Gemstone Families

Gemstone Families with Named Varieties

Many beads are made from gemstone material. This section of Learn About Beads includes a detailed list of gemstones with meaning of gemstones names, chemical composition, color, hardness, specific gravity, mining, and historical information.

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Gemstone Families

Some gemstones are known by more than one name. In some cases, sellers have given descriptive names for marketing. Trade names may include the name of another gemstone. This practice causes confusion.

A number of well known gemstones are named variations of the same basic gemstone.They are usually different colors. More confusion. This gemstone chart may help in understanding the relationships of the gemstones in the list. The group names are the actual basic gemstone names.

  • Corundum group
    • Ruby
    • Sapphire
  • Beryl group
    • Emerald
    • Aquamarine
    • precious Beryl
    • Morganite
    • Heliodor
  • Garnet group
    • Pyrope
      • Rhodolite
    • Almandine
    • Spessartine
    • Grossular
      • Hessonite
      • Tsavolite or Tsavorite
    • Andradite
      • Demantoid
    • Uvarovite
  • Tourmaline group
    • Tourmaline
    • Indicolite
    • Rubellite
  • Spodumene group
    • Kunzite
  • Quartz group
    • Cryptocrystalline or Chalcedony
      • Agate, many varieties
      • Fossilized wood
      • Chalcedony
      • Chrysoprase
      • Heliotrope or Bloodstone
      • Jasper, many varieties
      • Carnelian
      • Onyx
      • Sard
    • Macrocrystalline or Crystalline
      • Amethyst
      • Quartz
      • Aventurine
      • Rock crystal
      • Blue quartz
      • Citrine
      • Hawk’s eye
      • Prase
      • Prasiolite
      • Cat’s Eye quartz
      • Smoky quartz
      • Rose quartz
      • Tiger’s Eye
  • Opal group
    • Opalescent opal or Precious opal
      • White
      • Black
      • Boulder
    • Fire opal or Mexican opal
    • Common opal
  • Jade group
    • Jadeite
    • Nephrite
  • Zoisite group
    • Tanzanite
    • Analite
  • Feldspar group
    • Potassium
      • Moonstone
      • Orthoclase
      • Amazonite
    • Plagioclase
      • Labradorite
      • Aventurine feldspar or Sunstone
  • Organic Gemstones
    • Coral
    • Jet
    • Ivory
    • Amber
    • Pearl
      • Natural or Genuine
      • Cultured
        • Sea water
        • Freshwater
      • Mother of pearl

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