Blue Stones: All You Need To Know

Blue Diamond

A blue diamond is one of the fancy colored diamond varieties and is, in itself, quite rare. Naturally colored gemstones are rarely highly saturated blue colors but can receive heat treatment to enhance the saturation of the blue color.

While diamonds, as such, are the most expensive and popular gemstones, especially for pieces like engagement rings, variations in color, such as is found in fancy colored stones, can drastically drop the price. So if your budget is a bit tight for a colorless diamond, but the symbolism of a diamond is important to you, these beautiful blue gemstones are an excellent alternative.

Blue Sapphire

On the topic of engagement rings, blue sapphires have been made a popular choice due to Princess Diana’s engagement ring. A blue sapphire is the September birthstone, so it is also a common birthday gift. It symbolizes wisdom and enhances concentration.

This gem variety also comes in different colors, but a blue sapphire is by far the most well-known blue stone. Second, only to colorless diamonds, betrothal rings featuring a blue sapphire center stones are exceedingly popular. Due to the price difference between diamonds and a blue sapphire, it often allows for a much larger stone to feature center stage. Sapphires can also receive heat treatment to enhance their color.

Blue Tourmaline

Blue tourmaline is the October birthstone and is fairly popular for jewelry pieces. Tourmalines are available in all colors, and blue stones of this variety are called indicolites. They contain many inclusions, and this makes them quite brittle. If used in jewelry, it should be worn and stored carefully. The thing that gives most blue tourmaline its color is a small amount of iron within the stone.

The most common greenish-blue gemstones are actually paraiba tourmaline. This most brilliant tourmaline is extremely rare, and due to its color, a paraiba tourmaline can easily be confused for aquamarine. They are associated with healing properties and can receive heat treatment to enhance clarity.

Lapis Lazuli

Lapis lazuli has symbolism that dates back thousands of years and is a notable brilliant royal blue. Although they are available in a pure blue variety, and this variety is generally more expensive, most people will prefer stones with a lot of pyrite inclusions.

The reason for this is simple. The pyrite inclusions on the deep blue stones make them appear like the night sky. However, despite the popularity of these deep blue gems, they are prone to scratching.

Blue Moonstone

The blue moonstone is the official June birthstone from the traditional list of birthstones. It is specifically popular due to an unusual blue sheen that is known as adularescence. Most of these blue gemstones involve a blue cloud that is floating within the white stone. This stone is most often light blue and milky.

Blue Lace Agate

This blue gemstone goes by several different names, and although it is usually light blue, it does come in dark blue shades as well. This is a hard stone that is extremely rare and becoming harder to find in nature. It is commonly associated with feelings of calmness. Some blue agate can sport light blue or even white streaks that add to its soft appearance.

Aquamarine

This is only of the few blue gemstones on the list that comes only in blue. They vary from light watery blue to light green hues but are most often a greenish-blue that resembles the color of the crystalline ocean. They never get to be very dark, but the darker tones are more valuable.

These bright blue stones are the March birthstone and are known to have been common among sailors who believed that these light blue gemstones would keep them safe at sea. They are associated with clarity, harmony, and tranquility.

Blue Topaz

Due to the rarity and pale color blue of natural blue topaz, most of the topaz you will find in jewelry has been made in a lab. This naturally means that it is an affordable option for your jewelry.

Unfortunately, without proper cutting angles, blue topaz is prone to chipping. So make sure to purchase your November birthstone from a reputable jeweler.

Due to its association with fire, it is often associated with affection and love. One of the well-recognized trade names for blue topaz is Swiss Blue.

Tanzanite

The extreme rarity of Tanzanite is associated with the fact that it can only be found in a small part of Tanzania. It varies from a violet-blue color to a deep blue color, and the stone changes color depending on the angle you view it.

It is also the official December birthstone.

Opal

Precious opal is rarely exposed in jewelry as it scratches easily when it is exposed. They can also become dry and cracked. The gem trade classifies an opal as a blue gemstone because of its brilliant shine. It is often associated with good luck and intuition and is the birthstone for October.

Grandidierite

This is one of the rarest gemstones in the world. It is a unique blue-green color and is perfect for regular jewelry wear as it does not scratch easily. This blue-green gemstone is believed to be able to remove negative energy.

