Jewelry & Watch Education / Jewelry Education / Gemstones

Gemstones we love

Invest in a stone as unique as you are. Choose your birthstone month or simply a color that speaks to you. Plus, learn how to care for your precious accessory.
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Gemstones Beginning With: A-H Gemstones Beginning With: I-P Gemstones Beginning With: Q-Z
Abalone
Treatment: Abalone is dyed, coated, or bleached to improve and deepen color. Care: Avoid chemicals and do not use an ultrasonic cleaner or steamer. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth.
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Agate
Treatment: Agate is usually heated to improve appearance or deepen the color. Care: Do not expose to intense heat. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Birthstone month: May
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Alexandrite
Treatment: None known to enhance alexandrite. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush. Birthstone month: June
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Amazonite
Treatment: Amazonite is permeated with a colorless wax, paraffin, or oil to improve appearance. Care: Avoid chemicals and do not use an ultrasonic cleaner or steamer. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth.
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Amber
Treatment: Amber is sometimes heat-treated or dyed to deepen the color. It’s sometimes pressed/compressed with extreme pressure and heat to fuse together small pieces of natural amber. Care: Avoid chemicals and do not use an ultrasonic cleaner or steamer. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth.
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Amethyst
Treatment: Almost all amethysts (purple, pink, and green) are heated to improve appearance or deepen the color. Care: Do not expose to intense heat. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Birthstone month: February
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Ametrine
Treatment: Ametrine is amethyst and citrine in a single crystal that’s heat treated. Care: Do not expose to intense heat. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth.
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Apatite
Treatment: Apatite is heat-treated to improve color. Care: Do not use an ultrasonic cleaner or steamer. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth.
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Aquamarine
Treatment: Almost all aquamarine is heated to improve its appearance. Care: Do not use an ultrasonic cleaner or steamer. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Birthstone month: March
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Aquaprase
Treatment: Aquaprase is a blue-green color that doesn’t require any treatment. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft cloth.
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Austrian crystal
Treatment: Austrian crystals are imitation pearls—a crystal sphere that is coated with a mother-of-pearl-like substance. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft cloth.
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Carbon fiber
Treatment: Carbon fiber is a man-made material with no gem properties. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft cloth.
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Chalcedony
Treatment: Chalcedony is always dyed. Care: Avoid exposure to extreme light and heat as stones may fade. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth.
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Chrome diopside
Treatment: There are none known for chrome diopside. Care: Do not use an ultrasonic cleaner or steamer. Avoid household chemicals. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth.
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Citrine
Treatment: Citrine is usually heat treated or irradiated to improve the color. Care: Do not expose to intense heat. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Birthstone month: November
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Coral
Treatment: Coral is usually dyed or bleached to enhance the color. It’s sometimes stabilized with colorless plastic to increase durability and to improve appearance. It’s also sometimes stabilized and compressed under extreme pressure and heat to bind together small pieces of natural material into a larger whole. Care: Avoid household chemicals, steam, and ultrasonic cleaning.
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Crystal
Treatment: Crystal is man-made. Care: Normal gentle care.
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Cubic zirconia
Treatment: Cubic zirconia is synthetic and sometimes coated with a product that makes the stone more durable. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft cloth.
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Cultured pearl
Treatment: Cultured pearls are usually bleached, dyed, irradiated, and/or coated to enhance the color. Care: Perfume can erode the outer layers of pearls. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Birthstone month: June
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Diamond
Treatment: A small percentage of diamonds are treated to improve color and clarity. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Birthstone month: April
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Macy’s Star Signature Diamond™
Treatment: A diamond of exceptional fire & brilliance, the Macy’s Star Signature Diamond™ was developed in partnership with the International Institute of Diamond Grading and Research (IIDGR), part of the De Beers Group of Companies. It needs no treatment. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Birthstone month: April
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Black diamonds
Treatment: There are two different processes that create black diamonds—heat treatment and irradiation. Heat treatment exposes the diamond to high temperatures, which creates graphite residue in the crystal. Irradiation modifies the crystal structure of the stone. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Birthstone month: April
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Blue diamonds
Treatment: Blue diamonds are created by irradiating colorless diamonds to change the color and then heat-treating them to stabilize the color. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Birthstone month: April
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Brown diamonds
Treatment: Brown diamonds are occasionally irradiated to enhance color. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft cloth. Birthstone month: April
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Yellow, red, green & pink diamonds
Treatment: Colored diamonds are created by irradiation or High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) treatment. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Birthstone month: April
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Druzy
Treatment: Druzy is often dyed to enhance its beauty and overall appearance. Some varieties are coated with titanium, which creates iridescent finishes. Care: Avoid strong detergents and extreme heat. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft cloth.
