Descriptions, Origins & Age of Natural Gemstones

1. Amethyst

• Description: A purple variety of quartz, amethyst ranges from light lavender to deep violet.
• Origin: Found in countries such as Brazil, Uruguay, and Zambia.
• Age: Formed over millions of years, amethyst deposits are often around 100 million years old.

2. Aquamarine

• Description: A blue to blue-green variety of beryl, reminiscent of the sea.
• Origin: Primarily sourced from Brazil, Nigeria, and Madagascar.
• Age: Typically forms over tens of millions of years.

3. Alexandrite

• Description: A rare color-changing gemstone, shifting from green in daylight to red in incandescent light.
• Origin: Originally discovered in Russia's Ural Mountains, now also found in Brazil and Sri Lanka.
• Age: Formed around 100 million years ago.

4. Amber

• Description: Fossilized tree resin, ranging in color from golden yellow to deep brown.
• Origin: Commonly found in the Baltic region and the Dominican Republic.
• Age: Typically 30-90 million years old.

5. Ametrine

• Description: A natural blend of amethyst and citrine, showing purple and yellow zones.
• Origin: Mainly found in Bolivia.
• Age: Forms over millions of years, similar to amethyst and citrine.

6. Agate

• Description: A banded form of chalcedony, with various colors and patterns.
• Origin: Worldwide, with significant deposits in Brazil, Mexico, and the United States.
• Age: Forms over millions of years, often in volcanic rock.

7. Aventurine

• Description: A type of quartz with shimmering inclusions, usually green but can also be orange, brown, or blue.
• Origin: Found in India, Brazil, and Russia.
• Age: Formed over millions of years.

8. Bloodstone

• Description: A dark green jasper with red iron oxide spots, resembling blood.
• Origin: India, Brazil, and Australia.
• Age: Formed over millions of years.

9. Blue Lace Agate

• Description: A variety of agate with delicate light blue and white bands.
• Origin: Primarily found in Namibia.
• Age: Forms over millions of years, within volcanic rocks.

10. Carnelian

• Description: A reddish-brown variety of chalcedony, valued for its rich color.
• Origin: India, Brazil, and Uruguay.
• Age: Forms over millions of years, typically in volcanic rock.

11. Citrine

• Description: A yellow to brownish-orange variety of quartz.
• Origin: Brazil, Spain, and Russia.
• Age: Forms over millions of years.

12. Chrysoprase

• Description: An apple-green variety of chalcedony, colored by nickel.
• Origin: Australia, Brazil, and the United States.
• Age: Forms over millions of years.

13. Chalcedony

• Description: A microcrystalline variety of quartz, often blue or white.
• Origin: Found worldwide, with notable sources in Turkey and the United States.
• Age: Forms over millions of years.

14. Coral

• Description: Organic gemstone formed by marine organisms, typically red, pink, or white.
• Origin: Found in tropical oceans worldwide, particularly in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
• Age: Ranges from several thousand to millions of years old.

15. Diamond

• Description: The hardest known natural material, diamonds are pure carbon crystals.
• Origin: Major sources include Russia, Botswana, and Canada.
• Age: Typically 1 to 3.5 billion years old.

16. Emerald

• Description: A green variety of beryl, known for its deep, rich color.
• Origin: Colombia, Zambia, and Brazil.
• Age: Formed around 500 million to 1 billion years ago.

17. Fluorite

• Description: A colorful mineral that can appear in a variety of colors, often purple, green, or clear.
• Origin: China, Mexico, and South Africa.
• Age: Forms over millions of years.

18. Garnet

• Description: A group of silicate minerals, typically red but found in many colors.
• Origin: India, Sri Lanka, and the United States.
• Age: Formed around 1 billion to 3 billion years ago.

19. Iolite

• Description: A blue-violet gemstone, often compared to sapphire.
• Origin: India, Sri Lanka, and Mozambique.
• Age: Forms over millions of years.

20. Jade

• Description: A term for two minerals, jadeite and nephrite, typically green.
• Origin: Myanmar (Burma) for jadeite, and China for nephrite.
• Age: Formed over millions of years.

21. Jasper

• Description: An opaque variety of chalcedony, often multicolored with unique patterns.
• Origin: Found worldwide, with significant deposits in Brazil, India, and Russia.
• Age: Forms over millions of years.

22. Kyanite

• Description: A typically blue, blade-shaped crystal, known for its variable hardness.
• Origin: Brazil, Nepal, and Switzerland.
• Age: Forms over millions of years in metamorphic rocks.

23. Kunzite

• Description: A pink to violet variety of spodumene, valued for its delicate color.
• Origin: Afghanistan, Brazil, and the United States.
• Age: Forms over millions of years.

24. Labradorite

• Description: A feldspar mineral known for its iridescent play of colors.
• Origin: Canada, Finland, and Madagascar.
• Age: Forms over millions of years.

