Pink Gemstones for Jewelry Making: Rose Quartz and Beyond

The most popular pink gemstone for jewelry making is rose quartz: a soft, milky pink that is affordable and, at 7 on the Mohs scale, hard enough for everyday bracelets. Beyond it, pink stones fall into 3 families. Pale pinks include pink opal, pink calcite and morganite; warm, peachy pinks include strawberry quartz, peach moonstone and peach aventurine; and bright to deep pinks include rhodochrosite, rhodonite, pink tourmaline and kunzite. Below is each stone by shade, a side-by-side look at the 3 that are easiest to mix up, and the colors that pair best with pink.

This is the second post in our color series, after Blue Gemstones for Jewelry Making. You can browse every shade in our pink gemstone beads as you read.

Pale Pinks

Rose Quartz

Rose quartz owes its color to microscopic mineral fibers inside the quartz. The same fibers make it slightly cloudy, so it reads as a glowing, milky pink rather than a clear one. Most bead material comes from Madagascar and Brazil, and the 2 names now suggest a look: our Madagascar rose quartz runs from pale blush to a deeper rose, while our Brazilian rose quartz is soft and translucent with an even color. Find both in our rose quartz beads.

Keep 2 practical notes in mind. Some rose quartz fades if it sits in strong sun for long periods, so keep finished pieces off sunny windowsills. And rose quartz strands marked (alt) in our shop are color enhanced to a brighter pink, which each of those listings states.

Pink Opal

Pink opal from Peru is common opal, a form of silica that holds water and has no play of color. It is opaque to faintly translucent, in pastel pink to cream, and some strands carry dark, fern-like dendrites, like our dendritic pink opal. At 5.5 to 6.5 it is a little softer than quartz, and it should be kept away from heat. See the full range in our pink opal beads.

Pink Calcite

Mangano calcite, the pink calcite colored by manganese, is the palest pink on this list: our mangano pink calcite ranges from white to the faintest pink. Because it is so light, whatever you string it on shows through: white cord keeps it icy, while pink S-Lon cord warms it to a clear blush. Calcite is soft, only 3 on the Mohs scale, and reacts with acids, so use it in necklaces and earrings and keep it away from vinegar, lemon juice and household cleaners. Under a UV flashlight it glows pink.

Morganite

Morganite is pink beryl, the sister stone of emerald and aquamarine. Manganese gives it a pale blush to peachy pink, and at 7.5 to 8 it is one of the hardest stones here. It was named in 1911 for the banker J.P. Morgan by the Tiffany gemologist George F. Kunz. Look for smooth morganite rounds and an ombre strand that shades from aquamarine blue to morganite pink in our beryl beads.

Rose Quartz vs Strawberry Quartz vs Pink Opal

These 3 are the pinks most often confused in photos. Here is how they differ.

Warm and Peach Pinks

Strawberry Quartz

Strawberry quartz is quartz filled with tiny red inclusions of iron minerals such as hematite and lepidocrocite, which give it a warm pink body speckled like the skin of a berry. It is as hard as rose quartz and wears just as well. The name is a trade name rather than a mineral species, and glass imitations are sold under it, so look for irregular natural flecks rather than perfectly even dots or swirl lines. Shop it in our strawberry quartz beads.

Peach Moonstone

Peach moonstone is a feldspar built from very thin alternating layers of 2 minerals, and light scattering between those layers gives the soft, floating sheen called adularescence. Its colors run from peach and apricot to pinkish cream. At 6 to 6.5 it suits necklaces and bracelets that won't take hard knocks. Browse it with the rest of our moonstone beads.

Peach Aventurine

Peach aventurine is a quartz-based stone colored by tiny mineral inclusions, in peach, apricot and cream with an occasional faint shimmer. It is tough, inexpensive and comes in smooth, matte and faceted finishes in our aventurine beads.

