Are you fascinated by the delicate beauty of pink gemstones? Pink colored gemstones have surged in popularity, particularly for engagement rings and statement jewelry pieces. This comprehensive guide explores 21 stunning pink gemstones across all price points and styles.

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In this article, you'll discover:

• Detailed information about each pink gemstone's hardness, rarity, and typical pricing
• Which pink gemstones are most suitable for everyday jewelry versus special occasion pieces
• Natural versus lab-created options for popular pink gemstones like diamonds and sapphires
• Special optical effects found in certain pink gemstones like chatoyancy and asterism
• Rare pink gemstone varieties you may never have encountered before

Pink Diamonds: The Ultimate Luxury Pink Gemstone

There's a compelling reason why diamonds remain the worldwide favorite for engagement rings. Their incredible hardness makes them virtually impervious to scratches. In fact, diamonds are so hard their surfaces can only be scratched by other diamonds. Their combination of durability and abundance has earned them the distinction of being April's birthstone.

In nature, pink diamonds exhibit exceptional rarity compared to white diamonds, commanding some of the highest per-carat prices of any gemstone. However, if you desire the aesthetic without the premium cost, a synthetic diamond might be your ideal solution.

Consider these advantages of lab-created pink diamonds:

• Modern growing techniques now produce pink stones at significantly lower prices than natural specimens.
• Laboratory settings allow jewelers to create matched sets of stones, a nearly impossible task with rare natural pink diamonds.
• The physical and chemical properties of lab-created diamonds are identical to natural diamonds.
• Advanced technology has made these options available to consumers only recently.

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Pink Sapphire: Durable and Versatile Pink Gemstone Option

While diamonds reign supreme in hardness, corundum gems rank second among natural stones. Ruby is red corundum, but corundum in any other color, including pink, is classified as sapphire. Sapphires create exceptionally durable gemstones suitable for any jewelry type, especially engagement rings. Sapphires of all colors (not exclusively blue) are the September birthstone.

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The color saturation of pink saturation ranges from delicate to intense, accommodating various preferences. Fortunately, corundum occurs abundantly worldwide, making pink sapphires the most commonly available pink gemstones on the market.

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Pink sapphires offer several notable advantages:

• They maintain stable price points compared to other pink gemstones.
• They come in virtually any size, allowing you to find your preferred pink shade.
• Many pink sapphires offer excellent clarity, making it easy to avoid specimens with visible inclusions.
• Synthetic sapphires have been successfully grown for over a century, providing affordable options for those wanting larger, more saturated stones.

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Morganite: The Elegant Beryl Pink Gemstone

Morganite is the pink variety of the beryl gem family, which includes familiar gems like blue-green aquamarine and green emerald. Unlike emerald, morganite typically displays excellent clarity. These pink gemstones generally exhibit a delicate, pleasant color, sometimes with subtle orange undertones.

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Morganite's color becomes more pronounced in larger stones. Fortunately, morganites frequently form in substantial sizes, allowing gem cutters to fashion distinctive designs from readily available crystals.

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Pink Feldspar: Moonstone and Labradorite with Pink Hues

Most gem enthusiasts recognize colorless and white varieties of moonstone with their signature blue adularescence, a billowing optical effect within the gem. However, this alternative June birthstone can also display a pink body color. Labradorite, another member of the feldspar family, occasionally exhibits a predominant pink hue as well.

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Pink Garnet: Affordable Pink Gemstone with Exceptional Value

Many species and blends of garnet can present various body colors, including pink. Transparent pink garnets are commonly used in jewelry. Additionally, opaque or translucent hydrogrossular garnets may display a glowing pink color, often fashioned into beads or decorative carvings.

Pink garnets offer several advantages as jewelry stones:

• They provide moderate prices compared to other colored gemstones.
• Pink garnets can rival the beauty of pink sapphires or tourmalines at significantly lower costs.
• Garnets typically offer excellent clarity, free from visible inclusions.
• They're easily available in any carat weight desired.

It's no surprise that garnet, the traditional January birthstone, has been valued as a jewelry stone for thousands of years.

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Rose Quartz: The Classic Pink Crystal Gemstone

Quartz ranks among Earth's most abundant minerals. Rose quartz exhibits a gentle pink hue that never presents particularly dark tones or intense saturations.

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Inclusions create this soft coloration, giving the gem a slightly cloudy appearance. Rose quartz with perfectly aligned internal structures may display chatoyancy or a "cat's eye" effect. More commonly, these inclusions might produce asterism or a "star stone" effect on the surface.

Rose quartz typically forms in enormous crystals, making it suitable for both jewelry applications and large decorative carvings.

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Pink Scapolite: A Rare Pink Gemstone Discovery

Although scapolite typically exhibits purple or violet body colors, pink specimens occasionally appear on the market. Scapolites occur in multiple locations and can display a cat's eye effect. Their appearance may overlap with other, more recognized pink gemstones.

Pink Spinel: Underrated Pink Gemstone with Outstanding Beauty

Like garnet, spinel is another readily available gemstone whose beauty rivals gems like sapphire, yet comes with a substantially lower per-carat price. Like scapolites, spinels may resemble other more familiar gemstones. Historically, it wasn't until the 1700s that gemologists identified spinel as an entirely different gem species than ruby.

