Looking to add a green gemstone to your collection? It is always difficult to know all the stones and their colour shades before making your choice. Some green gems have more brilliance than others, while other green gems have a more intense colour and the next may have a more delicate hue.  Many of you ask us what the most important criteria for selecting the colour of a green gemstone. Often lesser-known gems are overlooked, such as the Rio Grande Green Amethyst or Tsavorite. When we talk about green gemstones, we can’t look past the star of all green gems – the Emerald! But like all minerals, Emeralds can be found in all different shades of green depending on their origins.

Throughout this article, we’ll look at the different green stones, their colours and brilliance to help you find the best stone for your personal taste.

From light to lime green

Let us take a look at transparent gems of delicate green colour with yellowish hues.

Prehnite is characterized by a very light, water-green colour and high brightness. A touch lighter but with the same colours, is the Rio Grande Green Amethyst. Demantoid and Sphene have more subdued colours while maintaining a soft green imbued with a beautiful yellow. Peridot, with its famous lime green completes the colour family.

So if you are looking for a discreet green stone, with yellow tones, bright and soft colours, that is harmonized with a pastel colour, you will be inspired by these stones. These light-hearted gorgeous gems will nicely complement a bright wardrobe, bright to brown skin and light to brown hair. Dark grey, black clothing and darker skin tones are brightened touch by these gems.

Intense Green

In this category we should discuss Emerald, but we will come back to it later as it deserves a more detailed study.

Tsavorite is a cornerstone of a perfectly balanced, perfect, powerful and radiant gem. In a similar green is also the Russian Diopside, although it is usually darker and more intense than Tsavorite. Chrome Tourmaline is characterized by a deep, dark forest green. For lovers of opaque gemstones there is Malachite with it’s beautiful bottle green, also Jade in its milky green to deep green hues and Chrysoprase beginning to show slight blue hues.

These stones represent the most balanced greens, the most perfect. All collectors and jewellery lovers will find excellent green gems in this group. They can be worn equally well contrasted with pastel colours to bring out the power of their green or with pink and red colours to accentuate their pure green. People with green eyes can wear these tones beautifully to bring out the colour of their iris. And, of course … for redheads, this effect is guaranteed!

Now we come back to Emerald, this is where things get a bit more complicated. We will not dwell on the typical green Emerald, but instead look at the colour of Emeralds according to their origins.

This classic emerald comes from Colombia and with its typical blue-green, is one of the best known. The power of this colour is very pronounced.

The Brazilian Emerald (e.g., the Bahia Emerald) is characterized by a rather soft water green. Unlike the Green Amethyst, this green is delicate but pronounced and less yellowish than the green of the Peridot.

Russian Emeralds stand out with a very pure and deep green. Unlike the two previous Emerald varieties, the Russian Emerald is much darker and tends to have a lush forest green. This green is close to that of the Russian Diopside or Tsavorite. This mineral can be found only in very small sizes which enhances the colour as less light can pass through.

Zambian Emeralds are exceptionally bright with clearer blue reflections. All fantastic with darker tones in skin and clothing.

Blue-Green Gems

Finally we come to the green gems who display blueish tones. This group of delicate shades and shining gems includes the Caribbean Blue Apatite whose wonderful colour awakens desire for travel! Mint Green Fluorite has sustained bluish green colour and a nice shine. For the opaque stones we of course find Turquoise, but also Aventurine with its very dark blue green.

These gemstones look particularly beautiful with tan to brown skin, emphasizing blue eyes and flatter people with lighter blond to silver white hair. These gems make a superb contrast to white or very light-coloured clothes. And for those of you who are brave, these gems exert their colourfulness in combination with canary yellow or sweet pink particularly well.

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