Grey or greyish-toned gems have garnered much attention recently, especially grey-coloured Spinels and Tanzanites.
Grey gemstones exude a quiet beauty, and calmness, and are timeless. They are complemented well by different gold colours (rose, champagne or yellow), which brings out the grey undertones of the gemstones – creating a particular sense of wonder and conversation with the wearer. It’s alluring and entrancing.
Grey Spinels
A certain romance has surrounded Spinels, which used to be confused with Sapphires, as they were found in the same deposits.
Grey Spinels come in a spectrum from “gun metal” to pastel shades.
Gun metal is an avant-garde shade that speaks sophisticated, cool and chic. We love to set this colour with champagne gold in either a vintage or bold architectural design.
The more pastel shades display the quality of the gem’s crisp like nature. Fine quality pastel shades carry undertones of lilac and mauve, have an enamouring sparkle, and are often the perfect selection for delicate feminine designs.
Grey Tanzanites
Grey Tanzanites tend to be the non-heat treated version of the popular purplish-blue gemstone that comes only from Tanzania. The predominant overtone is grey with undertones of blue-lilac and yellow to greens hues.
Most Tanzanites are heat-treated to bring out the blues and purples within the gem. However, a cultivated taste for the imperfect beauty found in the grey gems, has increased demand for untreated Tanzanites.
Grey Tanzanites can be said to be like wearing a mermaid scale on your hand, with the flashes of colours that push through and appear to shift under different types of light.
No two unheated Tanzanites are the same, even a pair in matching cuts and dimensions will look different from each other – due to dynamic shades of colour under varied lighting.
