Pastel Gemstones
Soft and calming, pastel gemstone shades sooth your soul and provide a touch of sophistication and elegance to your style. From light peachy pinks to ocean blues, the choice in pastel gems is endless. Which pastel hued stone will you choose?
1. Spinel
ORIGIN
Sri Lanka (the old Ceylon), Myanmar (the old Burma), Tajikistan, Vietnam, Tanzania, Madagascar
COLOURS
Spinel comes in a wide array of colours from blues to reds and everything in between but here we show some posh pastels.
WHY YOU’LL LOVE SPINEL
Spinel is a special gemstone that has historically been mistaken for other rare gems in royal jewels and has just recently begun to get the attention it deserves in the world of gems.
HOW TO WEAR SPINEL
Like many of the stones on this list, spinel is a perfectly 'hard' and durable stone that won't scratch easily making it very versatile.
BY SEASON
⭐️ For summer, wear it day to night - from bikinis and sun hats to cocktail dresses and heels, there is a spinel for every hot weather wardrobe change.
⭐️ For winter, the cooler tones like the blues and lavenders shown here add a soft touch of colour to your fashionable winter-wear.
A PEEK INTO THE HISTORY OF SPINEL
Two famous old spinels in history are:
⭐️ The Black Prince’s 'ruby'
⭐️ The Timur 'ruby'
The Black Prince’s 'ruby' - or red spinel as it actually is - is set in England’s Imperial State Crown and displayed in the Tower of London. Its name first appears in the historical records of Moorish Spain in the 14th century as the possession of Abū Sa'īd, the Moorish Prince of Granada. Through several wars and conquests, the stone eventually ended up with the Prince of Wales, the Black Prince, who received it as a payment for a victory of battle.
The Timur 'ruby' has some illustrious provenance too. Ranging from Mughal emperors to Persian rulers, and ultimately being acquired by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1813. When the British annexed the Punjab in 1849, they took possession of the Timur ruby from the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. The East India Company then presented the Timur Ruby to Queen Victoria as a gift in 1851...
DID YOU KNOW?
⭐️ High jewellery designers, such as Dior, Louis Vuitton, Harry Winston and Chanel use spinel gemstones along with other coloured gemstones or diamonds.
⭐️ Pastel spinels should be relatively free of inclusions - their lighter tone is less forgiving than the more deeply saturated colours and so, try to go for a stone that is as clean as possible.
2. Tourmaline
ORIGIN
Brazil, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Namibia, Madagascar, USA, and Afghanistan
COLOURS
Tourmaline comes in an even wider range of colours than spinel, including the beautiful pastel tri-colour tourmaline shown here. Bi-colour stones also occur.
WHY YOU’LL LOVE TOURMALINE
Anyone who loves colour, will love the soothing and vibrant hues of this stone. There is a tourmaline shade for everyone!
HOW TO WEAR TOURMALINE
Tourmaline is a relatively durable stone that can tolerate many different settings.
BY SEASON
⭐️ For summer, try a bracelet or ring to show off its glamour with every movement under the summer sun.
⭐️ For winter, use this dazzling multi-coloured stone to add stunning sparkle to your cool-weather look.
A PEEK INTO THE HISTORY OF TOURMALINE
Tourmaline has been around for many centuries so, of course, there are a few legends surrounding its history. One of these legends is that the ancient Egyptians believed tourmaline travelled over the rainbow, gathering a vast array of colours as it passed which is why we have so many different colour varieties of tourmaline available today.
DID YOU KNOW?
⭐️ Tourmaline is sometimes referred to as "the most colourful gemstone on earth" because of the wide variety of single and multi-colour tourmaline gems.
⭐️ Some tourmalines actually appear to change colour when viewed from different angles.
⭐️ Sometimes called 'watermelon tourmaline', the most valuable of the multi-coloured tourmaline hues is pink on the inside leading to green on the outer side, like a watermelon!
3. Malaya Garnet
ORIGIN
Tanzania, Kenya, Madagascar
COLOURS
Pink-orange ranging from salmon-y pastel to deeply saturated hues
WHY YOU’LL LOVE MALAYA GARNET
Malaya garnets have remarkable brilliance, and the finest quality can display scintillating red flashes. Its pink-orange hue also makes for a great substitute for the even rarer (and highly priced) padparadscha sapphire. Fine quality malaya garnets are so rare and special that you’ll be one of the few on the planet wearing one…
HOW TO WEAR MALAYA GARNET
Malaya garnet's great hardness and brilliance make it one of the world's highest quality rare gemstones. It can be worn in a variety of jewellery pieces. Why not use it to build your dream custom ring for any and every occasion?
BY SEASON
⭐️ For summer, try a pair of lighter pastel malaya earrings - a perfect match for your freshly sun-kissed skin-tone.
⭐️ For winter, a malaya statement ring or necklace would warm any cool-weather outfit.
A PEEK INTO THE HISTORY OF MALAYA GARNET
Malaya (malaia) garnet was first discovered in the 1960s. It was found in the Umba River Valley bordering Tanzania and Kenya, which remains the primary source for malaya garnet today. In the 1990s, a second commercial source was discovered in Bekily, Madagascar.
The term "malaya" was derived from a Swahili word meaning 'outcast'. Miners gave it this name because when it was first discovered, local dealers wouldn't buy it, simply because it didn't fall into any of the standard garnet categories that were known thus far; and so, it was cast aside! If only they’d known.
