Choose Your Gemstone

At President Jewellers, every gemstone is hand-picked from a live catalogue of over 500,000 certified loose stones — twenty-five gemstone types, every standard shape, in carat weights from accent-size up to statement stones above ten carats. Each stone ships with an independent gemmological grading report, 360° video and macro photography so you can see hue, tone, saturation and inclusions before you buy. Complimentary insured UK delivery in 5-7 working days. Free returns for up to 30 days — no questions, no exclusions, no restocking fee. Buy loose, or set into a ring our jewellers handcraft at our bench in Hatton Garden — the square mile that's been Britain's jewellery quarter since the 1800s.

Our gemstone catalogue at a glance

Twenty-five gemstone types across the catalogue, spanning the classics, the modern favourites and the genuinely rare:

• Sapphire — corundum in every colour. Blue is the classic (including untreated Ceylon and Kashmir), but sapphires also occur in pink, yellow, peach, teal, white and the rare padparadscha (pink-orange).
• Ruby — red corundum, the same mineral as sapphire. Pigeon-blood, Burmese, Mozambican and Thai origins.
• Emerald — green beryl, prized for its deep saturated green. Colombian, Zambian and Brazilian origins; visible inclusions ("jardin") are characteristic and expected.
• Tanzanite — blue-to-violet zoisite, found in a single small region of Tanzania near Mount Kilimanjaro. December birthstone. Increasingly rare as the source nears depletion.
• Aquamarine — pale-blue to deep-blue beryl. The March birthstone. Excellent clarity is the norm; the colour determines value.
• Morganite — peach-to-pink beryl. The romantic alternative to pink sapphire and a popular engagement-ring centre stone in rose-gold settings.
• Alexandrite — chrysoberyl that changes colour from green in daylight to red under incandescent light. June birthstone. Genuinely rare in gem quality.
• Opal — silica with internal play-of-colour. Australian black opal, white opal, fire opal and boulder opal. October birthstone.
• Moonstone — feldspar with adularescence (the floating blue sheen). June birthstone alongside alexandrite. Rainbow moonstone is sought-after for its multi-coloured flash.
• Amethyst — purple quartz, the February birthstone. Available at clean, top-saturation grades; deep "Siberian" amethyst is the most prized.
• Topaz — colourless, blue, pink, peach, sherry, imperial (orange-pink). November birthstone. Imperial topaz is the rarest and most valuable variant.
• Citrine — yellow-to-orange quartz, the alternative November birthstone. Heated amethyst is the most common commercial source.
• Garnet — six gemmologically distinct species (almandine, pyrope, spessartine, demantoid, grossular, andradite) across reds, oranges, greens and pinks. Rhodolite (raspberry pink) and tsavorite (chrome green) are the highest-value varieties.
• Peridot — olive-to-yellow-green olivine. August birthstone. Almost always natural, rarely treated.
• Tourmaline — every colour, including the prized neon-blue Paraiba and the bi-coloured watermelon. October birthstone alongside opal.
• Spinel — historically confused with ruby (the "Black Prince's Ruby" in the British Crown Jewels is actually a spinel). Reds, pinks, blues and the famous Mahenge hot-pink.
• Zircon — natural mineral with high refractive index and brilliance. Blue zircon is the December birthstone alongside tanzanite.
• Quartz — colourless rock crystal, smoky, rose, and rutilated varieties.
• Apatite — neon-blue and green, popular for its electric saturation.
• Beryl — the mineral family that includes emerald, aquamarine, morganite, heliodor and goshenite.
• Kunzite — pink-violet spodumene, named for gemmologist George Kunz.
• Sphene — yellow-green-brown titanite with extraordinary dispersion (rainbow fire).
• Heliodor — golden-yellow beryl, the warm-coloured sister to aquamarine.
• Ametrine — bicolour quartz combining amethyst purple and citrine yellow in a single crystal. From Bolivia.
• Other — rarities, single-source stones, and finds that don't fit the standard categories: zultanite, larimar, sugilite, charoite and beyond. Listed individually with full grading detail.

Inventory exists across every standard cut — round, oval, cushion, emerald, pear, heart, marquise, princess, radiant, trilliant — plus traditional cabochons for star sapphires, opals, moonstones and the high-domed cuts that show off play-of-colour and asterism.

How we grade and certify gemstones

Every gemstone in our catalogue is supplied with an independent gemmological grading report from a recognised laboratory. The report identifies the species, variety, weight, dimensions, treatment history (if any), and an opinion on origin where determinable. Diamond grading labs (GIA, IGI, HRD) also operate gemstone divisions; alongside them sit specialist gem laboratories — GRS, AGL, Gübelin, SSEF, AIGS — known for the deepest origin research, particularly on rubies, sapphires and emeralds where geographic provenance (Kashmir, Burma, Colombia, Mogok) materially affects value.