Spinel crystals often grow in a flattened form, leading gem enthusiasts to value the color of this modern August birthstone more than its overall shape. This characteristic benefits those seeking custom-cut pink gemstones for their jewelry, as cutters typically don't fashion pink spinels to standardized sizes, allowing jewelers to leverage their unconventional outlines for unique pieces.

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Pink Topaz: Rare and Valuable Pink Gemstone Variety

Blue topaz is famously one of the December birthstones. However, many people don't realize topaz comes in numerous attractive colors, including pink.

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In fact, rare red and pink hues rank among the most valuable colors of topaz. This contrasts sharply with blue topaz, one of the market's least expensive gemstones. Abundant and durable, topaz has also earned recognition as a November birthstone.

Pink Tourmaline: Versatile Pink Gemstone with Rich Variations

Tourmaline, the modern October birthstone, represents a relatively common pink gemstone readily available on the market. Tourmalines actually encompass many species, each displaying various colors. In tourmalines, pink colors may feature either orange or purple undertones. You might hear dealers refer to red and pink tourmaline as rubellite.

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Pink tourmalines with saturated colors command the highest prices, though they appear noticeably dark. While good clarity is desirable, color depth is considered more important. Some specimens contain highly ordered inclusions creating an attractive cat's eye effect.

Large tourmalines are easily accessible, making them an excellent choice for those seeking impressively sized pink gemstones.

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For those interested in unusual pink gemstones, consider watermelon tourmalines, which feature vibrant pink interiors surrounded by green outer layers.

Pink Pearls: Organic Pink Gemstones with Delicate Beauty

Cultured freshwater pearls can exhibit various body colors, including pink. Akoya pearls typically have white or cream body colors but may display a pink overtone, referred to as "rosé" in the trade. Some Akoyas naturally show this overtone, while others receive mild red dye treatment to induce a pink hue.

With a hardness rating of only 2.5-3, pearls are relatively soft. This hardness level means the pearl's surface easily accumulates scratches. Consequently, jewelers frequently set these traditional June birthstones in necklaces and earrings rather than rings.

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Pink Apatite: A Collector's Pink Gemstone

Apatite occurs in numerous locations, but its modest hardness of just 5 limits its jewelry applications. Therefore, any apatite jewelry requires careful wearing and storage. Apatite ring stones should have protective settings to prevent damage.

Interestingly, tiny apatite crystals frequently form inside other gemstones, including sapphires, garnets, and emeralds.

Aventurine ("Strawberry Quartz"): Pink Gemstone with Sparkling Appeal

The aventurine variety of quartzite, a lapidary stone containing tiny quartz grains, occasionally displays a pink color. Inclusions cause this coloration, resulting in translucent rather than transparent gems. This material sometimes bears the name "strawberry quartz." Aventurine can grow extremely large, allowing cutters to fashion substantial pieces from it, including aventurine bangles cut from single rock specimens.

Pink Coral: Rare Organic Pink Gemstone Material

Coral frequently grows in pink shades, but finding it for sale may prove challenging. Protective laws and regulations safeguard the fragile reefs they originate from. Those seeking coral jewelry should explore vintage stores and estate sales for ethical options.

Pink Danburite: Pale Pink Gemstone with Subtle Appeal

Named after Danbury, Connecticut, danburite occasionally displays a pale pink coloration. It offers reasonable hardness, making it suitable for jewelry applications. However, colorless danburite generally commands higher value than colored varieties. Some danburite specimens may also exhibit cat's eye effects.

Pink Fluorite: A Collector's Pink Crystal Gemstone

Pink represents just one of many colors that fluorite can exhibit. Although the color tends toward lighter shades and crystals can grow quite large, fluorite's fragility makes it unsuitable for most jewelry types. With a low hardness of 4 and a tendency to cleave in four different directions, it breaks easily.

You might encounter fluorites used as beads, carvings, or raw crystal pendants. However, you'll rarely find many fluorites when shopping for jewelry stones.

Pink Calcareous Concretions and Shells: Rare Organic Pink Gemstone Materials

Some pearl-like gems composed of organic calcareous concretions and various shells can display pink and orangey-pink colors. Although not pearls in the strict sense, these materials are quite rare and may be highly valued by collectors.

Pink Opal: Rare Pink Variety of Popular Gemstone

Pink opals represent an exceptionally rare variety of the popular October birthstone. These specimens belong to the "common opals" subgroup, which don't exhibit opal's famous play-of-color effect. Instead, pink opals appear opaque.

All opals are relatively soft gems, with a hardness rating of 5.5-6. They also remain vulnerable to drying out in arid environments and require special care when stored.

Rhodochrosite: Banded Pink Gemstone with Distinctive Patterns

Usually opaque to translucent, rhodochrosite presents red to pink colors with saturation ranging from pale to intense. Unfortunately, rhodochrosite has a very low hardness rating of 3.5-4.5, limiting its durability. Transparent rhodochrosite specimens are exceptionally rare.

