As an April-born woman who has spent over two decades working in the jewelry industry, there are not many things I love more in this world than diamonds. For me, diamonds represent the crossroads of luxury and science. Even with the introduction of lab-created diamonds, they still stand strong as the most popular stone used for engagement rings and high-end jewelry. However, that doesn’t mean they’re the world’s only option.
Today, more and more people are paving their own path and choosing different gemstones to represent their relationship or simply to form part of their jewelry wardrobes. They’re trading in the sometimes “ho-hum” tradition of wearing a diamond ring for something more playful, more colorful, and often more interesting.
Below are five fabulous gemstones that have seen their popularity rise over the last several years and can serve as alternatives to diamonds.
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Morganite
With a name sounding like a character straight out of a Tolkien novel, and with rose gold jewelry becoming more popular (particularly with brides-to-be), morganite has become a sought-after alternative gemstone for engagement rings. The peachy-pink gem—which is a variety of the mineral beryl, the same mineral that provides us with aquamarines and emeralds—has been mined over the years in the United States, Brazil, Mozambique, Namibia, Afghanistan, and Russia, to name a few. According to the American Gem Trade Association, the stone was given its current label by George Kunz, a former gemstone buyer for Tiffany & Co. who at the time decided to name it after one of his biggest collectors: millionaire bank tycoon, J.P. Morgan.
Jewelry lovers who’ve chosen morganite as the center stone for their engagement rings are often genuine nonconformists who break with tradition in many aspects of their lives. The soft, subtle tones in the gemstone look beautiful in halo-style settings, particularly if they’re made in peach, pink, or rose gold and even more so when accented by champagne or brown-colored diamonds.
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Paraíba
There is no mistaking a paraíba tourmaline gemstone. With its color ranging from bright turquoise to vibrant bluish-green, this popular gem – named after the Brazilian state in which it was founded in 1989 – has become a staple in the collections of both fashion and fine jewelry designers all over the world. The paraíba is an elbaite tourmaline that is colored by copper and contains manganese and, in many cases, bismuth, which is considered the element with the highest stable atomic mass.
From a rarity standpoint, it has been said that only one paraíba tourmaline is mined per 10,000 diamonds, with costs for stones that have a higher clarity coming in at tens of thousands of dollars per carat.
Because of its eye-catching cool color, paraíba is often set in white metals such as platinum or 18k white gold with colorless to near-colorless diamonds being a popular accompaniment.
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Spinel
August babies found reason to celebrate in 2016 when spinel was officially added as the month’s third birthstone option (sardonyx being first, peridot second), and one of the many reasons for their celebration was because spinel is a gemstone that’s available in a variety of beautiful colors.
According to the American Gem Society’s website, “Vivid red is the most desirable color of spinel gemstones, followed by cobalt blue, bright pink and bright orange.” Yet those colors are not where the spinel rainbow ends. With warm hues ranging from brown, yellow, and even black, to cool colors like sea green and violet, spinel has proven itself to be the “Horse of Many Colors” of the gemstone world, leaving Dorothy to ponder trading in those ruby slippers for ones made of spinel on her next trip to Oz.
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Apatite
It’s hard to fathom that a mineral often used in fertilizer – yes, you read that correctly – would also be one that would be popular with jewelry and gem enthusiasts, but believe it or not, this is actually the case with apatite, or at least with the bluish-green variety of the mineral which is also known as moroxite.
The appeal of apatite on the consumer side is that it is still fairly unknown to the masses, so much so that its often mistaken for peridot when in the celery green color, and for topaz when it is bluish green.
Brazil, Mexico, and Burma are where most apatite is sourced, however the mineral can also be found in some parts of the United States. While white metals are commonly used to accompany apatite, the celery green colored stones can also look beautiful in a soft yellow mounting.
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Sapphire
The second most popular precious stone used as a centerpiece for engagement rings is the sapphire, largely because of its rating of 9 on the Mohs hardness scale, but also because of its history, its popularity, and the fact that the stone also comes in a variety of colors other than its most common: traditional blue.
The appeal of the sapphire had dwindled for decades until the stone’s popularity skyrocketed again in 2010, when Prince William gave Kate Middleton a sapphire engagement ring that belonged to his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. Over the last seven years, the popularity of sapphire has experienced little decline.
As mentioned above, sapphires are available in fancy hues and vibrant colors, but a blue sapphire with a good clarity is still the most sought after. When you find the perfect shade of blue, consider setting it into platinum, because the natural white color is the perfect accompaniment to the unmistakable beauty of one of the world’s most beloved gemstones.
So, for those looking for their next piece of jewelry or those thinking about getting engaged, keep in mind that there is no playbook that calls the shots. Be yourself, know what you love, and do your research before you purchase. You’re the only one who has to look at and love your jewels for the rest of your time on this earth.