Gemstone information from I&L Jewelry Galore

Gemstone and Gemstone Jewelry Information

If you would like some information about a gemstone and a listing of our jewelry in that gem, just click on the picture of the gemstone you are interested in.

There are more than 30 popular gemstone varieties and many more rare varieties that are valued by collectors. While some of these gemstones have been treasured since the dawn of history, some were only discovered recently.

You may have wondered about the term semi-precious gemstones that is often used to describe some coloured gemstones. The term is misleading. The gemstones it refers to are in no way "semi-precious" in terms of value or beauty and can in fact be very valuable.

For historical reasons three gemstones - emerald, sapphire and ruby have been known as the "precious gemstones". This was because historically these three were by far the most popular gemstones used in fine jewelry.

As new gemstones started to be used in jewelry, a name had to be found for them collectively. The term "colored gemstones other than ruby, emerald and sapphire," which was used initially was a tad inconvenient and so the term "semi-precious" came into use.

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