Gemstone families

“We are family, get up ev’rybody and sing.”
Sister Sledge, We Are Family (1979)

The table below is a useful aid for obtaining information about gemstones, such as chemical composition, group and family membership, and their various colors, all factors that are closely interrelated. It is surprising how useful it can be to consider a gemstone in relation to its closest relatives, particularly for complex families such as Garnet.

The following table groups gemstones based on their chemical composition (e.g. silicates, oxides and hydroxides) and their mineralogical family (e.g. Corundum, Beryl and Feldspar).

Borates
Howlite	-	-	-
Sinhalite	-	-	-

Carbon
Diamond	Blue Diamond	-	-
	Chamapagne Diamond	-	-
	Yellow Diamond	-	-
	Black Diamond	-	-
	Pink Diamond	-	-
	Red Diamond	-	-
	Green Diamond	-	-

Carbonates
Azurmalachite	-	-	-
Aragonite	-	-	-
Azurite	-	-	-
Calcite	-	-	-
Cerussite	-	-	-
Crysocolla	-	-	-
Dolomite	-	-	-
Malachite	-	-	-
Rodocrosite	-	-	-
Smithsonite	-	-	-

Halides
Fluorite	-	-	-

Igneous Rock
Obsidian	Snowflake Obsidian	-	-

Organics
Amber	-	-	-
Jet	-	-	-
Pearl	Akoya Pearl	-	-
	Freshwater Pearl	-	-
	Mabe Pearl	-	-
	Mother of pearl	-	-
	South Sea Pearl	-	-
	Tahitian Pearl	-	-
Shell	-	-	-

Oxides and hydroxides
Cassiterite	-		-	-
Chrysoberyl	Alexandrite		Cat’s Eye Alexandrite	-
Cat's Eye Chrysoberyl	-		-	-
Vanadium Chrysoberyl	-		-	-
Corundum	Ruby		Tanzanian Ruby	-
	Ruby		Star Ruby	-
	Sapphire		Blue Sapphire	Ceylon Sapphire
				Kanchanaburi Sapphire
				Midnight Blue Sapphire
			Fancy Sapphire	Black Star Sapphire
				Color Change Sapphire
				Green Sapphire
				Orange Sapphire
				Padparadscha Color Sapphire
				Padparadscha Sapphire
				Pink Sapphire
				Purple Sapphire
				Star Sapphire
				Sunset Sapphire
				White Sapphire
				Yellow Sapphire
Cuprite	-		-	-
Diaspro		Zultanite	Cat's Eye Zultanite	-
Hematite		-	-	-
Rutile		-	-	-
Spinel		Black Spinel	-	-
		Blue Spinel	-	-
		Fancy Spinel	-	-
		Gahnite	-	-
		Noble Red Spinel	-	-
		Pink Spinel	-	-
		Purple Spinel	-	-

Phosphates
Ambligonite	-	-	-
Apatite	-	-	-
Brazilianite	-	-	-
Lazulite	-	-	-
Turquoise	-	-	-