Malaya garnet is one of the rarer and more interesting 'hybrid' varieties of garnet. In fact, garnet comes in 6 main mineral groups / species -- almandine, andradite, grossular, pyrope, spessartine and uvarovite -- and often they form chemical mixtures between 2 or 3 garnet species, as is the case here with malaya garnet.
DID YOU KNOW?
⭐️ Garnets are one of the few gemstones that typically do not receive treatments (i.e. they are not ‘enhanced’) in any way, and so their colours are fully natural. And so far, this variety also hasn’t been recreated as a synthetic (man-made) gemstone either. A truly wild beauty!
⭐️ Malaya garnet is primarily a mix of the species pyrope and spessartine garnet, but some stones can even contain parts of the other 4 garnet groups. This makes garnet one of the hardest stones to identify and always forms a nice challenge for gemologists…
⭐️ Since its discovery, the production and mining of malaya garnet has been very irregular, and because of its rarity, it is highly prized by gem collectors.
4. Aquamarine
ORIGIN
Brazil, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Nigeria, Mozambique, Pakistan, the Ural Mountains of Russia, Tanzania, Colorado (USA), and Zambia
COLOURS
Light blue, blue and bluish-green
WHY YOU’LL LOVE AQUAMARINE
Instant glamour comes with this cool, ocean-hued stone. It is also considered a "love" stone that helps rejuvenate relationships and attract new friends helping the owner sustain a fulfilled life.
HOW TO WEAR AQUAMARINE
Up your glamour factor while adding instant polish to your outfit with this beautiful pastel blue gemstone.
BY SEASON
⭐️ For summer, a sparkling bracelet adorned with blue aquamarines makes for a beautiful summer accessory to dazzle from poolside to rooftop.
⭐️ For winter, add a touch of brilliance to your cozy winter wardrobe with a must-have pair of earrings like the Unbearable Lightness from my ready-to-wear collection.
A PEEK INTO THE HISTORY OF AQUAMARINE
The aquamarine gemstone is rich in history dating back long before its first documented discovery in 1723 in the mountains of Siberia! The early Christians associated the aquamarine with the Apostle St. Thomas because of its sea-like colour. The Saint made long journeys by sea, all the way till India and other countries to try and convert people. And so the clear, beautiful blue of the aquamarine is a symbol of the sea that he travelled across and the sky that he travelled under.
It was also widely known as the antidote to poison in the late 1300s as mentioned in William Langland's "The Vision Concerning Piers and the Plowman". This made aquamarine in popular demand at the time as poisonings amongst royalty were fairly common 🤓
DID YOU KNOW?
⭐️ The name aquamarine originated in the early 1700s during the Georgian era of jewellery and comes from the phrase "water of the sea".
⭐️ Brazil is the aquamarine capital of the world. In fact, the world's most beautiful aquamarine is still considered to be the Santa Maria aquamarine, from the Itabira mine in the Brazilian province of Minas Gerais.
⭐️ Necklaces, earrings, rings or bracelets are all excellent jewellery choices featuring this gem.
⭐️ Aquamarine was once known as the "Sailor's Stone" because it was thought to protect sailors from the dangers of the open water.
5. Sapphire
ORIGIN
Ceylon (today's Sri Lanka), Burma (today's Myanmar), Madagascar, Tanzania, Australia and Thailand
COLOURS
Sapphires come in every colour but red → a “red sapphire” would be called a ruby. Rubies and sapphires belong to the corundum family. In other words, when a corundum is red, we call it a ruby. When it comes in any other colour, it's called a sapphire with the colour prefix attached, so a 'pink sapphire, green sapphire, blue sapphire', etc.
WHY YOU’LL LOVE SAPPHIRE
Sapphire is an extremely durable stone with very good hardness and high brilliance, which makes it one of the world’s top gemstones - on par with rubies, diamonds and spinels.
HOW TO WEAR SAPPHIRE
Pastel coloured sapphires make for a stunning alternative engagement ring. Their soft coloured tone combined with their top quality and sparkle create a hugely original ring that is suitable for everyday wear.
⭐️ For summer, try a bluish-green pastel sapphire set in a pair of earrings to sparkle under the sun.
⭐️ For winter, opt for a dazzling statement ring set with some diamonds around it to match your favourite cold-weather attire.
A PEEK INTO THE HISTORY OF SAPPHIRE
The stone has been associated with royalty and romance for centuries. In fact, royalty gave blue sapphires over diamonds as engagement rings because they’re known to be far rarer than diamonds.
Ancient Greeks and Romans were convinced that these stones protected their owners from envy and harm, while in the Middle Ages, the clergy wore sapphires to symbolise heaven and the common people believed them to attract heavenly blessings.
If you've never seen a high quality blue sapphire in your life, expect to be blown away by its intense, blue hue!
DID YOU KNOW?
⭐️ Sapphire gets its colours from trace elements within the mineral corundum - certain trace elements produce certain colours. For example, iron and titanium in corundum are responsible for the well-known blue colour of sapphire.
⭐️ The rarest pastel shade of sapphire is the padparadscha sapphire - a stunning pinkish orange stone which can come in a lovely soft pastel hue or also with a deeper colour saturation.
⭐️ There is also a stunning colour-change variety of sapphire that can appear to change colours under different light.
Hopefully, you now have a better idea of which pastel jewel is perfect for you!
⭐️MORE FOR YOU⭐️
 |
 |