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Emerald
Treatment: An emerald is usually penetrated with oil, wax, or resin to improve its appearance and is often dyed with color agents. Care: Do not use an ultrasonic cleaner or steamer. Avoid sudden temperature changes, steaming, and contact with cosmetics, hair spray, perfume, and household chemicals. Clean with a damp cloth or soft brush. Birthstone month: May
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Fire opal
Treatment: Fire opal is usually dyed and stained. Care: Avoid water, heat, and solvents as fire opals are moderately soft and can scratch. Birthstone month: October
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Garnet
Treatment: A small percentage of garnet is treated to improve color and clarity. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Birthstone month: January
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Green quartz
Treatment: Green quartz is heat-treated to improve appearance or deepen the color. Care: Do not expose to intense heat. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth.
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Hematite
Treatment: Hematite is not usually treated. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth.
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Iolite
Treatment: Iolite is not usually treated. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth.
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Jade
Treatment: Jade is usually dyed or heated to enhance its color. It’s also permeated with paraffin wax to hide surface cracks. Care: Wipe clean with a soft cloth after wearing, and wipe it down with a gem cleaner every so often. Do not use any chemical cleaners, ultrasonic cleaners, or steamers. Remove jewelry before swimming, as chlorine in pools and hot tubs can be harmful to jade.
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Jasper
Treatment: Jasper is occasionally dyed to enhance color. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth.
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Jet
Treatment: Jet is untreated. Care: Avoid steam and ultrasonic cleaning.
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Kunzite
Treatment: Kunzite is usually heated and irradiated to enhance color. Care: Natural and/or enhanced material may fade. Avoid strong light and ultrasonic cleaners or steamers. Clean with a damp cloth or soft brush.
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Lab-created gemstones
Treatment: Lab-created gemstones are grown in a laboratory but identical chemically, physically, and optically to natural gems. They rely on a steady, controlled process of applying minerals, heat, and pressure, and usually have fewer inclusions. Care: Avoid strong detergents, heat, pressure, ultrasonic cleaning, repolishing, or recutting the stone. Color may fade in light or with heat. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth.
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Lab-grown diamonds
Treatment: One of two processes is used: High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) or Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD). Growth occurs when a “diamond seed” (a sliver of diamond) is present, and carbon atoms deposit and grow into a larger rough diamond. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Birthstone month: April
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Labradorite
Treatment: Labradorite is usually irradiated to enhance color. Care: Normal gentle handling, avoid heat.
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Lapis lazuli
Treatment: Lapis lazuli is usually permeated with colorless wax and often dyed to enhance the color. Care: Do not use an ultrasonic cleaner or steamer. Avoid contact with cosmetics, hair spray, perfume, and household chemicals. Clean with a damp cloth or soft brush.
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Larimar
Treatment: Larimar is generally untreated. Care: It is photosensitive and will fade if exposed to too much heat or light. Avoid steam and ultrasonic cleaning.
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Malachite
Treatment: Malachite is occasionally infused with wax or epoxy to enhance durability and appearance. Care: Avoid chemicals, steam, and ultrasonic cleaning.
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Marcasite
Treatment: Marcasite is not usually treated. Care: Avoid chemicals, steam, and ultrasonic cleaning.
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Morganite
Treatment: Morganite is commonly heat treated to enhance the color. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth.
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Charles & Colvard Lab-Created Moissanite®
Treatment: Moissanite is not a diamond or a simulated diamond. Charles & Colvard Created Moissanite® is a unique gem with its own set of chemical and optical properties—created through a thermal growth process that creates lab-grown silicon carbide crystals. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Can be placed in an ultrasonic cleaner and dried with a steamer.
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Mother of pearl
Treatment: Mother of pearl is usually bleached, dyed, irradiated, and/or coated to enhance color. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth.
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Mystic topaz
Treatment: The surface of mystic topaz is coated to enhance color. Care: Avoid abrasive and harsh chemicals. Birthstone month: November
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Nano blue sapphire
Treatment: Nano blue sapphire is a composite material of silica, glass, and crystals that are combined at high heat to create a “gem.” Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. No ultrasonic cleaner or steamer.
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Onyx
Treatment: Onyx is dyed to enhance color. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth.
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Opal
Treatment: Opal is occasionally treated with sugar or smoke to enhance the color. Sometimes it’s infused with wax, oil, or plastic to enhance appearance and durability. Care: Do not use an ultrasonic cleaner or steamer. Avoid heat and contact with cosmetics, hair spray, perfume, and household chemicals. Clean with a damp cloth or soft brush. Birthstone month: October
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Peridot
Treatment: Peridot is sometimes infused with oil, wax resins, and/or a colorless hardened substance to enhance its appearance. Care: Do not use an ultrasonic cleaner or steamer. Avoid sudden temperature changes and contact with harsh chemicals. Birthstone month: August
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Prasiolite
Treatment: Prasiolite is usually heat-treated to enhance color. Care: Do not use an ultrasonic cleaner or steamer. Avoid heat and contact with cosmetics, hair spray, perfume, and household chemicals. Clean with a damp cloth or soft brush.
