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In the world of gemstones, color is almost everything. People nowadays prefer the gemstone color and are not concerned about the variety of the gem. As long as the stone looks fascinating and has brilliant color, and is durable, they are good with it. However, acquiring the gemstones based on color can be pretty intimidating since gemstone sellers will list them according to gem variety and not color.
For most people, when a white gemstone is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is a diamond. But there are a plethora of other impressive white rocks if this is what excites your soul. In this industry, white stones refer to the colorless and white gemstones. People love white gemstones since you can easily come across white gems that are perfect diamond substitutes for a lower price. Here is a list of white rocks that can be cabochon gemstones and also faceted. These stones can also make spectacular jewelry pieces.
Zircon
White zircon is not as popular as the other white gemstones in the market, but it seems to gain traction. The gem has exceptional durability and incredible brilliance. In its purest form, zircon appears as a colorless or white gemstone but can also occur in other colors because of impurities.
Zircon appears with a hardness rating of about 7.5 Mohs, meaning the stone is perfect for jewelry use. The gem can also make an ideal substitute for diamond as it is affordable and bears other remarkable qualities.
Diamond
It is a transparent white gemstone bearing a crystalline form. The white diamond is typically the hardest known substance on the planet. Diamonds are expensive due to their impressive hardness properties and high dispersion rate giving them a visible and alluring fire. White diamonds are also famous due to their phenomenal brilliance.
The traditional white diamonds are the most popular, and their name came from ‘Adamas,’ a Greek word. Adamas means invincible, which translates to a diamond’s superior strength and hardness. Its crystal pattern is symmetrical, giving the gemstone the ability to refract the light at the same velocity in different directions.
White Topaz
These are the topaz gemstones appearing in their purest and most refined form. That means they occur as white gemstones. The blue topaz is more popular, but the white variety is admirable because of the impeccable properties it exhibits. White topaz is also a perfect substitute for diamond gemstones because it has remarkable features.
On the Mohs scale, white topaz has a hardness of 8, which means it is suitable for exceptionally durable jewelry. The gem is available in diverse sizes, cuts, and quantities. White topaz is a sensational choice for significant pieces of jewelry. It is perfect for pendants, bracelets, earrings, and rings.
White Sapphire
These are impeccable stones that are often seen as the most affordable diamond substitutes. These gemstones occur, bearing no inclusions in their formation. When occurring in small sizes, these stones are not easily distinguishable from diamonds. The more significant deposits may occur as cloudy and milky deposits. The white sapphire appears subdued and might not be as brilliant as other gemstones.
The one thing about these stones is that they are adamant and hence durable for use as jewelry. With a hardness rating of 9 Mohs, white sapphires can make sensational everyday wear. They are less brittle when compared to diamonds which makes them more rigid. The fascinating thing about white sapphires is their price. These gemstones are pretty affordable and way below what diamonds may be selling at.
Keep in mind that white sapphires are among the highly precious and valued gemstones you will come across.
White Quartz
White quartz is among the essential gemstone groups occurring on the surface of the earth. While these gemstones occur in diverse colors, the most naturally occurring and purest stones are the white stones. White quartz comes with impressive properties and can be pretty affordable. These stones have a hardness rating of 7 Mohs, meaning they are very durable.
They will also apply as ideal substitutes for diamonds. White quartz appears in different shapes and sizes and can also occur in fascinating forms to make splendid jewelry pieces.
White Howlite
Usually, these are opaque white rocks. They are, however, streaked with black or grey veins. White howlite is quite soft but can make very stunning pieces of jewelry. This gem was discovered back in 1868 and named after Henry How. He was a Canadian mineralogist, geologist, and chemist.
White howlite is a porous stone that can easily absorb dye. That means the gemstone can be sold as red coral, turquoise, or lapis lazuli. Even though the stone has a hardness rating of 3.5 Mohs, jewelers use it to make outstanding jewelry pieces.
White Moonstone
White moonstone is a popular variety of orthoclase feldspar. This is a potassium aluminum silicate mineral and occurs as an opaque to transparent oligoclase. The gemstone showcases an impressive sheen when exposed to certain lighting conditions. This stone acquired its name from the bluish-white shimmer it exhibits, which seems to resemble the moon.