Blue Akoya Pearls

Blue pearls are not actually gemstones but are categorized as gems. Blue Akoya pearls were often discarded by jewelers as they were categorized as imperfect in comparison to the superior white pearls. However, more recently, the rare variety of blue pearls is rising in popularity. The more brilliant to a blue hue, the more valuable the gem.

Unfortunately, these blue stones are fragile and soft. They scratch easily and are prone to breaking. Regardless, they are associated with truth, trust, and courage.

Blue Spinel

The blue spinel is also very affordable and is favored due to how durable they are. The blue spinel specifically is the August birthstone and is believed to purify your energy. Spinel occurs in nearly every color, but the blue variety is more popular, probably due to its title as a birthstone and its unique bright blue color.

Turquoise

Turquoise is the December birthstone and tends to be really affordable as far as gemstone jewelry goes. While more expensive pieces are available, turquoise is more common in inexpensive jewelry pieces.

Due to its affordability, turquoise is an excellent option for jewelry and is durable enough in most cases to accommodate daily wear. Turquoise is opaque, which makes them quite distinctive among blue crystals. It also helps us to speak up for ourselves by activating the throat chakra. This effect on the throat chakra can also enhance communication, and an open throat chakra can help with things like public speaking. If you are struggling to share your wisdom with others and speak your mind, try opening your throat chakra with the help of a turquoise jewel.

Chalcedony

This is a form of gem silica that is affordable and beautifully translucent. The colors range from gray to lavender, but it mainly presents as a blue gem. These blue crystals hold a certain serene energy that only adds to their popularity.

Jeremejevite

This is one of the world’s rarest gemstones and is extremely strong and thus suitable for jewelry that is worn regularly. A medium blue color is common, and unfortunately, due to its rarity, it is also extremely expensive compared to other blue gemstones on this list.

Dumortierite

These blue crystals are uncommon in the jewelry world but make for striking pieces due to the quartz inclusions often found inside the stones. This inclusion creates a display of brilliance is akin to a coral reef.

Sapphirine

This gemstone was named for its close approximation to blue sapphire. It occurs in greenish blue to dark blue hues. And like many blue gemstones carries an association to serene energy. However, they are usually seen as collectibles due to their rarity.

Hawk’s Eye

These stones are also fairly affordable, believed to enhance mental focus, and enjoy an intense saturation that is uncommon among blue crystals. It is a blue version of the notable tiger’s eye.

Blue Jadeite

This stone was favored by the Mayans in ancient times and is one of the most robust and strongest blue gems out there. It also holds some strange musical qualities and will ring like a bell if it is hit with a hammer.

Iolite

This blue gem is great for use in jewelry and is a brilliant alternative to sapphires both in terms of appearance and cost. They are known for their exceptional pleochroism that varies from a light yellow in one light to a dark blue in another.

This stone is largely believed to be the source of the Viking Sunstones, but this has not been substantiated.

Blue Apatite

These stones are available in most colors, but the most popular is a neon blue-green shade. Unfortunately, though, they have a brittle nature and are very sensitive to heat. These blue-green stones should thus never be cleaned with heated cleaners or mechanical apparatus.

Blue apatite in itself is commonplace, but the gem-quality variety is extremely rare.

Larimar

Larimar is made from pectolite, which is tough and fibrous but still scratches easily. It tends to be a great luminous gift for someone who collects gems but is not suitable for inclusion in a jewelry piece.

Benitoite

The gem-quality variation is bluer than blue diamonds and far less expensive, but it is prone to scratches in the long run.

Zircon

Blue zircon is not the same as cubic zirconia, and gem-quality blue zircon is brilliant and well saturated as far as gemstones go. It is also not a synthetic material, as is the case with cubic zirconia.

Lazulite

This is another very rare and brittle crystal that is not a good option for jewelry. It is overall difficult to find, hard to identify, and very difficult to cut due to how brittle it is. Although appropriate as a collector’s item, it would not be suited to jewelry wear.

Azurite

Azurite is often found in a shared formation with malachite creating amazing color patterns in the stone. Generally speaking, a stone will hold two blue colors that are very highly saturated. They are so blue, in fact, that anything heavier than a single carat weight would be considered too dark.

This gemstone has an effect on the third eye chakra, which helps your inner vision and can fight off bad dreams.