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Quartz
Treatment: Quartz (all colors) is heat-treated to improve its appearance or deepen the color. Care: Do not expose to intense heat. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth.
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Resin
Treatment: Resin is plastic or enhanced with plastic material. Care: Avoid abrasives, harsh chemicals, steam, and ultrasonic cleaning. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth.
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Rhodolite garnet
Treatment: Rhodolite garnet is not usually treated. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Birthstone month: January and June
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Rose quartz
Treatment: Rose quartz is heated to improve the appearance and deepen or lighten the color. Care: Do not expose to intense heat. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth.
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Ruby
Treatment: Ruby is usually heated to improve appearance and sometimes diffused to enhance color. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Ultrasonic and steam cleaners are usually safe for untreated or heat-treated stones. Birthstone month: July
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Sapphire
Treatment: Sapphire is usually heated to improve appearance and is occasionally irradiated. It’s commonly diffused along with heat application to create different colors—yellow is always diffused. Care: Avoid strong detergents, heat, pressure, ultrasonic cleaners, steamers, repolishing, or recutting the stone. Color may fade in light or with heat. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Birthstone month: September
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Manufactured diffused sapphire
Treatment: Powdered sapphire is heated to recrystallize. Color is induced by lattice diffusion of titanium from an external source. It’s always heated to improve appearance. Care: Avoid strong detergents, heat, pressure, ultrasonic cleaners, repolishing, or recutting the stone. Color may fade in light or with heat. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Birthstone month: September
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Smoky quartz
Treatment: Smoky quartz is heated to improve the appearance and to deepen or lighten the color. Care: Color fades when exposed to heat. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Birthstone month: November
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Spinel
Treatment: Black and gray spinel is rarely treated. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Birthstone month: August
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Synthetic spinel
Treatment: Synthetic spinel is man-made. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft cloth. Birthstone month: August
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Tanzanite
Treatment: Tanzanite is usually heated to improve its appearance. Care: Do not use an ultrasonic cleaner or steamer. Avoid sudden temperature changes. Clean with a damp cloth or soft brush.
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Tiger’s Eye
Treatment: Tiger’s Eye is usually heat treated, dyed, or bleached to enhance color. Care: Avoid harsh chemicals and sudden temperature changes. Clean with a damp cloth or soft brush. Birthstone month: August
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Topaz
Treatment: Topaz (all colors) is usually irradiated and heated to produce color. Some topaz may be coated with a thin film of minerals applied through heat. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Birthstone month: December
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Tourmaline
Treatment: Tourmaline is commonly heated and/or irradiated to improve appearance. Care: Do not use an ultrasonic cleaner or steamer. Avoid sudden temperature changes and contact with cosmetics, hair spray, perfume, and household chemicals. Clean with a soft brush or cloth. Birthstone month: October
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Tsavorite garnet
Treatment: Tsavorite garnet is usually untreated. Care: Clean with warm soapy water and a soft cloth. Birthstone month: January
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Manufactured turquoise
Treatment: Manufactured turquoise is usually stabilized with plastic to enhance its durability and dyed to enhance its color. Care: Do not use an ultrasonic cleaner or steamer. Avoid contact with cosmetics, hair spray, perfume, and chemicals. Clean with a damp cloth or soft brush. Birthstone month: December
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Reconstituted turquoise
Treatment: Reconstituted turquoise is powdered turquoise compressed with a binding agent under extreme pressure and heated to bind together small pieces of natural material, then dyed. Care: Do not use an ultrasonic cleaner or steamer. Avoid contact with cosmetics, hair spray, perfume, and household chemicals. Clean with a damp cloth or soft brush. Birthstone month: December
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Stabilized turquoise
Treatment: Porous turquoise is immersed in a glue compound, which is absorbed into the stone to give it strength and stability. Care: Do not use an ultrasonic cleaner or steamer. Avoid contact with cosmetics, hair spray, perfume, and household chemicals. Clean with a damp cloth or soft brush. Birthstone month: December
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Zircon
Treatment: Zircon is usually heat-treated to create its blue color. Care: Avoid abrasives, exposure to excessive light, and rough handling. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft cloth. Birthstone month: December
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Want even more?
Try chrysoberyl or diaspore color change. Both are generally not treated and can be cleaned with warm soapy water and a soft cloth.
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