Gemstone jewellery is jewellery studded with gemstones. Such a type of jewellery can be made with a vast variety of combinations of different gemstones and precious metals like gold, platinum or silver etc.

The most popular of all the gemstones which are widely used in gemstone jewellery are:

Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Aquamarine, Topaz, Garnet, Zircon, Tourmaline, Quartz, Amethyst, Citrine, Quartz, Cat's Eye, Tiger's eye, Jasper, Opal, Jade, Peridot, Tanzanite, Moonstone, Turquoise etc. These are arranged in endless combinations of intricate patterns to create eye catching designs in gemstone jewellery. The natural colour and lustre of these gemstones enhances the beauty of any jewellery item created and when these are combined with metals like white and yellow gold, one cannot like anything else.

With the advances in gemology and other related areas in sciences, gemstone jewellery is reaching new heights. New and new designs are being made with the help of latest computer soft wares and design suites. Computer soft wares are being used to develop new and unique shapes of gemstones like diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds etc. Different diamond cuts like trillion cut, heart cut, pear cut, octagonal cut, cushion cut are making waves these days in the world of gemstone jewellery with people asking for other gemstones as well in these shapes.

Gemstone jewellery has its own advantages over the traditional plain jewellery. Some of the plus points in a gemstone jewellery shop are:

• Some of the gemstones like pearl, sapphire, ruby, diamond, emerald etc. are associated with birth signs and are said to bring good luck and prosperity to the wearer of such stones.
• Some gemstones are also used in machinery making, e.g.: diamonds are used in making high precision cutting tools and sun shields for spacecrafts.
• And the most important of all, gemstones give plain jewellery more colours and options to choose from.

Thus, gemstone jewellery has plenty of scope to establish its position in the world jewellery trade and the endless options it has to choose amongst from makes it a very lucrative option for the jewellery buyers.

Gemstones are generally minerals that have been, or may be, fashioned to use for personal adornment. As a rule, they are beautiful, rare and durable. Most are minerals: natural, inorganic materials with a fixed chemical composition and regular internal structure. A few gems, like amber and pearl, come from plants or animals, and are known as organics. Others, called synthetics, do not have a natural origin, but are made in laboratories.

Gemstones can be formed in various ways. Some crystallize from molten magma and gases of the earth's interior or from volcanic lava streams that reach the earth's surface. Others crystallize from hydrous solutions or grow with the help of organisms on or near the earth's surface.

Some common properties or attributes on the basis of which various gemstones are classified are:

• Crystal systems
• Hardness
• Cleavage and fracture
• Density and specific gravity
• Colour
• Streak
• Refractive indices and double refraction
• Dispersion
• Absorption spectra
• Transparency and lustre
• Pleochroism
• Light and colour effects
• Luminescence
• Inclusions
• Interference

Even though most of these properties have nothing to do with the common man, they play a significant part in determining the price of the gemstone and thus influences the price of the gemstone jewellery as a whole. An experienced grader takes into account all these properties while calculating the price of the gemstone.