25. Lapis Lazuli

• Description: A deep blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone.
• Origin: Afghanistan, Chile, and Russia.
• Age: Formed over hundreds of millions of years.

26. Larimar

• Description: A rare blue variety of pectolite, found only in the Dominican Republic.
• Origin: Dominican Republic.
• Age: Formed over millions of years in volcanic environments.

27. Malachite

• Description: A green copper carbonate mineral with distinctive banding.
• Origin: Russia, Congo, and Australia.
• Age: Forms over millions of years, often in copper deposits.

28. Moonstone

• Description: A feldspar mineral with a pearly and opalescent schiller.
• Origin: Sri Lanka, India, and Madagascar.
• Age: Formed over millions of years.

29. Morganite

• Description: A pink to orange-pink variety of beryl.
• Origin: Madagascar, Brazil, and the United States.
• Age: Formed over tens of millions of years.

30. Onyx

• Description: A variety of chalcedony, often black with white bands.
• Origin: Brazil, India, and the United States.
• Age: Forms over millions of years.

31. Opal

• Description: A hydrated silica gemstone known for its unique play of color.
• Origin: Australia, Ethiopia, and Mexico.
• Age: Typically formed over tens of millions of years.

32. Peridot

• Description: A green gemstone, the gem-quality variety of the mineral olivine.
• Origin: United States (Arizona), China, and Pakistan.
• Age: Typically formed in the earth's mantle, up to 4.5 billion years old.

33. Pearl

• Description: Organic gems formed within the shells of certain mollusks.
• Origin: Found in oceans, seas, and freshwater bodies worldwide, especially in the Persian Gulf and the South Sea.
• Age: Typically formed over several years.

34. Pyrite

• Description: Often called "fool's gold," it is a metallic mineral composed of iron sulfide.
• Origin: Found worldwide, including in Spain, Peru, and the United States.
• Age: Forms over millions of years.

35. Rhodonite

• Description: A pink to red manganese silicate mineral, often with black veins.
• Origin: Russia, Australia, and the United States.
• Age: Formed over millions of years.

36. Rose Quartz

• Description: A pink variety of quartz, often used in jewelry and decorative objects.
• Origin: Brazil, Madagascar, and the United States.
• Age: Forms over millions of years.

37. Ruby

• Description: A red variety of corundum, highly prized for its color and rarity.
• Origin: Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, and Sri Lanka.
• Age: Formed around 1 billion to 1.6 billion years ago.

38. Sapphire

• Description: A blue variety of corundum, also found in other colors.
• Origin: Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and Thailand.
• Age: Formed over hundreds of millions to billions of years.

39. Smoky Quartz

• Description: A brown to gray variety of quartz, known for its smoky color.
• Origin: Brazil, Switzerland, and the United States.
• Age: Forms over millions of years.

40. Spinel

• Description: A gemstone that comes in a variety of colors, including red, blue, and pink.
• Origin: Myanmar (Burma), Sri Lanka, and Tanzania.
• Age: Formed over millions of years.

41. Sunstone

• Description: A feldspar mineral with reflective inclusions that give a sunlit appearance.
• Origin: Norway, India, and the United States.
• Age: Forms over millions of years.

42. Tanzanite

• Description: A blue to violet variety of the mineral zoisite, found only in Tanzania.
• Origin: Tanzania.
• Age: Formed around 585 million years ago.

43. Tiger's Eye

• Description: A chatoyant gemstone with a golden to red-brown color and silky luster.
• Origin: South Africa, Australia, and India.
• Age: Forms over millions of years.

44. Topaz

• Description: A silicate mineral available in a wide range of colors, including blue, yellow, and pink.
• Origin: Brazil, Nigeria, and Russia.
• Age: Typically forms over tens of millions of years.

45. Tourmaline

• Description: A complex borosilicate mineral available in a wide variety of colors.
• Origin: Brazil, Madagascar, and Afghanistan.
• Age: Forms over millions of years.

46. Turquoise

• Description: An opaque blue-to-green mineral, often with a network of veins.
• Origin: Iran, the United States (Southwest), and China.
• Age: Forms over millions of years.

47. Unakite

• Description: A green and pink metamorphic rock, composed of feldspar, quartz, and epidote.
• Origin: United States, South Africa, and Sierra Leone.
• Age: Forms over hundreds of millions of years.

48. Zircon

• Description: A gemstone that comes in a variety of colors, including blue, yellow, and red.
• Origin: Australia, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia.
• Age: Some of the oldest crystals on Earth, up to 4.4 billion years old.

49. Zoisite

• Description: A mineral that can be blue (tanzanite), green, pink (thulite), or brown.
• Origin: Tanzania, Kenya, and Norway.
• Age: Forms over millions of years.

50. Sunstone

• Description: A feldspar mineral with a unique glittery appearance due to tiny inclusions.
• Origin: Norway, India, and the United States.
• Age: Forms over millions of years.