Blue Gemstones for Jewelry Making: A Guide by Shade

The blue gemstones most used in jewelry making run from pale sky blue to deep navy and violet. Aquamarine, blue lace agate, larimar and angelite cover the light blues; turquoise, amazonite, apatite and chrysocolla lean toward teal; kyanite, sodalite, lapis lazuli, sapphire, dumortierite and azurite are the mid to deep blues; and tanzanite and iolite sit where blue turns violet. Hardness runs from soft chrysocolla (2 to 4) and angelite (3.5) to sapphire at 9, which matters for rings and bracelets. Here is each stone by shade, with what it is, how it looks and how to design with it.

Every stone below is in our blue gemstone beads collection. Start with the table to narrow your shade, then read the stone sections for the details that affect a design.

Blue Gemstones at a Glance

Pale and Sky Blue Gemstones

Aquamarine

Aquamarine is the blue variety of beryl, the same mineral as emerald, colored by traces of iron. It ranges from almost clear ice blue to a slightly green sea blue, and at 7.5 to 8 it is one of the most durable blues for everyday wear. Santa Maria is a trade name for the deepest, most saturated blue. Shop aquamarine beads.

Blue Lace Agate

Blue lace agate is chalcedony with fine, wavy bands of pale blue and white that look like lace. It is translucent, glows softly when light passes through it, and is a hard-wearing 6.5 to 7. Find it in our agate beads.

Larimar

Larimar is a blue pectolite found in only one place, the mountains of the Dominican Republic. Its swirls of sky blue, turquoise and white look like sunlight on shallow water. It is opaque and fairly soft at 4.5 to 5, and strong sunlight can fade it over time, so store larimar jewelry out of the sun. Shop larimar beads.

Angelite

Angelite is a compact blue anhydrite, a calcium sulfate mined in Peru. It has a soft, chalky powder blue to lavender blue color with a soft, satiny polish. At 3.5 it is one of the softest stones here, and anhydrite slowly reacts with water, so keep it dry and use it in earrings and necklaces rather than rings. Shop angelite beads.

Turquoise and Teal Blues

Turquoise

Turquoise is a copper aluminum phosphate, opaque, and anywhere from robin's egg blue to green, often veined with a brown or black matrix. It is 5 to 6 and porous, so keep lotion and oils off it. Much turquoise on the market is stabilized with resin to harden it, and dyed howlite is a common look-alike; see what white turquoise really is. Shop turquoise beads.

Amazonite

Amazonite is a blue-green microcline feldspar, opaque, often streaked with white. Peruvian material alone runs from soft mint and aqua to strong teal, sometimes with white or cream patches. It is 6 to 6.5 but has cleavage, so it can chip if knocked. Shop amazonite beads.

Apatite

Apatite is a calcium phosphate, the same mineral family as tooth enamel. Blue apatite, much of it from Madagascar, is one of the most vivid blues you can string: a saturated teal to ocean blue, translucent to opaque. At 5 it suits necklaces and earrings best. Shop apatite beads.

Chrysocolla

Chrysocolla is a copper silicate in blue-green to teal, often mottled with brown or black matrix and sometimes mixed with malachite or azurite. It is soft, 2 to 4, though chrysocolla grown inside quartz is much harder. Shop chrysocolla beads.

Mid and Deep Blues

Kyanite

Kyanite is an aluminum silicate that grows in long blades, and beads show its streaky, fibrous blue with a pearly sheen. It is unusual in having 2 hardnesses: about 4.5 along the length of the crystal and 6.5 to 7 across it. It splits easily along those blades, so handle it gently. Shop kyanite beads.

Sodalite

Sodalite is a royal to navy blue mineral veined with white, opaque and 5.5 to 6. It is often mistaken for lapis lazuli, but sodalite rarely has lapis's gold pyrite flecks and its white veining is usually bolder. Shop sodalite beads.

