What is a semi-precious stone? #TinaTang #Jewelry

Sounds like a jewelry industry marketing term, "semi-precious", doesn't it?  Would you ever say that about a human being..."Oh, she is only semi-precious?" What exactly does it mean?

The general acceptance is that a "precious" stone only refers to diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires.  These four stones are a rarity to find naturally versus the "semi-precious" stones, and thus the reason for the luxury pricing.

Photo courtesy of http://visual.merriam-webster.com

Scientists have developed laboratory methods to re-create these precious four so that the chemical composition is exactly the same as when created in nature.  The price of laboratory created precious stones are not the same as naturally found precious stones.  As logic would have it, if nature created it, the rarity factor is a relevant characteristic affecting price and value.

"Semi-precious" umbrellas a large quantity of stone types and even under this category there are varying degrees of value.  On the higher end of semi-precious are stones such as aquamarine, tanzanite, and opal and on the lower end are stones such as amethyst, garnet, quartz.

photo courtesy of iCollector.com.  H. Stern aquamarine ring.

Ironically, finding a high clarity semi precious stone such as an aquamarine can be more difficult than finding the same clarity quality in a diamond.  Above is a photo of a beautiful H. Stern aquamarine ring which was priced at $1500. 


Admittedly, while I will always take a diamond over a semi-precious stone (as a gift), I do find that semi precious stones often are more versatile with which to design due to the variety in colors and availability of the stones.

My triple Aventurine necklace is one of my classic favorites, and much less expensive than jade.

Would you take a diamond, ruby or emerald over any other stones?