Two gemstones.
Side by side.

GEMSTONE ONE

Cinnabar

Cinnabar: Striking red crystals or granular patches set in paler host rock, sometimes with dark silvery tarnish. Discover properties, identification, care and buying cons...

Colour & appearance

Bright vermilion red to dark brown-red

Mineral family

Mercury sulphide mineral

Mohs hardness

2–2.5

Representative source regions

Spain; China; Slovenia; United States

Spain China Slovenia United States

Jewellery & care

Collector display only. Cinnabar is not appropriate for jewellery, children’s items or crystal products intended for close daily handling.

Red

Read the Cinnabar guide

GEMSTONE TWO

Sapphire

Sapphire is a gem variety of corundum, often associated with blue but also found in other colours. Its hardness makes it an enduring jewellery material, although the secu...

Colour & appearance

Blue and other colours

Mineral family

Corundum (Al₂O₃)

Mohs hardness

9

Representative source regions

Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Myanmar, Australia, Thailand and Montana in the United States are recognised sources. The Kashmir region is historically famous for highly valued blue sapphires.

Sri Lanka Madagascar Myanmar Australia Thailand United States

Jewellery & care

Choose the style and setting to suit the specific stone, treatment information and intended use.

Blue

Read the Sapphire guide

Hardness measures scratch resistance, not breakage. Source regions are educational examples, not claims about the provenance of an individual GEMHOOD product. Images may be digital gemstone illustrations.