Opaque rhodochrosite can develop a distinctive pale pink-and-white pattern known as "bacon strip" due to its resemblance to the food item.

Rhodonite: Pink to Red Collector's Gemstone

Rhodonite is a collector's gem that can appear pink as well as red. Transparent specimens are rare and can be deeply saturated. Translucent and opaque examples frequently feature black veins or splotches. Rhodonite is commonly carved into beads for jewelry applications.

Rhodonite is a collector's gem that can be pink as well as red. Transparent gems are rare and can be deeply saturated. Translucent and opaque gems will frequently have black veins or splotches. You may see rhodonite carved into beads.

Kunzite (Pink Spodumene): Delicate Pink to Purple Gemstone

Kunzite, the most popular variety of the spodumene family, is a beautiful gem with pink to purple coloration and delicate to bold saturation. Since kunzite occurs in only a few locations, such as California, some collectors value the raw crystals over faceted kunzites.

These gems are notoriously difficult to cut. As a result, you'll rarely encounter faceted kunzites on the market.

While most gem buyers may be unfamiliar with kunzite stone, several famous jewelers, including Paloma Picasso, have prominently featured it in their work. However, kunzite's pink color fades with excessive heat or light exposure. These gems should be reserved for occasional evening wear and always stored in cool, dark conditions.

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Thulite (Pink Zoisite): Norway's National Pink Gemstone

Blue to violet tanzanite represents the most famous zoisite gemstone. Thulite, Norway's national gemstone, is an opaque pink variety of zoisite that frequently features gray or white mottling. Like many other non-transparent gems, thulite is typically fashioned into beads. Some incorrectly refer to thulite as "pink tanzanite."

Frequently Asked Questions About Pink Gemstones

What is the rarest pink gemstone?

Natural pink diamonds are among the rarest pink gemstones in the world. Unlike white diamonds which are relatively abundant, pink diamonds are incredibly scarce in nature, which explains why they command some of the highest price-per-carat values of any gemstone on the market.

Which pink gemstones are durable enough for everyday wear?

Pink diamonds and pink sapphires are the most durable pink gemstones, making them excellent choices for everyday jewelry like engagement rings. Diamonds rank highest in hardness (10 on the Mohs scale), while sapphires rank second (9 on the Mohs scale). Pink topaz, morganite, and pink tourmaline also offer good durability for regular wear.

Are there affordable alternatives to natural pink diamonds?

Yes, there are several affordable alternatives to natural pink diamonds:

• Lab-created pink diamonds offer identical physical properties at a fraction of the cost
• Pink sapphires provide excellent durability with stable pricing
• Pink spinels and garnets can rival the beauty of more expensive pink gemstones at significantly lower prices
• Morganite offers an elegant pink color and good durability at a more accessible price point

Which pink gemstones should I avoid for ring settings?

Several pink gemstones have lower hardness ratings that make them unsuitable for everyday ring wear:

• Pink pearls (2.5-3 hardness)
• Pink fluorite (4 hardness)
• Pink apatite (5 hardness)
• Pink opal (5.5-6 hardness)
• Rhodochrosite (3.5-4.5 hardness)

These softer stones are better suited for pendants, earrings, or occasional-wear jewelry.

What causes the pink color in gemstones?

The pink color in gemstones comes from various causes depending on the gem type. In many cases, such as rose quartz, inclusions create the soft pink coloration. In other stones, trace elements or color centers in the crystal structure produce the pink hue. Each pink gemstone gets its characteristic color through specific geological processes.

Which pink gemstones can show special optical effects?

Several pink gemstones can display interesting optical phenomena:

• Rose quartz with aligned inclusions can show chatoyancy ("cat's eye" effect) or asterism ("star stone" effect)
• Pink moonstone displays adularescence, a billowing effect inside the gem
• Pink scapolite and some danburite specimens can show cat's eye effects
• Some pink spinels and tourmalines with ordered inclusions can display cat's eye effects

Are lab-created pink gemstones real gemstones?

Lab-created pink gemstones like synthetic diamonds and synthetic sapphires have identical physical and chemical properties as their natural counterparts. The only difference is they were grown in controlled laboratory environments rather than formed naturally in the earth. They are real gemstones, just with a different origin.

Which pink gemstones require special care?

Some pink gemstones need particular attention:

• Kunzite's pink color will fade if exposed to excessive heat or light and should be reserved for occasional evening wear
• Pink opals are vulnerable to drying out if stored in arid environments
• Pink pearls easily accumulate scratches and should be protected from abrasion
• Pink fluorite is fragile with a tendency to cleave in four different directions

Where can I find ethical pink coral jewelry?

Since protective laws and regulations safeguard coral reefs, finding new pink coral jewelry can be challenging. For ethical pink coral options, explore vintage stores and estate sales where you can purchase previously harvested coral pieces rather than contributing to new coral harvesting.

What is "watermelon tourmaline"?

Watermelon tourmaline is a unique variety of pink tourmaline that features a vibrant pink interior surrounded by a green outer layer, resembling the color pattern of a watermelon slice. These distinctive stones make interesting conversation pieces in jewelry collections.