What distinguishes precious stones from fine stones? These natural gems have been worked into jewelry for centuries, but they are distinguished by their rarity, hardness and value. Gemme Jewelers guide you to understand what differentiates diamond, ruby, emerald or sapphire from gems like amethyst or aquamarine.
The definition of a gemstone
A precious stone is a natural gem used in jewelry and presenting specific qualities in terms of rarity, hardness and purity. The list of precious stones is fixed, and is established at only 4 gems: diamond, emerald, sapphire and ruby.
- • The diamond
A rare gem, diamonds are also the most commonly used precious stone in jewelry, to adorn rings, bracelets, necklaces and earrings. They are composed of pure crystallized carbon and can come from different regions of the world, from Russia to Australia, including Congo and Botswana. Diamonds are distinguished by their extreme hardness. While diamonds primarily evoke pure brilliance and transparency, they actually come in different shades, including pink or black. Their value depends on their qualities and the market price.
- • The Emerald
A mineral of the beryl family, belonging to the silicate group, the emerald is sought after for its deep green hue, which it owes to its composition made of iron, chromium and vanadium. Used in jewelry for the manufacture of rings and jewelry of all kinds, in association or not with other precious stones, it can come from Brazil, Colombia or Zambia.
- • The sapphire
Sapphire is a precious stone from the corundum family, the hardest minerals in the mineral kingdom after diamonds. It is made of aluminum oxide. The most emblematic shade of sapphire is blue, but the precious stone can actually come in a wide variety of colors (except red): pink, white or orange for example. The majority of sapphires used in jewelry for the creation of necklaces or pendants were extracted in Sri Lanka, Burma, Madagascar or Australia.
- • The Ruby
Ruby, like sapphire, also belongs to the corundum mineral family. The name ruby refers to the red variety of corundum (from the Latin "ruber"). A color that the stone owes to the presence of chromium atoms. It adorns contemporary rings and wedding bands as well as rare historical pieces of jewelry (crowns and scepters).
The definition of a fine stone
The term "fine stones" is used to designate all gems used in jewelry and not included in the restricted list of 4 precious stones. These are minerals extracted from nature, remarkable for their colors or clarity, but less rare, less hard and generally less expensive than precious stones.
List of fine stones
Fine stones are much more numerous than precious stones. Among the most common are:
- • Amethyst, a variety of purple quartz present on the jewels of the British royal crown
- • Garnet, a fine stone often of a dark red but which can be available in other shades, sometimes more orange
- • Agate, a soft and luminous stone often zoned, whose base color is a transparent gray.
- • Aquamarine, most commonly a pale and crystalline blue
- • Quartz: smoky, pink or hematoid, very popular in vintage jewelry
Jewelry also uses citrine, rock crystal, epidote, onyx, tiger's eye, peridot, spinel, tourmaline, tanzanite or zircon.
Differences between fine and precious stones
Precious stones are distinguished from other stones used in jewelry (fine stones) by their rarity and their generally higher value. This means that a high-quality precious stone will always have a price remarkably higher than that of a fine stone of equivalent quality. Both types of gems have in common that they are natural stones, that is, neither reconstituted nor synthetic.
| Precious stones | Fine stones | |
| Price | Higher (but variable depending on hardness) | Lower (but variable depending on quality and rarity) |
| Hardness | Exceptional | Lesser but resistant |
| Origin | Natural | Natural |
| Rarity | Overall rarity | Relative rarity (color, purity, etc.) |
While fine stones are generally less expensive than precious stones that surpass them in hardness, rarity and purity, the price of stones in jewelry depends on many criteria. The value of certain exceptional fine stones can thus exceed that of a precious stone of average quality. In jewelry, the brilliance of the stone and the depth of its color are sought-after qualities: an aquamarine of remarkable brilliance and purity will therefore be preferred to a dull sapphire!