known to produce peridot, another stone commonly mistaken for topaz. In fact, in earlier times, all yellow stones were considered to be topaz. Due to its color, topaz is still confused regularly for other stones, like citrine and smoky quartz.

Topaz also possesses a similar characteristic to diamonds. While topaz is a hard gemstone, they can break easily with a single blow, very much like diamonds. However, once the stone is set, breakage is unlikely.

The most sought after topaz stones are red and pink topaz stones. They are rich in color and more expensive in price. In recent years, the popularity of blue topaz has grown due to affordable prices and attractiveness. Although, blue topaz is available naturally, many have been produced using irradiation to simulate the color desired, making it easily accessible in a variety of shades, sizes and shapes.

The largest supplier of topaz today is Brazil; nevertheless topaz is mined all over the world, from Australia, Brazil, Madagascar, Mexico, Burma, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Russia and the United States.