Gemstones are available to us in two main types and these are precious gemstones and semi-precious gemstones and both of these are used extensively in handcrafted jewellery designs. There are many things that have to be learnt about precious gemstones.

There are many ways that each of this gemstones differ and this is with the composition with the natural stone, like with everything the quality, and the availability and this of course will affect the cost. It goes without saying that if you want a piece of handcrafted jewellery that has a rare precious gem in its design it will cost you a lot more than a pair of earrings, jewellery bracelets, necklaces and rings that have semi-precious stones in the unique and original designs. We need to know a little bit more about these gemstones and one fact that might amaze you is that the diamond is not the most expensive gemstone on the market.

As stated the much loved and treasured of gemstones the diamond is not the most expensive diamond and there have been very many that have fetched incredible prices and one of these is the Red Diamond and this is one of the rarest stones we can find as is a rich burgundy colour and if you are not an expert can be mistaken for a Garnet. These are very expensive but there are more that have fetched more than diamonds. But who would not like one of these stunning stones set into a piece of their handcrafted jewellery?

Garnets are a beautiful stone and usually a deep red colour but the rarest of these gems is the Blue Garnet and these are very rare and can only be found in a couple of places around the world. The colour of these beautiful stone can range from teal blue through to a deep and rich royal blue depending on the light.

Painite is another gemstone that is quite rare and is not widely used in handcrafted jewellery designs. The lovely smoky colour has deep hints of gold, amber and this is one of the rarest stones on the planet so it is obvious that this is going to be one of the most expensive.

Black Opals are stunning with their myriad of sparkly colours and these are a lot rarer than the white opal. These are used in unique and original handcrafted ring designs, in pendants as the focal point and surrounded with other gemstones to contrast the beautiful natural colours in the stone. This stones shine and shimmer in the light making it a very popular gemstone to use in the making of handcrafted jewellery.

Another stunning natural gemstone is the Sapphire and when we think about this stone we think about it being blue in colour but it does come naturally in other shades from deep purple blue to pink and even a hint of green. These stones can constantly be seen in pieces of unusual handcrafted jewellery and the deepest blue coloured of these stones fetch the highest prices. Jewellery bracelets, earrings, necklaces, pendants and rings can all be found containing these stones in the designs and as with other gemstones it can be used as a focal point and then surrounded by diamonds.

So have you decided yet which your favourite gemstone is? If you were to choose a piece of handcrafted jewellery would it be a pair of earrings, jewellery bracelets, a pendant, a ring or necklaces? If you were to choose one of these which gemstone would you have set into the unique jewellery design? There are so many choices that it would be hard to choose just the one.