Pink Jade

Bright candy-pink jade is usually dyed, often on a stone other than true jade, and our pink jade listing says it is dyed in its title. It is a cheerful, even color for casual pieces when you don't need a natural shade.

Bright and Deep Pinks

Rhodochrosite

Rhodochrosite is manganese carbonate, raspberry to rose pink with cream bands, and the banded material from Argentina is known in the trade as Inca rose. It is soft, 3.5 to 4, and reacts with acids, so it belongs in necklaces and earrings more than rings. Shop our rhodochrosite beads.

Rhodonite

Rhodonite is a manganese silicate in pink to rose red, laced with black veins of manganese oxide. It is harder than rhodochrosite at 5.5 to 6.5 and is the state gem of Massachusetts, our home state. Pink wood rhodonite shows a wood-like grain. Find it in our rhodonite beads, and see Rhodochrosite vs Rhodonite for how to tell the 2 apart.

Pink Tourmaline and Rubellite

Tourmaline colored by manganese runs from pale pink to hot pink, and rubellite is the trade name for its deepest pink to red shades. At 7 to 7.5 it is hard and bright, and it shines in small faceted and microfaceted beads. Pink tourmaline also appears scattered through purple lepidolite mica, a striking 2-tone stone. See every color in our tourmaline beads.

Kunzite

Kunzite is the lilac pink variety of spodumene, named for George F. Kunz. Its color can fade with long exposure to bright light, so store it in the dark and treat it as a stone for evening wear. It also has strong cleavage, so avoid hard knocks. Shop our kunzite beads.

Pink Spinel and Pink Ruby

Spinel, at 8, and ruby, at 9, are the hardest pinks you can string, and they come as small microfaceted beads with plenty of sparkle. Pink ruby and pink sapphire are the same mineral, corundum; the stronger pinks tend to be sold as ruby.

Thulite

Thulite is a pink, manganese-bearing zoisite first described in Norway in 1820 and named for Thule, the old name for the far north. Our thulite rounds are bubblegum to rose pink mottled with white and gray.

Designing with Pink

Pink is a tint of red, so on the color wheel its complement is green. Here are 4 pairings that work, from bold to quiet.

Pink and Green

Complements make each other look more intense: rose quartz with green aventurine or prehnite, rhodonite with moss agate. Watermelon tourmaline grows pink and green in a single crystal. Let one color lead and use the other as an accent. Browse our green beads for partners.

Pink and Gray

Gray cools pink down and makes it look more modern. Try pale rose quartz with labradorite or gunmetal hematite, or echo rhodonite's dark veins with charcoal stones from our gray beads.

Pink and White

White keeps pale pinks fresh. Pair pink opal or morganite with white moonstone, howlite or freshwater pearls for a soft, bridal look.

Pink and Gold

Warm pinks such as peach moonstone, strawberry quartz and morganite glow next to gold. Use gold-finished brass spacers or gold-tone hematite from our gold beads.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most popular pink gemstone for jewelry?

Rose quartz. It is affordable, widely available in every bead shape and size, and hard enough at 7 for bracelets and everyday necklaces.

Which pink gemstones are the most durable?

Ruby (9), spinel (8), morganite (7.5 to 8), tourmaline (7 to 7.5) and quartz, including rose and strawberry quartz (7). Rhodochrosite and pink calcite are the softest.

What is the difference between rose quartz and pink opal?

Rose quartz is translucent and harder, at 7. Pink opal is opaque to faintly translucent, more pastel and softer, at 5.5 to 6.5.

Does rose quartz fade in the sun?

Some rose quartz can fade with long exposure to strong sunlight. Normal wear is fine; just don't store it in a sunny window.

What color goes best with pink in jewelry?

Green is pink's complement and gives the most contrast. Gray, white and gold are softer partners that suit almost every pink.

Shop Pink Gemstone Beads

Browse all of our pink beads, or start with the classic in our rose quartz beads. For more on combining colors, read Complementary Colors.