Treatment disclosure is part of every report. Most coloured gemstones in the market are treated to enhance colour or clarity — heated to improve sapphire and ruby colour, oiled to fill emerald fractures, irradiated to deepen topaz blue. Treatment is normal, well-documented, and stable; the certificate tells you exactly what's been done. Untreated stones (particularly sapphires and rubies) command significant premiums when origin and quality are confirmed.

On every listing we show:

• The full grading report — species, variety, weight, dimensions, colour grade, treatment.
• 360° video — critical for coloured stones, because hue shifts with lighting and angle far more than with diamonds.
• Macro photography — showing inclusions, colour distribution, and the face-up appearance under standardised lighting.
• Where available, origin information — Kashmir vs Madagascar sapphire, Burmese vs Mozambican ruby, Colombian vs Zambian emerald.

Choose by stone

Each stone page lists the live inventory in that variety, with the full range of shapes, colours and carat weights. The most-searched and most-stocked twelve below; we also stock the rarer types listed in the catalogue above:

• Sapphire — corundum in every colour, plus the rare untreated Ceylon and Kashmir origins.
• Ruby — red corundum, Burmese, Mozambican and Thai origins.
• Emerald — green beryl, Colombian, Zambian and Brazilian origins.
• Tanzanite — blue-violet zoisite, single-source from Tanzania, increasingly rare.
• Aquamarine — pale-to-deep blue beryl, March birthstone.
• Morganite — peach-to-pink beryl, popular for engagement-ring centres.
• Alexandrite — chrysoberyl, colour-changing.
• Opal — silica with play-of-colour, October birthstone.
• Moonstone — feldspar with adularescence, June birthstone.
• Amethyst — purple quartz, February birthstone.
• Topaz — colourless to imperial orange-pink, November birthstone.
• Garnet — six species across reds, oranges, greens, pinks; January birthstone.
• Peridot — olive-to-yellow-green, August birthstone.

Gemstones by birthstone

A quick reference if you're shopping for a particular birth month:

• January — Garnet
• February — Amethyst
• March — Aquamarine, Bloodstone
• April — Diamond (see natural diamonds and lab-grown diamonds)
• May — Emerald
• June — Moonstone, Alexandrite, Pearl
• July — Ruby
• August — Peridot, Spinel
• September — Sapphire
• October — Opal, Tourmaline
• November — Topaz, Citrine
• December — Tanzanite, Zircon, Turquoise

Setting a loose gemstone into a President Jewellers ring

The gemstones on this page are sold loose. If you'd like one set into a ring, here's how that works.

Every ring in our setting catalogue is priced with a 1.0ct IGI-certified centre stone in the shape that matches the ring's variant. You can swap that default centre for any gemstone from this page — a sapphire, a ruby, an emerald, a tanzanite, anything. The 1.0ct centre stone's value is refunded from the ring's base price, and the gemstone you've chosen is added in. No mark-up on the swap, no setup fee.

The ring itself is then handcrafted to order:

• CAD design — a 3D render of your ring with your chosen gemstone centre, sent for approval before any metal is touched.
• Wax or silver sample — a one-to-one model of the finished ring, posted to you (or available to try at the Hatton Garden showroom) so you can feel the proportions before we cast.
• Cast and set in your chosen metal — 18ct yellow, white or rose gold; 950 platinum; or 9ct and 14ct gold on selected variants. The metal choice matters with coloured gemstones: yellow gold amplifies warm stones (yellow sapphire, citrine, peridot), rose gold pairs beautifully with pink stones (morganite, pink sapphire, rhodolite garnet), platinum and white gold let cool stones (blue sapphire, aquamarine, tanzanite) read more vividly.
• Hallmarked at the London Assay Office — Britain's oldest assay office, established 1300.
• Insured UK delivery — typically 7-14 working days from order confirmation.

Every ring includes complimentary engraving on the inner band and free lifetime resizing.

Returns, assurance and payment

Loose gemstones: fully returnable within 30 days of delivery — no questions, no exclusions, no restocking fee, and return shipping is free. Coloured gemstones look different under different lighting, so we strongly recommend opening the parcel in daylight before deciding. Loose-stone delivery is 5-7 working days, complimentary, insured.

Rings: 30-day returns on standard inventory. Custom and bespoke pieces (which is most of our ring orders, since every ring is CAD-designed for the buyer) are excluded from the 30-day window — but every ring carries a lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects.

Payment: we accept all major cards, PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay. PayPal Pay in 3 is available on orders £20–£3,000: pay one third today, the next two thirds spread across the following two months, no interest, no credit check.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a sapphire cost in the UK?

Blue sapphire prices vary widely with colour, clarity, origin and treatment. As rough indicators in the UK market: a well-cut 1.00ct blue sapphire at commercial quality (good colour, eye-clean, heated) sits around £500-£1,500. A 1.00ct stone at fine quality (vivid blue, eye-clean, heated) sits around £1,500-£4,000. Untreated Ceylon sapphires at 1.00ct fine grade run £3,000-£8,000+. Untreated Kashmir or top Burma sapphires are auction-grade and can reach five or six figures per carat. Every listing on our site shows the exact price next to the certificate.

