Here at CM Weldon Powerscourt, we are passionate about our coloured stones. We’ve all seen the beauty of rainbows, they captivate our senses. When gazing up at rainbows a childlike wonder and something about them makes us stop and connect with the magical world of light and colour. It’s said that no two people see the same rainbow, and in my opinion the love of one colour over another is personal. However, when dealing with coloured gemstones certain qualities and depths of colour are more desirable.  This makes particular tones and shades of stones more attractive and rare and therefor more sought after. When looking at coloured stones, look at the quality and richness of the colour. How it is dispersed through the stone, and the life within the stone. You might find a large emerald or sapphire but it may be lacking a vibrancy, appearing dull and watery. Emeralds should be a rich blueish green. Green sapphires and peridots just fail to compete. Some stones like tsavorite garnet and green tourmaline could get close but emerald will always surpass. Rubies  have a deep intensity. They belong to to family of corundum. The intensity of a ruby is directly caused by how much chromium is in the crystals structure. If a ruby has just a very small amount then the end product is a pink sapphire. Sapphires are also corundum. Interestingly geologists think that chromium is what causes the richest greens and reds in coloured stones. Take a look at some examples we have here at CM Weldon below.