A Gemstone is a piece of mineral, which is cut and polished to make it shine and look very desirable. A gemstone is also known as a semi-precious stone, jewel or gem.

Once the gemstones are cut and polished they can then be used in jewellery such as necklaces, earnings, rings, broaches and other jewellery items. Most gemstones are made of hard minerals, but other soft minerals make up gemstones. Below is a list of different types of minerals used for many jewellery items.

• Torquoise
• Hematite
• Chrysocolla
• Tigers-eye
• Quartz
• Tourmaline
• Pyrite
• sugilite
• Malachite
• Rose Quartz
• Snowflake Obsidian
• Ruby
• Moss Agate
• Jasper
• Amethyst
• Lace Agate
• Blue Lapis Lazuli

Some of the most desired and precious stones include the Sapphire, Amber, Ruby and Emerald gemstones.

Rare gemstones, include those which occur so infrequently in gem quality that they are scarcely known except to connoisseurs, these include Andalusite, Axinite, Cassiterite, Clinohumite and Red beryl.

Gem prices can fluctuate very often within the jewellery industry. In general per carat prices of larger stones are higher than those of smaller stones, certain sizes of stone can affect prices.

GemStone Image from here