ValerieBound
- Feb 2, 2017
- 4 min read

Unique Gemstones for your Valentine

I love Valentine’s Day! Truth be told, it wasn’t always that way. But then, I had a beautiful daughter born on that day and all of a sudden, Valentine’s Day is something very special. But let’s talk jewelry, shall we? For this post, I wanted to focus on gemstones other than ruby. There are some absolutely gorgeous, equally beautiful gemstones. Sometimes I feel like there’s too much red on Valentine’s Day. Why is pink relegated to this second tier color? It’s too bad, because there are some beautiful pink stones out there. Let me introduce you to some of them.

<img class=" wp-image-5712 lazyload" src="https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Screen-Shot-2019-01-19-at-5.00.59-PM.png" alt="Heart earrings from Kate Spade" width="621" height="500" srcset="https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Screen-Shot-2019-01-19-at-5.00.59-PM.png 1070w, https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Screen-Shot-2019-01-19-at-5.00.59-PM-300x242.png 300w, https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Screen-Shot-2019-01-19-at-5.00.59-PM-768x619.png 768w, https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Screen-Shot-2019-01-19-at-5.00.59-PM-1024x825.png 1024w, https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Screen-Shot-2019-01-19-at-5.00.59-PM-610x491.png 610w" sizes="(max-width: 621px) 100vw, 621px" /> Heart earrings from Kate Spade

Kunzite

Kunzite as a gemstone is as American as they come! Discovered in California, and named for America’s first gemologist, George Kunz (read my earlier post about George here), you can’t really pick a stone with a prettier color range. It goes from a lovely pastel pink to a deeper pinkish purple.

[easyazon_image align=”center” height=”500″ identifier=”B01MZG1A95″ locale=”US” src=”https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/41igYgPgWTL.jpg” tag=”vathgega-20″ width=”500″]

Morganite

Morganite is simply the pink version of an emerald. Or aquamarine. They are all in the beryl family. The nice thing is that morganite (and aquamarine) are naturally clear stones, while emeralds tend to very messy on the inside (we gemologists call this “included”). Beryl is also very durable. So there’s no problem making it a ring, it’s strong enough to take a lot of wear.

<img class=" wp-image-5714 lazyload" src="https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/82725.jpg" alt="Morganite ring from sundancecatalog.com" width="500" height="500" srcset="https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/82725.jpg 766w, https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/82725-150x150.jpg 150w, https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/82725-300x300.jpg 300w, https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/82725-610x610.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /> Morganite ring from sundancecatalog.com

Garnet

Garnet is one of the unsung heroes of gemstones, in my opinion. Garnets are found on every continent, and they’ve been used in jewelry since antiquity. Many gems in museums that we thought were rubies turned out to be garnets! They come in an amazing range of colors, from yellows and oranges to greens and reds. They are a January birthstone, but don’t let that deter you! I think anyone can wear a beautiful garnet if they like!

<img class=" wp-image-2805 lazyload" src="https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/80923.jpg" alt="Color range of garnets (image courtesy of gia.edu)" width="466" height="263" srcset="https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/80923.jpg 634w, https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/80923-300x169.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 466px) 100vw, 466px" /> Color range of garnets (image courtesy of gia.edu)

<img class="wp-image-2406 lazyload" src="https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/74087-2.jpg" alt="" width="281" height="281" srcset="https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/74087-2.jpg 444w, https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/74087-2-150x150.jpg 150w, https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/74087-2-300x300.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 281px) 100vw, 281px" /> Garnet and gold earrings (image courtesy of sundancecatalog.com)

Rose Quartz

Quartz anything is darn near ubiquitous and hence, inexpensive. With the popularity of rose gold, and pink in general, I think rose quartz is having a moment.

<img class=" wp-image-2403 lazyload" src="https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/80357.jpg" alt="Lovely little rose quartz ring (image courtesy of sundancecatalog.com)" width="302" height="302" srcset="https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/80357.jpg 444w, https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/80357-150x150.jpg 150w, https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/80357-300x300.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 302px) 100vw, 302px" /> Lovely little rose quartz ring (image courtesy of sundancecatalog.com)

Topaz

Topaz, like garnets, come in a wide variety of colors. And like quartz, topaz is pretty inexpensive. Blue topaz is one of the birthstones for December (read about my irritation with birthstones here), but you shouldn’t limit yourself to blue. There are some lovely pink and orange varieties too!

[easyazon_image align=”center” height=”500″ identifier=”B01DK0VDPM” locale=”US” src=”https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/41M8XfeeZL.jpg” tag=”vathgega-20″ width=”500″]

<img class=" wp-image-2393 lazyload" src="https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/aDSCF5156_1024x1024.jpg" alt="Uncut pink topaz ring (image courtesy of byangeline.com)" width="382" height="314" srcset="https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/aDSCF5156_1024x1024.jpg 576w, https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/aDSCF5156_1024x1024-300x246.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 382px) 100vw, 382px" /> Uncut pink topaz ring (image courtesy of byangeline.com)

Sapphire

Do I love my blue sapphires? You bet I do! But sapphires comes in lots of colors. And the nice thing is that sapphires are quite durable, making them perfect for rings.

<img class=" wp-image-2401 lazyload" src="https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/71465.jpg" alt="Pink sapphire ring (image courtesy of sundancecatalog.com)" width="309" height="309" srcset="https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/71465.jpg 444w, https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/71465-150x150.jpg 150w, https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/71465-300x300.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 309px) 100vw, 309px" /> Pink sapphire ring (image courtesy of sundancecatalog.com)

Tourmaline

Tourmaline, like kunzite, is another all-American stone. American tourmaline was first discovered in Maine in 1822. It’s still mined there today! And for a period of time, the USA was the world’s largest producer of tourmaline.

Tourmaline comes in a wide variety of colors. In fact, a green tourmaline is what convinced Tiffany’s that they needed to expand their colored stone selection. There are even some cool bi-color and tri-color tourmalines.

[easyazon_image align=”center” height=”500″ identifier=”B01HM82YI8″ locale=”US” src=”https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/411gM8caJtL.jpg” tag=”vathgega-20″ width=”374″]

Do yourself a favor and add this gemstone to your jewelry box!

<img class=" wp-image-2399 lazyload" src="https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Tourmalines.jpg" alt="Two examples of beautiful tourmaline jewelry (images courtesy of sundancecatalog.com)" width="410" height="547" srcset="https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Tourmalines.jpg 600w, https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Tourmalines-225x300.jpg 225w" sizes="(max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px" /> Two examples of beautiful tourmaline jewelry (images courtesy of sundancecatalog.com)

Spinel

Spinel is a pretty little under appreciated gem. It has a ton of versatility, though. Like the other gemstones I’ve discussed, this one has a good color range. Read my earlier post about how green spinel was recently added as an August birthstone. In retail jewelry, spinel is typically marketed as a ruby substitute. That’s too bad, since I think it’s a respectable gemstone on its own.

[easyazon_image align=”center” height=”421″ identifier=”B07CPMHP5L” locale=”US” src=”https://valthegemgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/41Wmk2Xw4xL.jpg” tag=”vathgega-20″ width=”500″]

Go shopping!

Valentine’s Day is all about love! Whether it’s romantic love, platonic love, or self-love, gifting jewelry is a way to celebrate that sentiment. As I look through my own jewelry box, there’s always a memory attached. A story of how I came to have it in my possession. This Valentine’s Day, think about what memories you want to have with your jewelry.

Happy Valentine’s Day, gem gals!

#sapphires #spinel