The shimmering visual characteristic is known as adularescence. White gemstones have a hardness rating of around 6.5 Mohs which means it is ideal for jewelry use. Common sources for this gemstone include India, Sri Lanka, Germany, Brazil, Tanzania, Norway, Australia, Switzerland, Madagascar, Myanmar, America, and Mexico.
White Opal
White opal may occur in diverse colors such as colorless and white. These gemstones display a play of color through diffraction, which exhibits the brilliance of the stone. The most common colors are blue, green, and yellow, but orange, red, and violet are not easily visible in the opal’s play of color.
White opal’s value is determined by the saturation of the color, the transparency, and the play of color. The translucent deposits are much more valuable when compared to opaque deposits. With a hardness rating of about 6.5 Mohs, white opals are perfect for rings, pendants, brooches, and earrings. The gemstone bears a vitreous luster which makes it an outstanding stone.
Pearl
Pearls are known to be exquisite gemstones in the jewelry world. These stones have been coveted and valued for a long time now. Pearls are associated with elegance and sophistication, and you will most likely come across as many pearls in outstanding jewelry pieces. Back in the days, these gemstones were costly, and only the wealthy class would lay their hands on them.
However, with the traction and emergence of cultured pearls, these stones are becoming more abundant and affordable. Pearls bear beautiful overtones and remarkable iridescence. However, pearls are very delicate and soft, with a hardness rating of 2.5 to 4 Mohs. That means the stone can easily be damaged or chipped.
Mother of Pearl
These are stones from pearl-producing creatures. The shells are made up of three layers, including the calcite layer, outside periostracum, and the mother-of-pearl. The creature’s mantle produces that smooth part in the layer.
White mother-of-pearl is found in several parts of the world, but they are fancier than white pearls. The reason why these gems are prevalent is that these creatures producing pearls rarely do it. What they do is create a shell that protects their soft bodies. That is why today, you will come across cultured pearls used in jewelry rather than natural pearls. These pearls have a hardness rating of 4.5 Mohs, but they can make stunning pendants. Mother-of-pearl stones are also ideal for decorating and other artworks.
Goshenite
White goshenite can be classified as a beryl group member. Beryl appears in diverse colors such as green, pink, blue, red, golden, and colorless or white. The purest form of beryl is white goshenite since it does not contain any impurities or coloring agents. This gemstone was discovered in Western Massachusetts in a town known as Goshen.
Today the stone is almost readily available anywhere. The gem has clear transparency and was even once used to manufacture eyeglasses. White goshenite is also known to be an excellent source of beryllium. The gem exhibits incredible hardness, toughness, and durability, making it an ideal gemstone for jewelry.
The stone is resistant to any corrosive elements making it an outstanding choice for stunning art and jewelry pieces. However, the stone could be pretty sensitive and brittle when under pressure.
White Coral
These are gemstones in the gemstone family of natural coral. The precious white corals come from deep-water coral. The coral forms around 500 feet deep in seabeds and could include crevices and caverns. Natural coral grows slowly over time. This could be a millimeter every year.
Over time they grow to vast coral reefs. This gemstone occurs as organic material but is not as durable and hard as other naturally occurring gemstones. Precious white coral gemstones have a hardness rating of around 4 Mohs, which helps gemstone lovers distinguish them from similar stones such as rhodonite, carnelian, or spessartite garnet.
The white stones may contain calcium carbonate giving them some gemological properties.
White Scolecite
The white scolecite gems are a result of faceted minerals. Being a member of the zeolite group means the stone is closely related to Mesolite and Natrolite. This gemstone will easily create a series of both the Natrolite and Mesolite minerals and are very rich in calcium. When looking at the Scolecite sample, it is prudent to apply some chemical tests to know what exact mineral you are dealing with.
White scolecite comes with a hardness rating of about 5.5 Mohs. It is a valuable specimen, more so for gemstone collectors. If you are a collector who loves storing and collecting rare gem specimens, you have to look for one stone.
White Rhodizite and Londonite
Rhodizite is a hard stone and can make alluring jewelry pieces. However, it is a rare gemstone, and even coming across the faceted pieces is once in a lifetime. The stone occurs in other colors, such as yellow. Londonite and rhodizite are similar to salt, meaning they are borate minerals. They are both, however, resistant to weathering.