Silicates
Amazonite	-	-	-	-
Andalusite	-	-	-	-
Axinite	-	-	-	-
Beryl	Aquamarine	Aquamarine AAA	-	-
-	Cat's Eye Acquamarine	-	-
Red Beryl	Pezzottaite (not always considered a member of the beryl family)	-	-
Emerald	-	-	-
Goshenite	-	-	-
Heliodor	-	-	-
Morganite	Bicolor Morganite	-	-
Yellow Beryl	-	-	-
Clinohumite	-	-	-	-
Danburite	-	-	-	-
Diopside	Russian Diopside (also known as Chrome Diopside)	-	-	-
Star Diopside	-	-	-
Dioptase	-	-	-	-
Dumortierite	-	-	-	-
Enstatite	Bronzite	-	-	-
Epidote	-	-	-	-
Euclase	-	-	-	-
Feldspar	Andesine	-	-	-
	Labradorite	-	-	-
	Moonstone	Rainbow Moonstone	-	-
	Ortoclase	-	-	-
	Spectrolite	-	-	-
	Sunstone	Star Sunstone	-	-
Garnet	Pyralspite	Almandine	Mozambique Garnet	-
		Pyrope	Mozambique Garnet (Pyrope and Almandine)	-
		Pyrope	Rhodolite (Pyrope and Almandine)	-
		Spessartite	Mandarin Garnet	-
			Malaia Garnet (Spessartite and Pyrope)	Color Change Garnet
			Umbalite (Pyrope and Almandine with traces of Spessartite)	-
	Ugrandite	Andradite	Demantoid	-
		Grossularite	Mail Garnet (Andradite and Grossularite)	-
			Merelani Mint Garnet	-
			Essonite	-
			Tsavorite	-
		Uvarovite	-	-
Hauyne	-	-	-	-
Hemimorfite	-	-	-	-
Hypersthene	-	-	-	-
Vesuvian	-	-	-	-
Iolite	-	-	-	-
Jade	Jadeite	-	-	-
Jade	Nephrite	-	-	-
Kornerupine	-	-	-	-
Kyanite	-	-	-	-
Lapis lazuli	-	-	-	-
Lepidolite	-	-	-	-
Mookite	-	-	-	-
Natrolite	-	-	-	-
Opal	Black Opal	-	-	-
	Blue Opal	-	-	-
	Blue Fire Opal	-	-	-
	Boulder Opale	-	-	-
	Fire Opal	-	-	-
	Green Opal	-	-	-
	Jelly Opal	-	-	-
	Matrix Opal	-	-	-
	Pink Opal	-	-	-
	Semi Black Opal	-	-	-
	White Opal	-	-	-
	Yellow Opal	-	-	-
Pectolite	Larimar	-	-	-
Peridot	-	-	-	-
Petalite	-	-	-	-
Phenakite	-	-	-	-
Prehnite	-	-	-	-
Quartz	Amethyst	Bicolor Amethyst	-	-
	Amethyst	Rose de France Amethyst	-	-
	Ametrine	-	-	-
	Bicolor Quartz	-	-	-
	Blue Moon Quartz	-	-	-
	Chalcedony	Agate	-	-
		Aventurine	-	-
		Chrysoprase	-	-
		Fire Agate	-	-
		Heliotrope	-	-
		Diaspro	-	-
		Carnelian	-	-
		Onyx	-	-
		Sard	-	-
		Sardonyx	-	-
	Citrine	Bicolor Citrine	-	-
	Cognac Quartz	-	-	-
	Green Amethyst	-	-	-
	Lemon Citrine	-	-	-
	Olive Quartz	-	-	-
	Phantom Quartz	-	-	-
	Rainbow Quartz	-	-	-
	Pink Quartz	-	-	-
	Graffiti Quartz	-	-	-
	Smoky Quartz	-	-	-
	Tiger's Eye	-	-	-
	White Quartz	-	-	-
Quartzite	-	-	-	-
Rodonite	-	-	-	-
Scapolite	Cat's Eye Scapolite	-	-	-
Serpentine	-	-	-	-
Silimanite	Cat's Eye Silimanite	-	-	-
Star Silimanite	-	-	-
Sodalite	-	-	-	-
Sphene	-	-	-	-
Spodumene	Hiddenite	-	-	-
		Green Kunzite	-	-
		Yellow Kunzite	-	-
		White Kunzite	-	-
Staurolite	-	-	-	-
Sugilite	-	-	-	-
Thomsonite	-	-	-	-
Topaz	Flamingo Topaz	-	-	-
	Sky Blue Topaz	-	-	-
	Imperial Topaz	-	-	-
	Kiwi Topaz	-	-	-
	Cherry Topaz	-	-	-
	London Blue Topaz	-	-	-
	Mulberry Topaz	-	-	-
	Moonlight Topaz	-	-	-
	Ocean Topaz	-	-	-
	Mystic Topaz	-	-	-
	Neptune Topaz	-	-	-
	Swiss Blue Topaz	-	-	-
	Twilight Topaz	-	-	-
	Grape Topaz	-	-	-
	White Topaz	-	-	-
Tourmaline	Elbaite	Bicolor Tormaline	-	-
		Black Tourmaline	-	-
		Blue Green Tourmaline	-	-
		Cuprian Tourmaline	-	-
		Fancy Tourmaline	-	-
		Green Tourmaline	-	-
		Indicolite	-	-
		Paraíba Tourmaline	-	-
		Pink Tourmaline	-	-
		Rubellite	-	-
	Dravite	Chrome Tourmaline	-	-
Unakite	-	-	-	-
Zircon	Zircon Ratanakiri	-	-	-
Zoisite	Tanzanite	AAA Tanzanite	-	-