Types of Semiprecious Stones Beads

Beads are small, decorative objects having a hole within them for piercing into it a thread or string. Beads can be practically made from any kind of material. Semiprecious stones are also used for making beads that are popular by different names such as semi precious stone beads, gemstone beads, natural stone beads etc.

Types of Materials used for Semiprecious Stones Beads

There are two categories of materials used for making semi precious gemstone beads.

Natural Beads from Organic Materials- Semi precious stone beads that come from animal or plant based origin can be categorized as the type of gemstone beads made from organic materials. These include beads made from bone, coral, horn, ivory, seeds, animal shell etc. Pearl beads were, since a few time ago, the ultimate precious beads of natural origin due to their rarity. Now the pearl-culturing process has made pearls very common beads. Some other examples of gemstone beads of natural organic origin include Amber (fossilized resin from ancient pine trees) and jet, though both of these materials undergo partial geologic fossilization. Natural Beads from Inorganic Materials- Semi precious stone beads that have pure mineral origin can be categorized as the type of gemstone beads made from inorganic materials. These include various types of stones ranging from gemstones to common mineral and metal beads. Some of the fine examples of such semiprecious stones beads include Opal which is a gemstone of hydrated silica and thus a gemstone bead made from mineral. Example of natural metal beads is the popular Turquoise Bead- a stone that is a hydrated aluminum copper phosphate and often contains iron.

The present day semi precious stone beads supplies, however, are processed to a large extent which is not only limited to shaping and drilling the natural stones for various stone beads cut. The wholesale gemstone beads suppliers also make these semi precious stone beads more attractive through color enhancement via dyes or irradiation.

Types of Semi Precious Stones by Origin

With the concept of types of materials used for semi precious stone beads, it is now clear that semi precious gemstone beads need not have the origin only from natural stone- they can also come from animals and plants (organic origin), minerals as well as natural metals. This chart will further explain the types of semi precious beads based on their origin.

Beads with Mineral Origin
Agate Beads	Amethyst Beads	Aquamarine Beads
Chrysoprase Beads	Zircon Beads	Diamond Beads
Emerald Beads	Feldspar Beads	Garnet Beads
Jade Beads	Jasper Beads	Lapis lazuli Beads
Opal Beads	Quartz Beads	Ruby Beads
Sapphire Beads	Spinel Beads	Tanzanite Beads
Topaz Beads

Beads with Metal Origin
Crystal Beads	Malachite Beads	Obsidian Beads
Olivine Beads	Olivine Beads	Pyrite Beads
Turquoise Beads

Beads with Organic Origin
Amber Beads	Coral Beads	Pearl Beads

There are many other types of semi precious stone beads that are made from a combination of materials and can not be placed in any of the above category. One of such semiprecious gemstone beads are Cabochons or Cab Stones made from baltic amber, malachite, fire agate, dichroic glass and obsidian. Know about these semi precious beads Cab Stones