Gemstones have a long, storied history of being used to represent different things such as love, birth, renewal, stature and wealth. Cultures around the world have used their illuminating brilliance to bestow them with special powers and meanings. With a gemstone’s glittering multi-faceted face, you can express a point without words.
Whether you’re considering proposing with an iridescent sapphire or a deep red ruby for a unique engagement ring, we’ll reveal the meaning behind the most popular gemstones and what setting you should pair with a gemstone for love.
What is a gemstone?
Between the traditional choices of diamond, topaz, aquamarine and other beloved stones that are crystals like quartz and amethyst, there are different types of gemstones, but what is a gem? Gemstones in New Zealand are raw and cut stones considered to be precious and semi-precious. Due to their quality, colour, clarity and market value, they’re regarded as worthy spectral adornments to fine jewellery and gilded ornaments.
Since the Archduke Maximillian of Austria courted his betrothed Mary of Burgundy with a diamond ring in 1477 and a market-making Debeers “A diamond is forever” campaign in 1947, diamonds have been the preeminent standard for engagement rings. Prized for their gleaming facets that refract light and captivate the beholder, their significance reigns true for eternal love.
More recently, diamonds have become the stone of choice, with gold bands being the traditional style, while coloured gemstones and other materials like ivory and copper were the preference of the ancient world.
The meanings of gemstone colours
When you’re looking for the best gemstone for unique engagement rings, the answer is wide as it is endless. Whether trying to match the stone to your partner’s birthstone or one to reflect your union, selecting the right gemstones for love requires a bit of research. Read on to find a gem that captures the essence of your relationship.
Diamond
With their coveted spectral lustre, diamonds have become a league of their own; however, they are still a gemstone at the end of the day. Pure in form and look, they comprise a single element — carbon. These bonds are perfectly and symmetrically formed, making it the hardest naturally occurring material on the planet.
Their physical properties have allowed them to become known for power, strength, innocence, purity, longevity, constancy, and good fortune — even the Ancient Greeks believed them to be the tears of Gods. With no hint of slowing down, diamond engagement rings in Australia are the most popular.
While a translucent and colourless diamond is most often sought out, they are ideal when you’re looking for a unique engagement ring infused with colour, coming in a tremendous array of tones, including champagne, brown, pink and even black.
Ruby
While you’ll find rubies in orange, pink and purple, rubies are prized for their rich, deep and distinguished red hues. Unlike diamonds, finding a natural ruby without imperfections or minuscule mineral deposits is nearly impossible. But under the right circumstances, they are prized for positively contributing to their appearance where they intersect, causing a star pattern known as asterism to rise. The imperfections can also cause light to scatter and cast a prominent radiant shine.
If you’re searching for a gemstone by colour that signifies health, safety, wealth, passion and success in love, ruby's blood red hue will stand out in any metal band.
Sapphire
Before diamonds claimed their place at the top, sapphires traditionally had been used in engagement rings. A popular choice for royal figures, they are closely tied to fidelity, blessings, abundance and innocence. With bold blue hues that capture a sense of depth and pride, they are incredibly versatile in maintaining a polished look in different cuts — marquise, cushion and pear, among others.
Said to calm the mind, improve intuition and suppress negative thoughts, sapphires are a fantastic gemstone to have on your finger.
Emerald
Closely associated with the Goddess Aphrodite, emeralds have maintained a sense of mystique. In modern times, emerald set engagement rings have held a sense of drama and glamour emanating from their lush colour to give you a precious stone you will want to show off.
Like fresh spring foliage, emerald marks a time for renewal, making this stone a mesmerising piece to renew your relationship with a deeper commitment in marriage. Dazzling in whatever cut you choose, its namesake emerald cut featuring cut and flattened corners remains the most popular for creating extra facets to glimmer and sparkle.
