This page gathers every stone in our collection whose dominant colour sits in the purple range — from the soft lilac and mauve of lighter material through to deep violet and purplish-red. Purple is an uncommon hue in nature, and it arises here through several different chemistries, which is why the varieties on this page look and behave quite differently from one another.
You will find Umbalite Garnet, a garnet whose purplish-pink to rose-violet colour comes from its mixed pyrope-spessartine chemistry; Purple Spinel, a singly refractive stone prized for its clean, even body colour; and three tourmalines — Cuprian Tourmaline, coloured by traces of copper and manganese, Rubellite Tourmaline, whose pink-to-red body can lean distinctly purplish, and Purple Tourmaline proper.
When choosing between them, weigh three things. First, tone: pale lilacs read as delicate and lively, while deep violets read as formal and saturated. Second, lighting — many purples shift between daylight and incandescent light. Third, the cut, which governs how much light returns to the eye and therefore how vivid the colour appears at arm's length.