How much should a 1 carat sapphire cost?

At 1.00ct, expect roughly £500-£1,500 for commercial-grade heated blue sapphire, £1,500-£4,000 for fine-quality heated blue, and £3,000-£8,000+ for untreated Ceylon at the same weight. The variables are colour saturation (Fancy Vivid corundum commands multiples of less-saturated stones), origin (Ceylon, Kashmir and Burma command premiums), and treatment status (untreated stones with proper documentation are worth significantly more than heated equivalents).

How can you tell a real sapphire?

Three reliable ways. (1) Buy with a grading report from a recognised independent laboratory — that's the only way to be sure. (2) Check the certificate's laser inscription on the girdle of major stones, traceable back to the report. (3) Visual inspection by a qualified gemmologist — real sapphires have characteristic inclusions (silk, rutile needles, colour-zoning patterns) that synthetics generally lack, and they pass standard tests for refractive index and specific gravity. At-home tests (breath, scratch, light reflection) are unreliable on their own. Every sapphire we sell carries a full grading report.

How much is tanzanite worth in the UK?

Tanzanite at 1.00ct commercial grade (medium blue-violet, eye-clean) sits around £300-£800. Fine-quality 1.00ct stones (vivid blue-violet, "AAA" colour) sit around £800-£1,500. Above 5.00ct, prices accelerate — fine 5ct tanzanite reaches £4,000-£10,000. The Tanzanite source near Mount Kilimanjaro is mined from a single small region and supply is genuinely finite, which is why per-carat prices have trended upward over the last decade despite occasional short-term dips.

Can tanzanite be worn every day?

Tanzanite scores 6.5-7 on the Mohs hardness scale — softer than sapphire (9), ruby (9), diamond (10) — so it's not the ideal everyday-ring stone for someone with an active lifestyle. It's perfect for evening rings, pendants, earrings and occasional-wear pieces where it's less likely to be knocked. Tanzanite has perfect cleavage in one direction, which means a hard impact at the wrong angle can fracture the stone. Set it in a protective design (bezel, halo) and it can absolutely be worn daily; but for an everyday solitaire that takes knocks, sapphire is the more robust choice in a similar blue-violet palette.

What's the rarest gemstone?

By raw scarcity, the rarest commercially-known gemstones include red beryl (bixbite) from Utah, painite from Burma, jeremejevite, poudretteite, grandidierite, and taaffeite. Among the stones most buyers encounter, natural untreated alexandrite with a strong colour change is extremely rare in clean gem quality; Kashmir sapphire hasn't been actively mined since the 1930s; Burmese pigeon-blood ruby at top colour is exceptional. Tanzanite is the rarest single-source stone in the catalogue — found only in a small region of Tanzania.

Are coloured gemstones a good investment?

Specific stones at top grades — untreated Kashmir sapphire, Burmese pigeon-blood ruby, Colombian "muzo green" emerald, fine Paraiba tourmaline — have outperformed most asset classes over the last twenty years at auction. Most commercial-grade coloured gemstones are bought for wear and aren't liquid investment assets. As a general rule: the rarer the origin and the better the documentation, the stronger the long-term value retention.

Can I see the gemstone before I commit?

Yes, in three ways. (1) Every listing has a 360° video and macro photography — critical for coloured stones, since colour shifts under different lighting. (2) You can book a private viewing at our Hatton Garden showroom and we'll bring the stone in for you to see in person under daylight, store lighting and loupe magnification. (3) If you buy and the colour in person isn't what you expected, you have 30 days to return it, no questions.

How long does it take to get a gemstone ring made?

Typically 7-14 working days from when you confirm the CAD design. Simple solitaires move faster; pavé, halos and intricate settings sit at the longer end. Loose gemstones (without a setting) ship within 5-7 working days.

Can I return a loose gemstone?

Yes — the stone itself is fully returnable within 30 days of delivery. No questions, no exclusions, no restocking fee, and we cover the return shipping. Refund goes back to the original payment method. Once a gemstone is set into a ring, the ring becomes a bespoke piece and the 30-day return window no longer applies (lifetime warranty does).

What metals work best with coloured gemstones?

Chromatic contrast is the rule. Yellow and warm-orange stones (yellow sapphire, citrine, peridot, imperial topaz) sing in yellow gold. Pink and red stones (morganite, pink sapphire, ruby, rhodolite garnet) pair beautifully with rose gold or platinum. Cool stones (blue sapphire, aquamarine, tanzanite, paraiba tourmaline) read more vividly in platinum or white gold. Green stones (emerald, tsavorite, peridot) work in any metal but yellow gold lends a classic vintage feel. Our jewellers walk you through pairings before you confirm.

Is there a deposit or finance option?

No deposit needed — full payment is taken at order confirmation. For BNPL, PayPal Pay in 3 splits your order across three monthly payments (first today, then one each month for the next two months) on orders between £20 and £3,000. No interest, no credit check.