Aquamarine
A new relationship is an exciting experience. Signifying courage and good physical and mental health, aquamarine will keep you centred by helping you balance your feelings and maintain open communication with your partner. Cast in a gradient of soothing blue tones, aquamarine will complement your band as your centre or side stones.
Gemstones by birth month and star sign
Whether you’re looking for an engagement ring or to show your love for birthdays, anniversaries and spontaneous acts of love, express your devotion with a gemstone that matches their star sign and birthstone.
- January — Capricorn — Red garnet
- February — Aquarius — Amethyst
- March — Pisces — Aquamarine
- April — Aries — Diamond
- May — Taurus — Emerald
- June — Gemini — Pearl
- July — Cancer — Ruby
- August — Leo — Peridot
- September — Virgo — Sapphire
- October — Libra — Opal
- November — Scorpio — Yellow topaz
- December — Sagittarius — Turquoise
How gemstones get their colour
The meaning of a gemstone adds more than a dazzling hue and marks its sentimental and financial value; they offer you a connection to the beginning of the earth and time. They are a physical memory due to millions of years of heat and high-pressure climatic conditions that resulted in their formation. This long and strenuous process of harsh conditions honing and triggering carbon to transform into its lustrous final form helps explain the extent of symbolism for gemstones.
A gemstone’s colour is one of the most striking features; while some feature a solid hue throughout, others present a wide gamut of different tones, like opals. How we perceive colour is due to how our eyes and brain see it. When light waves are cast on the stone, some of it is absorbed by the rock's minerals, metals and atoms, causing a reaction to produce a tonal hue.
Impurities like chromium lend rubies their regal red colour and emeralds their brilliant green, while iron adds a lush blue, yellow and green in garnets, spinels, sapphires and peridot.
Discover the best gemstones for unique engagement rings at Diamonds Factory
Engagement rings come in all shapes, colours and cuts and the best one to represent your union is one that reflects your undying love for your partner. While many stick to tried and true diamonds, coloured gemstones offer a wondrous variety, appeal and a unique, old-world twist on modern conventions that are truly one of a kind.
Whether you’re looking for glittering diamond rings or bridal sets punctuated with effervescent gemstones in a gold or platinum band, Diamonds Factory offers you a wide range and custom pieces to seal your engagement.
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Gemstones have a long, storied history of being used to represent different things such as love, birth, renewal, stature and wealth. Cultures around the world have used their illuminating brilliance to bestow them with special powers and meanings. With a gemstone’s glittering multi-faceted face, you can express a point without words.
Whether you’re considering proposing with an iridescent sapphire or a deep red ruby for a unique engagement ring, we’ll reveal the meaning behind the most popular gemstones and what setting you should pair with a gemstone for love.
What is a gemstone?
Between the traditional choices of diamond, topaz, aquamarine and other beloved stones that are crystals like quartz and amethyst, there are different types of gemstones, but what is a gem? Gemstones in New Zealand are raw and cut stones considered to be precious and semi-precious. Due to their quality, colour, clarity and market value, they’re regarded as worthy spectral adornments to fine jewellery and gilded ornaments.
Since the Archduke Maximillian of Austria courted his betrothed Mary of Burgundy with a diamond ring in 1477 and a market-making Debeers “A diamond is forever” campaign in 1947, diamonds have been the preeminent standard for engagement rings. Prized for their gleaming facets that refract light and captivate the beholder, their significance reigns true for eternal love.
More recently, diamonds have become the stone of choice, with gold bands being the traditional style, while coloured gemstones and other materials like ivory and copper were the preference of the ancient world.
The meanings of gemstone colours
When you’re looking for the best gemstone for unique engagement rings, the answer is wide as it is endless. Whether trying to match the stone to your partner’s birthstone or one to reflect your union, selecting the right gemstones for love requires a bit of research. Read on to find a gem that captures the essence of your relationship.
Diamond
With their coveted spectral lustre, diamonds have become a league of their own; however, they are still a gemstone at the end of the day. Pure in form and look, they comprise a single element — carbon. These bonds are perfectly and symmetrically formed, making it the hardest naturally occurring material on the planet.
