rhizoverbBeta
DictionarygemstoneJewelry material
noun

gemstone

GEM-stohn/dʒˈɛmstˌoʊn/

A mineral or organic material cut and polished for use in jewelry.

The deep-green gemstone rests beside its empty ring setting.

One faceted deep-green emerald beside its simple open ring setting, gemstone and jewelry use apparent; restrained colored-pencil facets, no sparkle rays or glossy photography.
Etymology
gemLatinprecious stone, jewel
+stoneOld Englishstone, rock

The jewel element narrows “stone” to a precious rather than ordinary rock. This compound was already used in Old English for a precious stone.

In context

WIRED15:28
you need a jeweler that's going to take that gemstone and mount it into a piece of jewelry
Mineralogist Answers Gemstone Questions From Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED

More examples

  • The jeweler sets three small gemstones into a gold pendant.
  • Amber is an organic gemstone made from hardened tree resin.
  • She chooses matching gemstones for a pair of earrings.

Forms

gemstone · gemstones

Similar words

gem
Often interchangeable, but also describes someone or something treasured.
jewel
Usually a valuable gemstone; can also mean a jewelry ornament.