Beautiful gems may be found at carats carats logo
10100 6th Ave. N.
Plymouth, MN 55441
(763) 444-2200
Open Mon - Sat 10 AM - 6 PM

carats represents quality, craftsmanship, and service
About Gems


Colored gems have been used to adorn the bodies and enrich the lives of men and women throughout history. Some societies have even restricted the wearing of certain gems to members of the nobility. While we are free of any such restrictions, many of us are just as limited as the peasants of old, not by laws but by modern marketing and hype. We have all been trained to like what is most commonly available.

No one can deny the beauty of a fine emerald or ruby; yet many of the emeralds and rubies sold on the mass market are semi-opaque and really not very attractive.

Why do people buy them? Because they have been taught to believe that emeralds and rubies are beautiful, and they have no knowledge of the myriad of lesser-known but spectacularly beautiful green and red gems found in nature.

At Carats, you can choose from our broad selection of gems, from basic to exotic.

Many, many years ago gems were identified and described primarily by their color. Descriptions of sapphire by classical Greek scholars show that the word was applied equally to clear blue sapphire, to opaque blue lapis, and in all likelihood to virtually any other gem of similar royal blue color. More recently, throughout most of the nineteenth century, there was seldom any distinction made between ruby and red spinel, or between topaz and yellow-to-gold quartz, which we now call citrine.

Today, understanding chemistry and physics, we define gems by their physical and chemical properties.
  • If a gem is composed of silicon dioxide, we know it is quartz. Purple quartz is called amethyst.
  • Yellow quartz is called citrine (and sometimes is still mistakenly referred to as "topaz").
  • Gems composed of aluminum silicate are called garnet - not just if they are dark brownish red, but in pinks, violets, oranges yellows, greens and even rare varieties that change color in different kinds of light.
  • Sapphires, which many people think of as dark blue, and tourmalines which some think of as light pink or dark green, can be found in virtually every color and shade imaginable.
While some unusual gems can be expensive, many cost far less than their beauty and rarity would suggest, just because demand for them has not been created by mass marketing.

At Carats you will find beautiful and unusual varieties of common gems, as well as new and wonderful gems you may never have imagined.
For centuries people have looked for ways to enhance the beauty of gems, not only by polishing, but by bleaching, dyeing, waxing, heating and other methods. Today, with our advanced technology it is common practice to enhance the appearance of many of nature's treasures. Legitimate jewelers will assume that rubies, sapphires, aquamarines, blue zircons, and certain gems have been heated to improve their appearance unless they find gemological evidence to the contrary, and they will explain this to their customers.

They will assume that most jade has been bleached and dyed unless they know otherwise, and that nearly all blue topaz was essentially colorless before being irradiated and then heated. None of these practices are good or bad - just facts which should be explained openly to prospective new owners.

Temporary logo
As a member of the American Gem Trade Association, Carats is committed to the highest ethical standards, including candid disclosure of known and reasonably assumed treatments of gems.

Did you ever wonder how to tell whether a light blue gem was an aquamarine, a blue topaz, a zircon or a pale sapphire? Or whether a red gem was a ruby, a garnet, a spinel or a tourmaline? Or whether a gem was genuine, synthetic (some call this 'lab created') or simulated? If you thought the experts were the ones who could tell at a glance, think again!

One of the first lessons one learns in the study of gems is that positive identification requires close observation and testing by a knowledgeable and experienced individual.

Got a question? Come on in, and we'll talk.
Site Counter