Rio Gems

Halloween Treats - Pumpkin Orange Gems

2005-10-19T01:43:00.000-07:00

With Halloween coming up, orange is currently THE color to watch. While there are a lot of orange colored gemstones, the most readily available is citrine. Citrine comes in a variety of colors from a yellow-ish to an orange color. There is a particular type of citrine called Madeira Citrine which is particularly rich in an orange / rust color.

Other orange gemstones include garnet, which can come in a variety of orange hues including hessonite garnet, spessartite garnet, and mandarin garnet. Our favorite orange gem is the orange sapphire. Sapphire has a great sparkle and the orange sapphire is very close in color to the very pricey and rare padparadcha sapphires.

Have a Happy Halloween!

October Birthstones - Opal and Pink Tourmaline

2005-10-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

Most people know that Opal is the birthstone for October; what they might not know is that pink tourmaline is also the birthstone for October.

Opal is an incredibly diverse and unusual stone. It may display a wide play of color (exhibit different hues in the rainbow). There are quite a few varieties. Opal can have an enormous variance in price. Most of the famous opal quarries are in Australia, but opal is found throughout the world. The most affordable of the Australian Opal variety is the mosaic opal. Little bits and pieces of opal are taken, and pieced together (hence the term mosaic) on an onyx back. The term used in the industry is mosaic opal doublet. Sometimes the doublet is covered by a clear quartz top, this can give it an added layer of protection. The term used in the industry for that is a mosaic opal triplet.

Pink tourmaline mostly comes from either Africa or Brazil. Tourmaline is a type 3 gem, meaning it is normally quite included. Pink tourmaline comes in all shades of pink, in all different intensities. When a pink tourmaline becomes red, it is called Rubellite or red tourmaline. A hot pink is the ideal color, as can be seen in this hot pink tourmaline ring.

When shopping for an October birthday, now you know you need not limit your search to only Opal. You also have pink tourmaline as an alternative. Many women may prefer pink tourmaline to opal; it is also more durable than opal.

Pink Stones

2005-04-26T02:04:00.000-07:00

There are quite a few pink gemstones... there are pink diamonds. They are really rare, but do occur in nature. There are also treated pink diamonds -- someone figured out a method to treat cheap diamond goods which can give them fancy colors (yellow, blue, pink, green, black). There is a huge price different between a color-treated diamond and one that occurs fancy colored in nature.

Pink sapphire is a gorgeous stone. It's popularity sky-rocketed after J. Lo was given a pink diamond as an engagement ring some years ago. Pink sapphire is probably the closest and beautiful substitute for a pink diamond. Supply of pink sapphires grew short quickly and prices tripled over the course of two years.

There is also pink spinel. The best comes from a mountain range in Turkmenistan and Khazakhistan. It is quite a beautiful stone -- but is not available in quantities for jewelry production. It is best suited for collectors.

Morganite is pink beryl (beryl is the chemical structure of emerald and aquamarine). Some call it the pink emerald. It typically is seen in a lighter pink, and costs a bit more than Kunzite depending on the depth of color.

Kunzite, also known as spodumene, is a beautiful pink stone with a hint of lavender. Kunzite can be found in some large sizes, so it is possible to get a generous size pendant made from kunzite (whereas you would not be able to do so with pink diamond or sapphire).

Imperial pink topaz -- this is a very very rare stone. It only comes from two mines in the world -- both are in Brazil. And only one of the mines sells to the outside world -- the other is owned by a private gem collector. Prices of this are second to only diamond on this page.

Pink topaz -- while still topaz -- it is quite different from imperial pink topaz, in that it is not found naturally hot pink in color (it is found clear/white) -- it is treated by method of diffusion, which puts a pink layer on the pavilion (bottom) of the stone. The treatment is durable, but can be damaged by harsh chemicals or extraordinary heat. Pink topaz is very affordable.

Pink quartz -- some quartz is pink or rose colored. Sometimes it is opaque. Quartz is the family that contains amethyst and citrine.

I think that sums up pink stones. I wish I could post a survey to see which pink stones you like most? But I will have to save that for later when I figure out how to do that. Let me know if you want me to elaborate on any of the gems.

Rio Gems blog is born

2005-04-25T02:14:00.000-07:00

The Rio Gems blog is born. We'll post information about gems and jewelry, sales and coupons, new products, and great stories. I hope you'll stay tuned for more of what is to come.