It is a beautiful stone and its lower profile means it is more affordable. If defined as a red rather than a pink it will be classified as a ruby rather than a pink sapphire. It is sometimes described as a “Pink Ruby” and the classification depends on how the colour is rated. While blue sapphires and red rubies have traditionally been recognised as the most desirable gems, the pink sapphire is rapidly gaining in popularity and demand. Like the blue sapphire, pink sapphires belong to the corundum family.

Unlike the other three, however, emeralds are more fragile and exposure to excessive moisture should be avoided. Along with high quality diamonds, blue sapphires and red rubies, the green emerald is one of the “big four”. These richly coloured stones belong to the beryl group, which also includes aquamarine. Emerald's captivating green colour is unique and unparalleled in all other gemstones due to inclusions that make each stone unique. Sheila's Celtic Knotwork Ring in 18ct yellow gold is hand-set with a ruby in our Orkney workshop. Like sapphires, rubies are second only to diamonds in their hardness and brilliance, but they are rarer than both diamonds and blue sapphires. All other varieties of the mineral are sapphires. Ruby, known for its bright red colour, is a variety of the corundum mineral. Sapphires are stunning set in white gold, such as Sheila's Celtic Trilogy Ring. All colours, other than red corundum, are known as sapphires, with a blue sapphire being the most coveted even though other colours may be rarer. Sapphires belong to the corundum family of rock minerals, which occur in many colours. Blue SapphireĪfter diamonds, sapphires are the next hardest gemstone and one of the most valuable. Our Guide to Diamonds has more information about the Cut, Clarity, Colour and Carat of the diamonds we use. They are one of the most treasured stones in the world and feature strongly in Sheila's Engagement Rings, Ring Sets and Eternity Rings as well as many of her jewellery collections. The “Big Four” are: Diamondĭiamonds, reputedly a “girl’s best friend”, are the hardest naturally occurring material known to man. There are only four stones in the world classified as precious gemstones and we are proud to say we use them all in our jewellery and rings. Most gemstones can be safely dipped in silver dip or gold dip, but not pearls and great care should be taken when cleaning jewellery set with opals, for further tips see our Caring for your Jewellery guide. Find out more about jewellery made just for you. For example, if you see a ring or a piece of jewellery with one type of gemstone, but would prefer another, it may be possible for us to do this for you. Since our stones are set by hand, it is possible that alternative stones can be set into your chosen design. All of our gemstones are natural except for cubic zirconia, which are synthetic. We carefully source gemstones for their quality and colour ensuring you receive the best quality stones. Sheila uses both precious and semi-precious stones throughout her jewellery designs, with each stone set-by-hand in our Orkney workshop. Gemstones have been desirable since ancient times, and are as appealing to us today as they were to our ancestors generations ago.

Bautiful yellow gems