Combining Stones in Jewelry

Advice for Combining Stones

Many colored stones go together nicely, too. For example, aquamarine and rhodolite garnet complement each other very well. Either one can be the primary stone. Light aquamarine can complement most richer colored gems. If you move beyond just diamonds to colored accent stones, you’ll open the door to greater creativity in jewelry design.

A Gem in the Hand

If you’re interested in combining stones, I have one piece of hard advice for you. Choose your combinations from colored gems that you actually have in hand. Subtle variations in shades of color make a considerable difference in gem compatibility. You can’t accurately visualize this, since gems often come in different shades. Additionally, images in print catalogs or online can’t reproduce the subtle tones of the individual stones they depict.

Explore Gem Combinations with Customers

On several occasions, customers have come to me with certain gem combinations in mind. As it turned out, they didn’t go together well. However, we tried combining stones side by side and found some surprising pairings. (In fact, I find this is one of the most enjoyable activities of being a gem dealer).

One customer wanted a jewelry piece made around a green…