The cheer and visual excitement offered by yellow jewels afford delightful and noticeable personal ornaments, both to wear and behold. Bright, beautiful, yellow diamond, sapphire, chrysoberyl, spinel, topaz, beryl, zircon, tourmaline, danburite, garnet, and citrine are unique, durable, excellent jewelry stones. All are considered "colored gemstones," by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), with the exception of diamond, which gemologists put in a class by itself. And, meeting the GIA's definition of "gem," all the yellow stones share the characteristics of beauty, rarity and durability... perfect for jewelry.
Canary Diamond: Most Durable
Yellow diamond is the most coveted of all yellow gems. Often called “canary diamond,” it offers the utmost in toughness for daily wear as well as potential for saturated, pure yellow color. Diamond yellows come in a full range of hues.
With a Mohs hardness scale rating of 10, diamond is hardest of all gemstones. Extreme hardness, sparkling luster, high refractive index, and extraordinary fire and brilliance make this a stunning gemstone to see and to wear. Diamond is one of few singly refractive gems.
Yellow Sapphire: Many Golden Hues
According to ancient lore, yellow sapphire holds spiritual healing powers. Some say wearing yellow sapphire attracts wealth and prosperity. Claims are even made that young women who wear this gem will have good fortune and marry early.
Yellow sapphire is a superior gem for jewelry. In terms of hardness, sapphire ranks right after diamond, with a Mohs rating of 9. Sapphire is doubly refractive, and shows some pleochroism. Most yellow sapphires are heat-treated to improve clarity and color. Sapphire exists in a full spectrum of yellow colors.
Chrysoberyl: Rare Beauty
Chrysoberyl is a very rare, highly regarded, and very collectible gemstone with superior luster, brilliance and toughness. Usually golden-yellow, greenish-yellow, or green-yellow, top stones are stunning.
The name chrysoberyl comes from the Greek word for gold, and the gem has been collected since ancient times. Nearly as hard as sapphire, the Mohs rating is 8.5. Chrysoberyl is doubly refractive and pleochroism is weak.
Yellow Spinel or Rubicelle: Not Easy to Find
Yellow spinel is not as commonly seen in the jewelry and gem market as other spinel colors. However, it does exist. Usually described as bright, lemon yellow, yellowish-green or greenish yellow, it is a striking gemstone. Sometimes referred to as rubicelle, it can be used to imitate chrysoberyl.
Spinel is an exceptional and beautiful jewelry gem, as well as an extremely durable stone which rates 8 on the Mohs hardness scale.
Yellow Topaz or Imperial Topaz: Highly Valued
Natural topaz is yellow or golden in color with a high luster and excellent crystal. Renowned for its huge gem-quality specimens, topaz is one of the hardest of gemstones (Mohs 8). However, topaz remains relatively fragile due to its tendency to cleave.
Doubly refractive, topaz may show pleochroism in various yellow shades. Gems are often step cut or scissor cut. Highly valued Imperial Topaz from Brazil may be found in a honeyed yellow color.
Heliodor, Yellow Beryl, Golden Beryl: Sun Gift
Named for the Greek word "helios" meaning sun, and" doron" meaning gift, the name heliodor refers to all yellow and golden beryl. Found in any of a range of yellow hues, heliodor has distinctive hexagonal crystals that are some of the largest of all gem crystals. Most gems have visible inclusions. Large, clean stones are quite rare and more expensive, although most heliodor is reasonably priced.
Well suited to rectangular and square step cuts, which show off lovely transparency and help bring depth of color, heliodor can be extremely beautiful when facets are concave cut. A relatively hard gem, heliodor has a Mohs rating of 7.5-8.
Yellow Zircon: Looks Like Yellow Diamond
Carved zircons have been discovered in some of the world’s most ancient sites. With considerable fire and divine luster, yellow zircon resembles yellow diamond. However, strong double refraction, greater density, and 7.5-hardness distinguish zircon.
Heat treatment to enhance or change color is accepted, however, heating often produces a more fragile and brittle gem that may not keep a high polish.
Yellow Tourmaline and Malawi Tourmaline: Fresh Colors
Recent discoveries in East Africa bring a fresh, bright canary to brownish yellow tourmaline variety to the gem and jewelry market. Some gems show a greenish cast.
Tourmaline is very brilliant. These pleochroic gemstones may be heat-treated, which may alter tourmaline’s characteristic multi-hued appearance.
Large Malawi specimens are rare; most are less than one carat. Like all tourmaline, these yellow beauties make exceptional, durable jewelry stones with a hardness of 7-7.5.
Yellow Danburite: Bright Jewelry Gem
A newbie on the jewelry scene, danburite is loved for exceptional transparency and gorgeous crystal. Also, it is available in large, clean specimens. Durable and hard (Mohs 7-7.5 with no cleavage), light yellow danburite appears very bright after faceting and is more brilliant than citrine and yellow beryl.
Doubly refractive with weak pleochroism, danburite is sometimes suggested as a less-fiery alternative to diamond.
Grossular Garnet and Mali Garnet: Winning Combinations
Grossular garnet shows a variety of colors, including yellow. One of the most beautiful of garnets is a combination of grossular and andradite garnet called Mali Garnet. Recently discovered in West Africa, rare Mali Garnet includes colors like bright yellow, greenish yellow, and yellowish brown. This is a hard (Mohs 7) and durable stone with no cleavage.
Mali garnet has very high dispersion, brilliance, and refractive index. It is singly refractive. Large, clean stones are rare and priced accordingly.
Lemony Citrine: Rare and Affordable
Derived from the French word"citron," meaning lemon, citrine is the yellow or golden variety of quartz. Due to a low refractive index, citrine does lack some brilliance and fire compared to other jewels. However, gemstones are very pretty and offer reasonable hardness at Mohs 7.
Often, citrine is used in jewelry to copy topaz and is sometimes marketed as Gold Topaz or Madeira Topaz. Natural, gem-quality citrine is quite rare. Gems marketed as “citrine” sometimes are heat-treated amethyst quartz that may have deeper color than pale natural gems. Although relatively scarce, large natural citrine remains affordable.
Claire Eddins - Writer/editor, award-winning photographer Claire Eddins collects gems, horses, and obsesses over home, art, and design.
