The following chart shows a list of gemstones, their color family and their gemstone family:
| Color Family | Gemstone | Gemstone Family |
| Red gemstones from red to shades of pink | Ruby: bluish red to orange-red | Corundum |
| Garnet: several red color varieties | |
| Pyrope: brownish red to red | Garnet |
| Almandine: violet to pure red | Garnet |
| Rhodolite: red to violet | Garnet |
| Malaya: brownish red to ornage-red | Garnet |
| Spinel: red to brownish red and pink | Spinel |
| Pink Sapphire: pinkish red | Corundum |
| Zircon: brownish red to deep, dark red | Zircon |
| Rubellite: red to violet-red and pink | Tourmaline |
| Morganite: pink to orange pink | Beryl |
| Kunzite: violet-pink to pink-violet | Spodumene |
| Topaz: pink to violet-pink | Topaz |
| Red "Emerald": red to bluish red to orange-red | Beryl |
| Pink Tourmaline: all shades of pink | Tourmaline |
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| Orange gemstones | Padparadsha sapphire: pinkish orange | Corundum |
| | Topaz: brownish orange and yellow orange | Topaz |
| | Spinel: brown to orange | Spinel |
| Zircon: orange to golden brown | Zircon |
| | Garnet: a couple of orange varieties | |
| | Hessonite: orange yellow brown | Garnet |
| | Malaya: a pink orange to brownish red | Garnet |
| | Spessartite (Mandarin): yellow orange to red orange | Garnet |
| | Tourmaline: orange-brown, yellow-orange | Tourmaline |
| | Morganite: pale orange to orange pink | Beryl |
| Yellow gemstones | Sapphire: yellow | Corundum |
| | Beryl: golden yellow | Beryl |
| | Chrysoberyl: yellow, yellow-green, yellow-brown | Chrysoberyl |
| | Citrine: yellow, to yellow-brown | Quartz |
| | Topaz: orange-yellow, to sherry yellow | Topaz |
| | Tourmaline: yellow to greenish yellow, to brownish to orange-yellow | Tourmaline |
| | Grossularite: yellow to greenish yellow, to brownish to yellow | Garnet |
| | Andradite: honey yellow, to green-yellow | Garnet |
| | Zircon: yellow, to yellow-brown | Zircon
|
| Green gemstones | Emerald: yellowish green to bluish green | Beryl |
| | Tourmaline: several green colored varieties | |
| | Verdelite: all shades of green | Tourmaline |
| | Chrome: rich green to slightly yellow-green | Tourmaline |
| | Paraiba: light to deep green to blue-green shades of green | Tourmaline |
| | Peridot: yellow green to green | Peridot |
| | Zircon: green to yellow-green to gray-green | Zircon |
| | Alexandrite: daylight:bluish to blue green; artificial light: violet-red | Chrysoberyl |
| | Sapphire: yellow green to blue-green to gray-green | Corundum |
| | Garnet: a couple of greensih varieties:Demantoid: yellow-green to emerald green green | Garnet |
| | Tsavorite: yellowish green to bluish green | Garnet
|
| Blue gemstones | Sapphire: cornflower blue to greenish blue to inky blue | Corundum |
| | Tanzanite: violet blue | Zoisite |
| | Spinel: gray-blue, greenish blue, true pastel blue | Spinel |
| | Aquamarine: light pastel or deep pastel blue | Beryl |
| | Topaz: light pastel to deep pastel blue to blue-green | Topaz |
| | Zircon: pastel blue | Zircon |
| | Water sapphire: violet blue | Iolite |
| | Tourmaline: a couple of blue colors varieties | Tourmaline
|
| Violet gemstones | Amethyst: lilac to violet to reddish purple to brownish purple | Quartz |
| | Sapphire: lilac to to purple to violet | Corundum |
| | Rhodolite: red-violet, to violet red | Garnet |
| | Spinel: grayish violetto pure purple | Spinel |
| | Morganite: pinkish lavender to lavender | Beryl |
| | Tourmaline: light lilac to deep purple | Tourmaline |
Many people mistakenly use the term GEM to describe all kinds of stones but most stones are not GEMS.
Even in the list of gemstones above, within the precious three, ruby, sapphire and emerald we find stones that are not "gems".
A true gemstone must possess unusual beauty, durability and rarity and above everything else, it must have a quality hard to define, called "Cachet".
Attributes that bring Gemstones out of the world of our dreams and make us yearn to possess them.