While the two gems look pretty similar to each other, londonite is a newer gemstone and got approval in 1999. These two stunning stones are different from the rhodizite, with the differentiating factor being a rich cesium content. Gem quality stones occur in Madagascar, but other significant sources include Russia and the United States.
Beryllonite
Beryllonite was named due to the high content contained in the gemstone. It is a rare gemstone, and some crystals will switch color from white to colorless or pale yellow. With only a hardness rating of 5.5 Mohs, this stone is a soft stone for everyday jewelry use. Due to this low hardness, perfect cleavage, and brittleness, beryllonite becomes a very fragile stone.
It means the gem can only be faceted for gem collectors who know how to handle soft stones. With a low dispersion and weak fire, beryllonite is very dull and has even been mistaken for other gemstones that bear a low dispersion. This gemstone is associated with other minerals such as berylin and phenakite. The primary source of this gemstone is America, but other deposits can be found in Zimbabwe and Finland.
White Jade
Jade is a phenomenal mineral, and it is popular because of the lush green hue it exhibits. The stone is formed from any of the two minerals, i.e., jadeite and nephrite. In China, Jade has been used for a long time now as the Chinese believe the gemstone brings good fortune. The stone has a hardness rating of about 7 Mohs, meaning it is a good and durable choice for jewelry.
The most valuable variety of this gem is the green jade, but it also occurs in other colors such as purple, brown, white, pink, black, and red. White jade is a unique gemstone in that it appears with a greasy luster that is not common in other stones. Deposits occur in Russia, North America, New Zealand, Switzerland, and China. Although the gem is used primarily on astounding jewelry pieces, it is also ideal and loved for spiritual and cultural art pieces.
White Danburite
Although this boric calcium silicate occurs as a mineral, the facetable gemstone quality deposits are rare. Danburite is not widely known, and it is often considered a collector’s gemstone. The stone was first discovered in Danbury in the USA in 1839 hence the name Danburite. The most valuable and high-quality danburites have incredible clarity and transparency.
In fact, this stone’s brilliance can easily surpass the most valuable topaz. However, since the gem does not have the fire needed to curate fascinating jewelry pieces, it is mostly used by connoisseurs. The gemstone occurs in a wide range of colors such as light-yellow, brown, light pink, and even colorless. Only the colorless deposits are faceted.
Essential sources for this gemstone can be found in Mexico, Japan, Russia, Burma, Bolivia. Danburite is faceted, but for the gem collectors mostly. The stone is sometimes diamond-cut, with the most common shapes being oval. However, other shapes could be trillions, cushions, octagons, rounds, and pears.
White Jasper
Jasper categorically means speckled or spotted stone. White jasper is a unique gemstone that bears swirling patterns, daubs of green, red and yellow, and dots of different colors. Greeks and Egyptians used the stone in the old days for its polish and hardness. Jasper may occur in different colors such as green, yellow, orange, red, brown, purple, and blue.
The gemstone may also appear bearing different colors on the same stone. Iron is a common impurity in these gemstones, giving them brown, red and yellow hues. Some other impurities may get mixed up with the gem, such as dioxides, oxides, and metals, giving the stone all those alluring patterns and colors.
Jasper occurs in different parts of the earth, but the crucial sources include Australia, Russia, India, Venezuela, Uruguay, and Brazil. Madagascar and the southern Africa region is also an honorable source.
White Agate
Agate occurs in almost every color you know. White is among the most popular colors of the agate gemstone. The white agate may appear in milky white varieties to the colorless deposits. This gemstone occurs as an opaque to translucent gem bearing a vitreous luster. White agate is a stunning gemstone that will make outstanding jewelry pieces.
White agate may not exhibit the sparkle that most colorless gemstones have, but you can be sure it is a statement stone. It is perfect for cocktail rings, pendants, earrings, and necklaces. White agate occurs in many places around the world, meaning it is pretty affordable.
White Tourmaline
Tourmaline is a family of minerals that are related but have varying properties. These gemstones can make outstanding jewelry stones as they occur in diverse and alluring colors such as white, blue, orange, yellow, and purple.
Tourmalines are generally moderately priced, but the large deposits and fine-colored specimens are pretty rare, making them expensive. Tourmaline occurs in different parts of the world, such as Brazil, Nigeria, Namibia, Malawi, Madagascar, Kenya, and Mozambique.
