Stephen Webster sources an extensive range of gemstones, often from the mines where the rocks originally surfaced or from dealers who have rough rather than pre-formed material. This way of sourcing gemstones allows us to determine the desired cut and finish, bringing an important uniqueness to our fine jewellery creations.
Gem Explorers
Gem Explorers
A Gem hunter at heart
“By developing and refining techniques for many years, we have become leaders in the industry recognised not only for our innovative cuts, but also for our fearless approach to using lesser-known materials.
We are proud to always keep one step ahead of the herd, which we achieve through our designs and never slowing down in our pursuits as gem hunters.”
- Stephen Webster MBE, Founder & Creative Director
Discover more about our range of exotic gemstones that feature across our fine jewellery collections.
Aquamarine
Named after the Latin word for seawater, Aquamarine is known for its metallic blue to bluey-green colour.
The most intense blue and subsequently the most desirable, is known as Santa Maria Blue, named after the region where these hues were originally found.
At Stephen Webster we predominantly source our Aquamarine stones from Brazil, however we also use material sourced from Asia and Africa.
Rated 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs Hardness scale.
Emerald
Highly prized and of ancient origin, Emerald’s were first mined in Egypt, as early as 330 BC. Part of the Beryl family, Emeralds are celebrated for their vibrant green colour, with the finest and most valuable Emeralds mined from Colombia.
Beyond traditional cutting and polishing, Emeralds can be treated with natural oils, as a process to remove internal imperfections, as well as residues left by the mine and the cutting processes. The oils act as a moisturiser to the stone and do not affect the stone’s tone or colour.
At Stephen Webster we source only the finest Emeralds from Muzo Emerald Colombia as well as, Zambia. Across our collections most of our Emerald’s receive minor to no treatment.
Rated 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs Hardness scale.
Citrine
Citrine is the yellow variety of Quartz, named after the old French word for ‘lemon’. Notably known for its yellow to amber hue, caused by traces of iron in its internal structure.
Across Stephen Webster collections we work with a spectrum of Citrine shades, from pale yellow to intense deep ‘Madeira’ orange. Predominately we source our Citrine stones from Brazil, Bolivia, and Madagascar.
Rated 7 on the Mohs Hardness scale.
Demantoid
Made popular by jewellers of the Victorian era, Demantoid gemstones became a favourite of the Russian Tsars, famed for their intense green colour.
More recently pockets of Demantoid have been found in Madagascar. Stephen Webster is currently working with Prosperity Earth, a single mine founded by a man and wife couple who have passionately developed, and provided education, medical, and many other facilities for the community connected to the mine.
Rated 6.5 to 7.5 on the Mohs Hardness scale.
Sapphire
Sapphires come from the Corundum family which also includes Ruby. Most commonly known for their Royal Blue colour, Sapphires can be found in a wide spectrum of colours.
Sapphires that are not blue are known as ‘Fancy Sapphires’ (except red which is a Ruby). Colour spectrum includes pink, orange, yellow, green, purple, violet, and black.
It is considered the finest of all Sapphire’s are sourced from Kashmir, known for their intense velvety blue colour.
At Stephen Webster we source our Sapphires from Sri Lanka, Australia and the Umba river region of Tanzania.
Rated 9 on the Mohs Hardness scale.
Ruby
The most valuable of the Corundum mineral family is Ruby. The difference being the presence of chromium which gives the crystal the red hues unique to a Ruby.
The most desirable colour is a deep red, known as ‘Pigeons Blood’, typically sourced from Myanmar.
At Stephen Webster we source our Rubies from Myanmar, Thailand, and Zambia.
Rated 9 on the Mohs Hardness scale.
Tourmaline
Featuring the widest colour range of any gemstone, Tourmalines are fantastically versatile with a vast array of colours caused by differing trace elements.
The most valuable are Paraiba Tourmalines, due to the intense electric blue colour known as ‘windex’ blue. The material first became popular in Japan. Originally found in the Paraiba region of Brazil, but since then the mines of the region have become exhausted with most Paraiba now mined in Mozambique.
Bi-Colour Tourmalines is a term used for a single crystal formed with two distinct colours at either end and meeting in the middle. This natural occurrence can be found in other material such as Topaz but by far most common in Tourmaline.
At Stephen Webster our Tourmalines are predominantly sourced from Brazil, Mozambique, Madagascar, and Namibia.
Rated 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs Hardness scale.
Morganite
Morganite is a very rare pink variety of beryl, the same mineral family that includes Emerald and Aquamarine. Subtle in colour, Morganites typically range from pale pink to bluish pink, with the most valuable stones displaying a stronger saturation of colour and clarity.
At Stephen Webster we source our Morganite gemstones from Brazil.
Rated 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs Hardness scale.
Tanzanite
Found in just one place on earth, near Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzanite gemstones are a variety of the mineral Zoisite, best known for their vibrant blue to bluish-purple colour.
Zoisite is usually brownish, green when excavated, however over time when exposed to the elements the crystals can turn blueish purple, this process is expedited through heating.
The most desirable colours are the intense deep blues with overtones of purple, pink or even red. More recently there is a demand for the unheated material when the gem displays the greenish, blue hues.
All our Tanzanite’s are sourced from Tanzania, Stephen has visited and journeyed down the TanzaniteOne mine.
Rated 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs Hardness scale.
Spinel
Due to the similarity in colour spectrums and mine locations, historically Spinel was often confused for corundum’s, mainly Ruby. The most famous identity crises being the 170-carat gem mounted in the imperial crown, part of the Crown Jewels of England. The stone was originally gifted to The Black Prince: Edward of Woodstock in 1367, as a Ruby. Much later when testing equipment became developed, it was found out to be a spinel and absolutely no relation to a Ruby.
Spinel is becoming more widely known and as a consequence the prices are escalating. At Stephen Webster we continue to champion grey coloured Spinels.
Our Spinel stones are sourced from Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, and Brazil.
Rated 8 on the Mohs Hardness scale.
The Mohs Hardness Scale
The Mohs Hardness Scale
All gemstones are rated for hardness and scratch ability on a physical scale. See where each of the gems described above sits on Mohs scale.