For decades, "engagement ring" meant one thing: a white diamond. Today, more of the couples walking into our Sandy Springs showroom are asking about color, a sapphire blue that matches her eyes, a deep red ruby with meaning behind it, a soft pink for a romantic look, an emerald green that stands out from every other ring on the table.

If you're starting to look beyond diamonds, the world of colored gemstones can feel overwhelming. There are dozens of stones, three different categories (natural, lab-grown, and simulated), and a huge range in price. This guide will help you find your color, understand what you're actually buying, and make a confident choice — whether you're shopping for an engagement ring, a birthday gift, or a custom piece you'll keep forever.

Natural, Lab-Grown, or Simulated? Know What You're Buying

Before we get to the colors, you need a quick framework. Every colored gemstone you'll ever see falls into one of three categories, and the difference between them is huge — for both price and meaning.

Natural gemstones are mined from the earth. Their formation took millions of years, every stone is unique, and the rarest colors (top-quality Burmese ruby, Kashmir sapphire, Colombian emerald) carry premium prices. You're buying geological history.

Lab-grown gemstones are real gemstones — chemically, physically, and optically identical to their mined counterparts, created in a controlled environment over weeks or months instead of millennia. A lab-grown sapphire is a sapphire. Same hardness, same brilliance, same chemical structure. The difference is the origin story and the price tag, which is typically a fraction of the natural equivalent.

Simulated (or imitation) gemstones look like the real thing but are made of a different material entirely. A "simulated sapphire" might be glass, cubic zirconia, or a synthetic spinel colored to mimic blue sapphire. It can be beautiful and affordable, but it's not chemically a sapphire and it won't share the same hardness or longevity.

None of these is "better" than the others. They serve different purposes and budgets. What matters is that you know which one you're buying and why.

Red & Pink — Romance, Heat, and a Pop of Personality

The red-and-pink family is where you go when you want a stone with presence. Ruby, at the top of the family, has been associated with passion and love for centuries. A fine natural ruby is one of the most valuable gems on Earth — but lab-grown rubies deliver the same vibrant color and the same Moh's 9 hardness at a fraction of the price, making them an excellent choice for an engagement ring you'll wear every day.

Pink sapphire has become one of the most-requested alternative engagement stones over the last few years, especially in soft "bubblegum" and "hot" pink hues. Rhodolite garnet offers a beautiful raspberry-rose tone, and morganite — the soft blush stone made famous by rose-gold engagement settings — sits in the lighter end of the family.

Orange & Yellow — Warm, Sunny, Often Underestimated

Citrine ranges from pale lemon to deep Madeira orange and is one of the most affordable natural gemstones — perfect for cocktail rings, pendants, and bold earrings. Yellow sapphire brings the same Moh's 9 durability as its blue cousin, in a warm canary yellow that looks especially striking in yellow gold. Golden topaz and orange Madeira citrine round out the family for those who want warmth without breaking the budget.

Green — From Classic Emerald to Vivid Tsavorite

Green is one of the most rewarding color families to explore. Emerald is the classic — that lush, deep grass-green color is unmistakable, and both natural and lab-grown emeralds are widely available. A quick reminder, though: natural emerald is hard (7.5–8) but can be brittle, so we usually recommend protective settings for daily-wear emerald rings. (We covered this in our guide to the Moh's hardness scale.)

If you want a green that's a little less expected, peridot offers a fresh apple-green at a very accessible price, tsavorite garnet rivals the best emeralds in brilliance, and green sapphire gives you all the durability of corundum in a unique earthy hue.

Blue & Aqua — The Most Popular Color Family in Engagement Rings

Outside of diamonds, no color is more popular for engagement rings than blue. Blue sapphire leads the family — durable, classic, and famously chosen for Princess Diana's (and now Kate Middleton's) engagement ring. Lab-grown blue sapphires offer the same brilliance and hardness for a fraction of the price.

Aquamarine is the soft pale-blue alternative — bright, fresh, and historically tied to the sea. London blue topaz gives you a moodier, deeper teal-navy color that pairs beautifully with both white and rose gold. And blue zircon (not to be confused with cubic zirconia) is a stunning natural gem with high brilliance.

Violet & Purple — Bold, Mysterious, and Increasingly Popular

Amethyst is the most familiar — a beautiful purple, widely available, and very affordable. It's also February's birthstone. Tanzanite, found only in one small area of Tanzania, has a deep blue-violet color that shifts in different light. It's only Moh's 6–7, so we recommend it for earrings, pendants, and rings worn with care. Iolite and purple sapphire round out the family with deeper, more vivid options.

Colorless — When You Want Pure Sparkle

Of course, color isn't for everyone. If you want the pure, classic sparkle of a colorless stone, you have more options than ever: natural and lab-grown diamonds, moissanite (which actually outsparkles diamond in some lights), white sapphire, and white topaz all give you that bright, neutral look at very different price points. For more on choosing among these, see our post on moissanite vs. lab-grown vs. natural diamonds.

Color Has Meaning — The Birthstone Angle

Many of the gemstones in this guide are also birthstones, which makes them especially meaningful gifts. Garnet for January, amethyst for February, aquamarine for March, diamond for April, emerald for May, pearl for June, ruby for July, peridot for August, sapphire for September, opal for October, citrine and topaz for November, and tanzanite, zircon, or turquoise for December.

If you're shopping for a meaningful birthday or anniversary gift, our Birthstone Collection by Samuel B. is a beautiful place to start. For one-of-a-kind colored gemstone pieces, browse our full Gemstone Jewelry collection.

Suggested: a birthstone piece from the Samuel B Birthday Collection, or a layout of several colored pieces.
Alt text: "Birthstone jewelry from Samuel B collection at Farsi Jewelers"

Don't Forget Durability

Color is only half the story. Before you commit to a stone for an engagement ring or a piece you'll wear every day, take a moment to think about its durability. A breathtaking tanzanite ring you can only wear on special occasions is a very different purchase than a lab-grown sapphire ring you can wear in the garden, at the gym, and to bed.

For the full breakdown of which gemstones hold up to daily life, read our companion guide: Will Your Gemstone Survive Daily Wear? A Sandy Springs Jeweler's Guide to the Moh's Hardness Scale.

Want a Color Combination You Can't Find Anywhere Else?

One of the things our clients love most about working with us is that they're not limited to what's in the case. If you've fallen in love with a color but can't find the right setting — or if you've inherited a stone and want it set into something new — our Custom Jewelry Design team will design it with you. We've been building one-of-a-kind pieces for Atlanta families since 1998, and colored gemstones are some of our favorite projects.

For a deeper dive into how custom design works, see The Art of Custom Jewelry: Designing Your Engagement Ring.

More From Our Blog

• Will Your Gemstone Survive Daily Wear? A Sandy Springs Jeweler's Guide to the Moh's Hardness Scale
• Moissanite vs Lab-Grown vs Natural Diamonds — How to Choose Your Center Stone
• The Complete Guide to Engagement Ring Center Stone Shapes
• The Art of Custom Jewelry: Designing Your Engagement Ring

Visit Farsi Jewelers in Sandy Springs, GA. From sapphires and emeralds to one-of-a-kind custom pieces, we've been helping Atlanta clients find their color since 1998. Browse Gemstone Jewelry · Shop Birthstone Pieces · Start a Custom Design.