Gemstone History Guide
Share
Every stone carries a journey — through the earth, through time, and into the hand that wears it.
From amber gathered along ancient shores to gems identified only a century ago, this guide traces where the world's gemstones come from, when they entered human hands, and how nine of them have long been linked to the planets in Vedic tradition.
From the first ornament to the latest discovery
Some gemstones have been worn since the dawn of human ornamentation; others were identified by mineralogists only in the last 150 years. Dates before the modern era mark the earliest known use, not a single discovery moment.
Amber
Fossilised tree resin gathered along Baltic shores — among the earliest ornamental materials used by humans.
Turquoise
Mined in the Sinai Peninsula and worn by ancient Egyptians; one of the oldest continuously worked gem deposits.
Lapis lazuli
Mined in the Badakhshan region of Afghanistan and prized for its deep blue in early Mesopotamian jewellery.
Garnet
Used across Bronze Age Europe and ancient Egypt for beads and seals, valued for its deep red colour.
Pearl
Natural pearls from Persian Gulf oysters appear in early Mesopotamian and Egyptian burial finds.
Emerald
Mined near the Red Sea in Egypt, later favoured by Cleopatra above all other stones.
Amethyst
A quartz variety used by the ancient Greeks, who believed it warded off intoxication.
Diamond
First mined and traded from the Golconda region of India — the earliest known diamond source.
Topaz
Gemstones from the Red Sea island of Topazios circulated widely across the Roman Empire.
Ruby & sapphire
Both varieties of corundum, mined and traded out of Sri Lanka and later Myanmar along ancient routes.
Aquamarine
Recognised as a distinct blue-green beryl, separate from emerald, with major deposits found in Brazil.
Alexandrite
Discovered in emerald mines in Russia's Ural Mountains, famous for shifting colour between green and red.
Kunzite
A pink variety of spodumene first identified in California and named after gemologist George Kunz.
Benitoite
Discovered in San Benito County, California — later named the official state gem.
Morganite
A pink beryl found in Madagascar, named in honour of financier J. P. Morgan.
Tanzanite & tsavorite
Tanzanite was discovered near Mount Kilimanjaro, and tsavorite garnet near Tsavo National Park — both in the same year.
Paraiba tourmaline
Discovered in Paraiba, Brazil, prized for an intense neon blue-green caused by trace copper.
Sourced from four corners of the world
Every gemstone carries the signature of the ground it came from. Here is where the stones in our collections, and the wider gem world, are traditionally found.
The subcontinent
Home to the world's oldest diamond trade and the source of corundum and chrysoberyl stones central to the Navratna tradition.
Old-world deposits
Some of the longest-worked mines on earth — from Afghan lapis to Mediterranean coral and Russia's colour-changing alexandrite.
New-world finds
Brazil and Colombia anchor the modern gem trade in emerald and tourmaline, while California gave the world two rare 20th-century stones.
The newest frontier
Madagascar, Tanzania and Kenya have produced some of the most significant gemstone discoveries of the last century.
The Navratna — nine gems, nine celestial bodies
In Vedic tradition, nine gemstones are linked to the nine grahas — the sun, moon, and planets known to ancient astronomy. Together they form the Navratna, often set in a ring of nine stones around a central gem.
Nine gems, nine planets
- Ruby Sourced from Sri Lanka and Myanmar; traded since antiquity. Sun
- Pearl Cultivated from oysters; collected since c. 2300 BCE. Moon
- Red coral Harvested from Mediterranean reefs for millennia. Mars
- Emerald From Egypt's ancient mines to modern Colombia. Mercury
- Yellow sapphire Corundum from the same Sri Lankan deposits as ruby. Jupiter
- Diamond First mined and traded from Golconda, India. Venus
- Blue sapphire Corundum from Sri Lanka and Myanmar. Saturn
- Hessonite A brownish garnet variety, often called gomed. Rahu
- Cat's eye Chrysoberyl with a chatoyant band of light. Ketu
Carried forward, stone by stone
Every piece in our collections begins with a stone that has its own history — some traced back thousands of years, others discovered within living memory. Knowing where a gem comes from is part of knowing what you wear.