Lapis Lazuli

Lapis lazuli is a rock rather than a single mineral: deep blue lazurite with white calcite and glittering gold pyrite. It has been mined in Afghanistan for more than 6,000 years and was ground into the ultramarine pigment of Renaissance paintings. It is opaque and 5 to 5.5, and it is one of the stones most often dyed in the trade to deepen its blue. Read everything you need to know about lapis lazuli, or shop lapis lazuli beads.

Sapphire

Sapphire is blue corundum, colored by iron and titanium, and at 9 it is the hardest stone here and one of the 4 traditional precious stones. Bead sapphire is usually translucent to opaque with natural inclusions, cut in small microfaceted sizes that add deep blue sparkle. Shop sapphire beads.

Dumortierite

Dumortierite is an aluminum borosilicate, often grown through quartz, which gives beads a hardness of about 7. Its color is an opaque denim to violet blue, often with a fine speckle; sunset dumortierite mixes in rusty red. Shop dumortierite beads.

Azurite

Azurite is a copper carbonate with an intense azure blue, usually mixed with green malachite in the same stone. It is soft at 3.5 to 4 and sensitive to heat, water and chemicals, so it is best in earrings and pendants. Shop azurite beads.

Violet Blues

Tanzanite

Tanzanite is a blue to violet zoisite found in one small area near Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. It shows different colors from different angles, blue one way and violet another, and is 6 to 7. Beads are usually small faceted rondelles and heishi. Shop tanzanite beads.

Iolite

Iolite is the gem form of cordierite, 7 to 7.5, and strongly two-toned: violet blue from one side and pale gray or honey from another. That shifting color gives a strand of iolite a lively, varied look. Shop iolite beads.

Designing With Blue Gemstones

On the color wheel, blue sits opposite orange, so the strongest contrast comes from warm stones such as carnelian and sunstone; a few beads go a long way. Our post on complementary colors shows how to build a pairing like this. For a calmer look, combine neighbors on the wheel: amazonite, aquamarine and iolite run from blue-green to blue-violet, or shade a single stone from pale to deep in an ombre strand.

Metals: silver and white metals suit icy and gray-blues such as aquamarine, blue lace agate and kyanite. Gold and brass warm up deep blues, and lapis with gold has been a classic pairing since ancient Egypt. Copper and bronze flatter turquoise, chrysocolla and the teals. Browse jewelry findings in each metal tone.

Neutrals: white and cream stones make blues look cleaner, gray and black make them richer, and warm browns such as tiger's eye bring out the gold in lapis and the green in turquoise.

Blue Birthstones

Blue covers 3 months of the modern birthstone calendar. Aquamarine is the birthstone for March, sapphire for September, and December has 3 blues: turquoise, tanzanite and blue zircon, with blue topaz added in some lists. Shop March, September and December birthstone beads, or read the history of birthstones.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a light blue gemstone called?

The most common light blue gemstones are aquamarine, blue lace agate, larimar and angelite. Aquamarine is transparent and hard; blue lace agate is translucent with white bands; larimar and angelite are opaque.

Which blue gemstone is the hardest?

Sapphire, at 9 on the Mohs scale. Aquamarine (7.5 to 8), iolite (7 to 7.5) and dumortierite (about 7) are the next most durable blues for rings and bracelets.

What is the difference between lapis lazuli and sodalite?

Lapis is a deeper, more even blue with gold pyrite flecks; sodalite is a royal blue with bolder white veins and rarely any gold.

Is turquoise blue or green?

Both. Copper makes turquoise blue and iron pushes it toward green, so stones range from sky blue to apple green.

What colors go with blue beads?

Orange stones such as carnelian give the most contrast, blue-greens and violets give a harmonious look, and white, gray and warm brown work as neutrals.

Shop Blue Beads

Browse every shade in our blue gemstone beads, or go straight to aquamarine, lapis lazuli and kyanite. To choose stones by durability, read what the Mohs hardness scale means for your designs.