Gemstone Education

Learn more about the characteristics and care of each birthstone Borsheims’ carries in our gemstone education guide. Gemstone images provided by GIA.

Alexandrite Gemstone

Alexandrite is a rare form of chrysoberyl that was first discovered in 1830 in the Ural Mountains in Western ...

Amethyst is a member of the common quartz family and develops in large crystal ...

A member of the beryl family, aquamarine is typically light greenish-blue to blue with the highest quality being ...

Citrine is a member of the common quartz family, and a sister gem to ...

Emerald is a member of the beryl family and is formed by metamorphism and hydrothermal processes associated with ...

The name garnet derives from the Latin word for grain because of the similarity of their rounded crystals to the seeds ...

Opal forms as a low-temperature deposit around hot springs, often embedded in ...

Peridot is the gem-quality form of the mineral ...

Ruby belongs to the corundum family of crystals, and its color comes from chromium ...

Sapphires are considered one of the “big three” in the jewelry ...

Tanzanite is a rare variety of the common mineral zoisite colored by atoms of ...

Natural topaz can be colorless, or occur in a variety of colors including yellow, orange, red-brown, blue, pink, red ...

The tourmaline group refers to a number of related types of minerals and ...