Men's Gemstone Jewelry

Buyer's guide

How to buy men's gemstone jewelry, the stone first

Questions we get at the counter

What gemstone rings do men wear?

Sapphire first, then ruby, emerald and opal. Of the 121 rings live here, sapphire is on 33 titles, ruby 15, emerald 13, opal 13, garnet 8 and quartz 8. Plain stone rings are the biggest group, 39, then named colourways like the Starry Night and Iceberg rings, 14, and seven Godfather rings. The Diamond Starry Night Ring, silver with an opal centre by its description, sold the most rings here in the year. The gemstone rings page holds more.

Are the stones in men's gemstone jewelry natural or lab-grown?

Some are natural, some lab-grown, and most listings here never say which. Only 76 of the 457 live pieces name an origin anywhere; the other 381 are silent. Take a listing's own word where it gives one, and on a silent piece call or text us first so we can tell you exactly what stone it carries. Both claw pendants are marked lab-grown; ask the desk whether that means the stone or the diamonds beside it.

Can a man wear an opal ring or bracelet every day?

Yes, with care. Opal is a softer stone than sapphire or ruby, which take daily wear as a rule of the trade; opal sits with tiger's eye, pearl, turquoise and malachite as stones that want care. Opal is on 34 titles here, 13 of them rings and 3 bracelets. No listing here prints a hardness, so for the opal you want, whether it is a solid stone and how it wears day to day, ask the desk before you buy. The opal rings page holds more.

What is tiger's eye, and is it a real gemstone?

Yes, tiger's eye is a real gemstone, and the claw pendant's own description tells how it forms. As a rule of the trade it sits with the softer stones that want care. It is named on 4 titles here: the silver eagle claw pendant, two gold bead bracelets, one of them red tiger eye, and a gold bead necklace. The claw sold 256 pieces in the year, more than any other ring, pendant or earring on this page. Heated or dyed on the red one: ask the desk.

What ring size do men buy in a gemstone ring?

Mostly 8 and 10. Those two led the gemstone ring sales from this page in the year, the middle of them was 9.5, and a fifth of the rings bought were 11 or bigger. That reads the 115 of the 157 ring pieces sold that carried a size. The usual list here runs 8 to 12 in half sizes, on 40 rings, and 12 rings go to 13 and up. To measure, see the men's rings guide.

What length chain goes with a sapphire cross pendant?

No single length; pick by where you want the cross to sit, and the pendant decides the rest. Where a pendant here has a chain menu, the usual one offers 18, 20, 22 and 24 inches, and on the opal claw buyers took 18 most. Sapphire is on 44 pendant titles and crosses are the biggest pendant style, 56 pendants and 12 sets; the 71 crosses weighed run 7.0 grams at the middle as listed, a light piece. For the chain itself, the pendants guide.

How much does a men's gemstone ring cost?

The stone sets most of it: which stone, how big, and whether it is natural or lab-grown. Then the metal, by grams and karat; a 14K gemstone ring here weighs 19.3 grams at the middle as listed, a silver one 11.9. Then the bench work, the setting and the finish. The prices are on the listings, so compare the stone and the grams there, and ask the desk at 212-872-9692 or on the live chat for the number on the day you buy.

What does a 10 pointer mean on a tennis chain or bracelet?

It means each stone weighs about ten hundredths of a carat, since one point is a hundredth of a carat; a 10 pointer tennis chain or bracelet is a line of stones that size. Here 22 titles carry a pointer size: 10 pointer on 9, 20 pointer on 8, and a few at 3.5, 5, 7 and 15. No listing here gives a carat weight among its specs, so whether the title means each stone, ask the desk.