Dioptase is a beautiful, vivid emerald-green, with a hint of blue, it has very high fire, but this is masked by its strong color, which may make stones translucent rarer than transparent. Prized by the collector for its color, is nonetheless rarely faceted, as stones are brittle and fragile, and Coo soft to be worn. It is sometimes confused with emerald.

The best quality crystals are found in copper deposits in Russia, Namibia, Zaire, Chile, and Arizona (USA).

Diamonds are graded by color. Cut, clarity and carat (weight) - the four c's.