More Transparent Gems
Eight transparent gems, from the orange of imperial topaz to the color change of alexandrite and the blue of tanzanite.
Each gem in four tones: the hue it is named by, its light part, its deepest part and the sparkle where light bounces off the facets. The colors are our own approximations, not laboratory standards.
Imperial topaz
Topaz
Topaz of a medium reddish orange to orange-red: one of its most expensive colors.
Many dealers insist it must show a reddish pleochroic color, often seen at the ends of pear and oval cuts, to be called imperial: a trade term, not a standard. Chromium causes the natural pinks, reds and violets of topaz.
Imperial topaz · hue
The main hue, the color the gem is named by.
Material: Imperial topaz, faceted, hue
RGB(232, 135, 58)
Imperial topaz · light
The light part, where the stone is thinnest or light passes straight through.
Material: Imperial topaz, faceted, light
RGB(242, 172, 106)
Imperial topaz · deep
The deepest part, in the facets in shadow.
Material: Imperial topaz, faceted, deep
RGB(184, 88, 28)
Imperial topaz · sparkle
The sparkle, where light bounces off the facets back to the eye.
Material: Imperial topaz, faceted, sparkle
RGB(248, 204, 156)
Blue topaz
Topaz, almost always treated
Its blue is hardly ever natural: it is almost always caused by treatment, irradiation followed by heating.
In topaz, yellows, browns and blues come from imperfections at the atomic level in its crystal structure.
Blue topaz · hue
The main hue, the color the gem is named by.
Material: Blue topaz, faceted, hue
RGB(90, 166, 216)
Blue topaz · light
The light part, where the stone is thinnest or light passes straight through.
Material: Blue topaz, faceted, light
RGB(140, 196, 232)
Blue topaz · deep
The deepest part, in the facets in shadow.
Material: Blue topaz, faceted, deep
RGB(46, 120, 176)
Blue topaz · sparkle
The sparkle, where light bounces off the facets back to the eye.
Material: Blue topaz, faceted, sparkle
RGB(190, 224, 244)
Alexandrite
Chrysoberyl colored by chromium
For the laboratories of the LMHC, a chromium-bearing variety of chrysoberyl that changes color: from a «cold» greenish hue in daylight to a «warm» reddish or purplish hue in incandescent light.
Fine alexandrite is green to bluish green in daylight and red to purplish red in incandescent light (GIA). Here its green is the hue and the light part, and its red the deep part and the sparkle.
Alexandrite · hue
The main hue, the color the gem is named by.
Material: Alexandrite, faceted, hue
RGB(46, 138, 110)
Alexandrite · light
The light part, where the stone is thinnest or light passes straight through.
Material: Alexandrite, faceted, light
RGB(92, 176, 150)
Alexandrite · deep
The deepest part, in the facets in shadow.
Material: Alexandrite, faceted, deep
RGB(142, 42, 74)
Alexandrite · sparkle
The sparkle, where light bounces off the facets back to the eye.
Material: Alexandrite, faceted, sparkle
RGB(194, 90, 122)
Peridot
Olivine colored by iron
The gem variety of olivine. Its range is narrow: from brown-green to yellowish green to pure green; yellowish green is the most common in jewelry.
Iron (Fe2+) causes its color. It often forms in basalts, volcanic rocks rich in iron and magnesium. According to CIBJO, it is commonly untreated.
Peridot · hue
The main hue, the color the gem is named by.
Material: Peridot, faceted, hue
RGB(156, 190, 46)
Peridot · light
The light part, where the stone is thinnest or light passes straight through.
Material: Peridot, faceted, light
RGB(190, 214, 98)
Peridot · deep
The deepest part, in the facets in shadow.
Material: Peridot, faceted, deep
RGB(110, 142, 20)
Peridot · sparkle
The sparkle, where light bounces off the facets back to the eye.
Material: Peridot, faceted, sparkle
RGB(216, 234, 154)
Tanzanite
Zoisite colored by vanadium
For the laboratories of the LMHC, the vanadium-bearing blue to purple variety of the mineral zoisite, discovered in 1967 at Merelani, in northern Tanzania.
Heating removes its yellowish brown component and leaves only blues and purples: according to CIBJO, it is almost always heated. Tiffany & Co. named it after its country and launched it in 1968.
Tanzanite · hue
The main hue, the color the gem is named by.
Material: Tanzanite, faceted, hue
RGB(74, 74, 184)
Tanzanite · light
The light part, where the stone is thinnest or light passes straight through.
Material: Tanzanite, faceted, light
RGB(118, 118, 210)
Tanzanite · deep
The deepest part, in the facets in shadow.
Material: Tanzanite, faceted, deep
RGB(42, 42, 128)
Tanzanite · sparkle
The sparkle, where light bounces off the facets back to the eye.
Material: Tanzanite, faceted, sparkle
RGB(168, 168, 232)
Blue zircon
Zircon, heated
Zircon comes in yellow, green, red, reddish brown and blue.
Its blue, from very slightly greenish to very strongly greenish blue, is almost always the result of heat treatment (GIA); CIBJO says always.
Blue zircon · hue
The main hue, the color the gem is named by.
Material: Blue zircon, faceted, hue
RGB(63, 168, 200)
Blue zircon · light
The light part, where the stone is thinnest or light passes straight through.
Material: Blue zircon, faceted, light
RGB(124, 200, 222)
Blue zircon · deep
The deepest part, in the facets in shadow.
Material: Blue zircon, faceted, deep
RGB(30, 120, 150)
Blue zircon · sparkle
The sparkle, where light bounces off the facets back to the eye.
Material: Blue zircon, faceted, sparkle
RGB(180, 226, 238)
Kunzite
Spodumene colored by manganese
The pink-to-violet variety of spodumene; manganese colors it. It is most often pale pink.
Its color, natural or enhanced by irradiation and heating, can fade with heat and intense light: it is best kept in a closed box.
Kunzite · hue
The main hue, the color the gem is named by.
Material: Kunzite, faceted, hue
RGB(230, 166, 210)
Kunzite · light
The light part, where the stone is thinnest or light passes straight through.
Material: Kunzite, faceted, light
RGB(242, 200, 230)
Kunzite · deep
The deepest part, in the facets in shadow.
Material: Kunzite, faceted, deep
RGB(194, 120, 176)
Kunzite · sparkle
The sparkle, where light bounces off the facets back to the eye.
Material: Kunzite, faceted, sparkle
RGB(248, 224, 240)
Iolite
Cordierite colored by iron
A silicate of aluminum, iron and magnesium with a violetish blue hue that comes from iron, and a pleochroism visible to the naked eye.
Unlike tanzanite, iolite is rarely treated: its blues and violets are natural (GIA).
Iolite · hue
The main hue, the color the gem is named by.
Material: Iolite, faceted, hue
RGB(74, 90, 168)
Iolite · light
The light part, where the stone is thinnest or light passes straight through.
Material: Iolite, faceted, light
RGB(122, 136, 200)
Iolite · deep
The deepest part, in the facets in shadow.
Material: Iolite, faceted, deep
RGB(42, 54, 120)
Iolite · sparkle
The sparkle, where light bounces off the facets back to the eye.
Material: Iolite, faceted, sparkle
RGB(170, 180, 224)
Pigmentoria is an independent color atlas. Gem, variety, place and trade names (for example «pigeon's blood» or «Paraíba») are used descriptively only and do not indicate the origin, quality, treatment or certification of any stone. The colors are our own digital approximations, not official standards of any laboratory. GIA, CIBJO, LMHC, SSEF, Gübelin and the other organisations cited belong to their owners; Pigmentoria is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.