Their physical properties have allowed them to become known for power, strength, innocence, purity, longevity, constancy, and good fortune — even the Ancient Greeks believed them to be the tears of Gods. With no hint of slowing down, diamond engagement rings in Australia are the most popular. While a translucent and colourless diamond is most often sought out, they are ideal when you’re looking for a unique engagement ring infused with colour, coming in a tremendous array of tones, including champagne, brown, pink and even black.
Ruby
While you’ll find rubies in orange, pink and purple, rubies are prized for their rich, deep and distinguished red hues. Unlike diamonds, finding a natural ruby without imperfections or minuscule mineral deposits is nearly impossible. But under the right circumstances, they are prized for positively contributing to their appearance where they intersect, causing a star pattern known as asterism to rise. The imperfections can also cause light to scatter and cast a prominent radiant shine.
If you’re searching for a gemstone by colour that signifies health, safety, wealth, passion and success in love, ruby's blood red hue will stand out in any metal band.
Sapphire
Before diamonds claimed their place at the top, sapphires traditionally had been used in engagement rings. A popular choice for royal figures, they are closely tied to fidelity, blessings, abundance and innocence. With bold blue hues that capture a sense of depth and pride, they are incredibly versatile in maintaining a polished look in different cuts — marquise, cushion and pear, among others.
Said to calm the mind, improve intuition and suppress negative thoughts, sapphires are a fantastic gemstone to have on your finger.
Emerald
Closely associated with the Goddess Aphrodite, emeralds have maintained a sense of mystique. In modern times, emerald set engagement rings have held a sense of drama and glamour emanating from their lush colour to give you a precious stone you will want to show off.
Like fresh spring foliage, emerald marks a time for renewal, making this stone a mesmerising piece to renew your relationship with a deeper commitment in marriage. Dazzling in whatever cut you choose, its namesake emerald cut featuring cut and flattened corners remains the most popular for creating extra facets to glimmer and sparkle.
Aquamarine
A new relationship is an exciting experience. Signifying courage and good physical and mental health, aquamarine will keep you centred by helping you balance your feelings and maintain open communication with your partner. Cast in a gradient of soothing blue tones, aquamarine will complement your band as your centre or side stones.
Gemstones by birth month and star sign
Whether you’re looking for an engagement ring or to show your love for birthdays, anniversaries and spontaneous acts of love, express your devotion with a gemstone that matches their star sign and birthstone.
How gemstones get their colour
The meaning of a gemstone adds more than a dazzling hue and marks its sentimental and financial value; they offer you a connection to the beginning of the earth and time. They are a physical memory due to millions of years of heat and high-pressure climatic conditions that resulted in their formation. This long and strenuous process of harsh conditions honing and triggering carbon to transform into its lustrous final form helps explain the extent of symbolism for gemstones.
A gemstone’s colour is one of the most striking features; while some feature a solid hue throughout, others present a wide gamut of different tones, like opals. How we perceive colour is due to how our eyes and brain see it. When light waves are cast on the stone, some of it is absorbed by the rock's minerals, metals and atoms, causing a reaction to produce a tonal hue.
Impurities like chromium lend rubies their regal red colour and emeralds their brilliant green, while iron adds a lush blue, yellow and green in garnets, spinels, sapphires and peridot.
Discover the best gemstones for unique engagement rings at Diamonds Factory
Engagement rings come in all shapes, colours and cuts and the best one to represent your union is one that reflects your undying love for your partner. While many stick to tried and true diamonds, coloured gemstones offer a wondrous variety, appeal and a unique, old-world twist on modern conventions that are truly one of a kind.
Whether you’re looking for glittering diamond rings or bridal sets punctuated with effervescent gemstones in a gold or platinum band, Diamonds Factory offers you a wide range and custom pieces to seal your engagement.