Are you only concerned with the name of the gem, or you are also interested in choosing your gemstone by color? If latter be the case, let us understand the colors of various gemstones.

Green Gemstones: Peridot, Hiddenite and Tsavorite Garnet

Red Gemstones: Rhodolite Garnet and Red Spinel

Pink and Purple Gems: Amethyst, Pink Sapphire and Pink Topaz

Yellow and Gold Gemstones: Citrine, Yellow Topaz and Yellow Tourmaline

Blue: Blue Topaz, Tanzanite, Turquoise

This is only a short list of some well-known color gems. Your jeweler will be able to tell you the colors of the various other gemstones.

There are people who select their personal gems in a somewhat playful and irrational method. They claim that your instinctive reaction to various colors can help you to choose the right gemstone for you. Make sure you have a clear intention in mind when using this method. Assemble a collection of paper, cloth or stones in these colors: Red, Pink, Brown, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, White, Black, and Gray. Close your eyes and allow your breathing to settle. Place your hand blindfold on any one of the paper, cloth or stone before you. Open your eyes to see the color you have selected and that is your destined color.
Red is widely acknowledged as the warmest of all colors. Red is the color most chosen by extroverts and favored by most men. On the negative side red can mean short temper or easily excitable. Red is the color of Mars who is known as the God of War.

Pink is the color that symbolizes universal love. Pink is a quiet pleasing color. Lovers of beauty and aesthetically inclined people favor pink. Pink is a combination of red and white. White is the potential for fullness, while red helps you to achieve that potential. Pink denotes feelings of caring, sympathy, fellow-feeling, and compassion.

People who prefer brown are often methodical and orderly. The negative meaning of brown can be a repressed personality or an indolent person. Brown is the color of the earth and therefore associated with the material pleasures of life.

Orange is a healing color and said to stimulate enthusiasm, imagination and creativity. Orange means vitality with endurance. People who like orange are usually thoughtful and sincere.

Gold color predictably symbolizes wealth, but it is also considered a symbol of good health. People who favor the color gold are sanguine and optimistic. Wearing gold in everyday life increases personal power, and strengthens courage, confidence and willpower.

Pure, bright and sunny yellow is easily the most soothing color. People who are blind to other colors can usually see yellow. Yellow is full of creative and intellectual energy. Yellow symbolizes wisdom and people of high intellect favor yellow.

As we all know, green is the color of nature growth and fertility. Green symbolizes self-respect and well being and also means learning, friendliness and harmony. Green is a safe color, if you are confused what color to use, then use green.

Blue is arguably the coolest color. It is the color of the sky, ocean and symbolizes the Virgin Mary. A pure blue is the color of inspiration, sincerity and spirituality.

Turquoise is the symbol of youth and the color that denotes dynamism and vibrancy. Turquoise has long been used in amulets to provide good health, robust confidence and pleasant disposition.

Aqua is the color of high ideals and sober outlook.

White is the color of purity. Brides wear white in many countries, because white symbolizes a virgin. Strictly speaking, white is not a color, but the manifestation of the presence of all color - the complete energy of light.

Black is the most misunderstood color. A black tie dinner is very formal and elegant. Native Americans thought black was good because it was the color of soil, which gives life.

The karat is a measure to indicate the purity of gold alloy. It is common knowledge that gold, a precious metal, is quite soft. To overcome this softness, gold has to be alloyed with other elements and compounds in an attempt to impart hardness and certain other properties. The final quantum or quantity of gold found in such alloys is usually expressed in terms of a karat weight. A composition having 100% gold is considered as a 24-karat composition. However, if the alloy has a lesser amount of gold, it is expressed in terms of a particular karat weight, which is a percentage of the amount of gold. For example, a 14-karat alloy would have 14/24=58.33% gold, with the balance being other elements and/or compounds.

Generally, 14-karat gold alloy compositions are used in the manufacturing of jewelry. These alloys compositions are based on a gold-silver-copper-zinc combination. The usage and application of these alloys are determined by their main physical properties, such as hardness, strength, elongation, range of melting temperature, grain size, color etc. These properties can be measured, and are often incorporated in the specifications of the alloy. Traditionally, 18-karat green gold alloys have been used to provide a color contrast to other alloys in multicolored jewelry items such as bracelets, necklaces and the chains.

The process of understanding what exactly a karat is becomes quite simple when understand gold as an alloy (a mixture of various metals) where the karats define the percent of pure gold in the alloy. Therefore, you may determine the percentage of pure gold in any gold piece by dividing the karat by 24. For example, 18K gold means 18/24which in turn indicates 0.750=75% pure gold.

Any alloy with less than 10-karat gold cannot be legally marked or sold as gold jewelry in any part of the United States. The legal requirements for minimum gold content vary widely from country to country. Any alloy with 9 Karat is acceptable in Britain, while in France, Italy and Switzerland, 18k is the lowest permissible standard to be called gold.

Because pure gold is naturally a soft, malleable metal, it is alloyed with other elements to strengthen it, which in turn can affect its color and cost. Much of today’s gold is mixed with a percentage of alloys – metals that modifies the color of gold and makes it harder and stronger. The karat mark in your gold jewelry tells you the percentage of pure gold to alloy. The higher the karat quality the greater the proportion of gold it will contain.

You must also understand that gold alloys, apart from hardening gold for jewelry, can also affect the color. For instance, yellow gold has copper and silver added, white gold has nickel, zinc and copper added, green gold has silver, zinc and copper added and rose gold has copper and silver added.

Gold was first discovered several thousands years ago in its natural state, which led to mining for gold all over the world. Its brilliance, natural beauty, great malleability and resistance to damage made it a prized raw material to work with. Over a period of time, gold gave rise to the concept of money. Today gold is used for jewelry fabrication, industrial application, and as a monetary standard by governments and central banks and by private investors.