Garnet is most commonly found in red. However, there are many different varieties of garnet that come in other colors such as green, orange, purple and yellow. We have different types of garnets in all of our Underwood’s locations.

Amethyst is a variety of the mineral quartz that is purple. Amethyst is relatively inexpensive and is the perfect gift for a purple lover or Valentine's baby.

Aquamarine is a variety of the mineral beryl which is the same mineral as emerald. Aquamarine is usually a light greenish - blue and can grow into extremely large crystals.

Bloodstone is the alternate March birthstone and is a variety of chalcedony. It is dark green, speckled with red spots of iron oxide. Bloodstone is also called heliotrope or Blood Jasper.

Diamond is considered to be the best birthstone of them all, so if you’re born in April consider yourself lucky! Of course, diamonds are a wonderful gift at any time of the year for any occasion.

Emerald is the most valued variety of the mineral beryl. It was first mined in Egypt as early as 3500 BC, but now is mined many places across the World, with Colombian emerald demanding the highest prices. Emerald is usually treated with oils, waxes or polymer to make it more stable and wearable and therefore requires special care when cleaning.

Pearls come in a variety of colors, but the most popular are a lustrous pink or cream. Pearls can either be natural, which means they were formed entirely by nature or cultured, which means an irritant was inserted into the host mollusk by man and nacre forms around the nucleus. Natural pearls are extremely rare. So rare that in 1917 the Cartier Mansion on Fifth Avenue in New York was purchased for a double strand of natural pearls.

Alexandrite is an alternative for the June birthstone and is the color - changing gemstone of the mineral chrysoberyl. Alexandrite is green in the daylight and red in incandescent light. It’s sometimes referred to as “emerald by day,ruby by night” and fine qualities are extremely rare and can be very expensive.

Moonstone is the third alternative for June’s birthstones and is a variety of the feldspar mineral orthoclase. Moonstone has a phenomenon called adularescence which moves the light across the gemstone, creating a “billowy” effect.

Ruby is a variety of the mineral corundum (same as sapphire). While a sapphire comes in many colors, a ruby only comes in one… red. Depending on the color and quality of a ruby, it can command one of the highest per carat prices on the colored gemstone market.

Peridot is a yellowish-green gemstone that is a variety of the mineral olivine. Peridot can be found in many places in the Earth and is even found in meteorites! This gemstone comes in many shapes, sizes and qualities, giving it a wide price range.

Sardonyx combines two types of the mineral chalcedony - sard and onyx, giving it a striped look. Sardonyx comes in a variety of colors from yellowish - red to brownish - red.

Spinel is the newest birthstone as it was recently added in 2016. Spinel can range in color from lavender, blue, pink and red, but is most commonly confused with ruby. In fact, some of the crown jewels that were thought to be rubies turned out to be spinel. August babies are lucky to have this royal addition!

Sapphire is a variety of the mineral corundum and comes in almost every color. If a gemstone is corundum it will always be called a sapphire, unless it is red and then it is called a ruby. The most famous sapphires are blue and the most valuable come from Kashmir. There is a pinkish - orange sapphire called “padparadscha” which is very rare and demands high per carat prices.

Opal is made up of hydrated silica and can contain up to 20% water. Australia produces most of the World’s mined opals, but they can be found in other places. Opals have a “play - of -color” phenomenon which allows light to be diffracted off of the silica creating every color in the rainbow. Opals are soft gemstones and should be worn with extra care, but it’s well worth the effort! Underwood’s has plenty of opals in stock, because our gemstone buyers have a thing for them.

Tourmaline is another choice for an October birthstone. Tourmaline is not made up of one specific mineral, but has a complex pattern of many, producing every color available. Probably the most famous tourmaline is called “Paraiba” which is an electric blue colored gemstone found in Brazil. It is rare and therefore demands high prices.

Citrine is another variety of the mineral quartz. Citrine ranges from a pale to warm yellow, however natural citrine is extremely rare. Most of the deep yellow colored citrine you see on the market was created from amethyst that was heated. Citrine is typically very affordable.

Imperial Topaz is the reddish - orange variety of topaz, which comes in many colors. Imperial topaz is also called “precious topaz” and demands the highest prices of all the color variations.

Tanzanite was discovered in Tanzania fairly recently in 1967. It is a variety of the mineral zoisite that is a deep purplish - blue color. Tanzanite is only found in a small area near Mt.Kilimanjaro.

Zircon is often confused with cubic zirconia; however, it is named after its own natural mineral. Zircon comes in many colors and is highly refractive which makes the gemstone extremely dispersive (extra sparkly!). December babies are lucky to have this birthstone alternative.

Turquoise is the last of the three December birthstones and comes in many shades of blue. It is only found in the most dry and arid places on Earth and is colored by copper. Sometimes turquoise has a spiderweb look surrounding the gemstone which is called “matrix”, evidence of the host rock in which it was formed.