Gemstone Rings and Cross Pendants: Choosing Pieces That Mean Something

Some jewelry is chosen purely for how it looks. A gemstone ring or a cross pendant is usually chosen for more than that — a birthstone tied to someone specific, a symbol worn daily, a piece meant to last decades rather than a season. That changes what's worth paying attention to before you buy. 

Gemstone Rings: Reading Color, Clarity, and Setting the Right Way 

Colored gemstones get judged on different terms than diamonds, and that trips people up if they're used to diamond shopping. 

Color carries most of the value. With a colored stone, the depth and evenness of color is the single biggest factor in what it's worth — more so than with diamonds, where cut and clarity dominate. A deep, saturated amethyst or a clean blue sapphire is doing most of its value-justifying through color alone. 

Inclusions are normal, not necessarily a flaw. Look closely at most natural colored stones and you'll find some internal characteristic — a tiny crystal, a faint growth line. That's expected, and it's actually one of the signs you're looking at a natural stone rather than a lab-grown or glass imitation. There's no single industry-wide clarity scale for colored gems the way there is for diamonds; each stone type gets judged against others of its kind. 

The setting protects the stone long-term. Softer gems — opal, turquoise, lapis lazuli — wear better in a bezel or protective setting that shields the edges from daily knocks. Harder stones like sapphire and tourmaline can handle more exposed prong settings. If you plan to wear the ring every day, ask what the setting is designed to hold up against, not just what stone sits in it. 

Origin can matter, but isn't everything. Stones like sapphire, tanzanite, and certain turquoise varieties carry real reputational and value differences tied to where they were mined. Worth asking about, even if it isn't the deciding factor for you. 

Our gemstone ring collection includes tourmaline, sapphire, amethyst, citrine, iolite, and black opal, in both gold and sterling silver. If a specific certification or grading document matters to your purchase, ask us directly what comes with the piece — we'd rather be precise about it than let a vague claim stand in for an actual answer. 

Cross Pendants: What Separates a Simple Design From a Lifetime Piece 

A cross pendant tends to get worn longer and more consistently than almost anything else in a jewelry box — daily, for years, sometimes passed down. That makes construction quality matter more here than on an occasional-wear piece. 

Solid versus simple outline. Some cross pendants are a flat, simple silhouette; others carry sculpted dimension, filigree detail, or a gemstone set into the center. Neither is "better" — a thin, simple cross can be just as well-made as an elaborate one. What matters is whether the metal is solid gold or silver throughout, not hollow or plated. 

Bail and chain connection. This is the part that takes the most repeated stress over years of wear. A soldered bail (the loop the chain runs through) holds up far better than one that's simply bent or crimped onto the cross. If you're buying a piece to wear daily for the long haul, this is worth asking about specifically. 

Gemstone-center crosses follow ring rules. A cross pendant with turquoise, coral, garnet, or tourmaline set into the center should be checked the same way you'd check any colored stone — color depth, setting protection, and whether it's inlay work (stone set flush into the metal) or a stone glued to a flat backing. 

Material choices change the feel as much as the look. Yellow gold reads warmer and more traditional. White gold, platinum, and sterling silver read cooler and more contemporary. Mixed-metal designs exist too, combining two tones in a single piece. 

Our cross pendant collection ranges from simple gold outlines to turquoise and coral inlay designs, eternity crosses with diamond accents, and sterling silver pieces set with garnet or tourmaline. We also build custom designs — different gemstone, different proportions, combined metals — for customers who have something specific in mind that isn't already in the catalog. 

A Few Honest Questions Worth Asking Before You Buy 

Whether it's a ring or a pendant, and whichever studio you're buying from: 

• Is the metal solid or plated, and what karat or purity, specifically? 
• Is the stone natural, treated, or synthetic — and is that disclosed? 
• What's the actual construction at the stress points (bail, prongs, shank)? 
• What's the resizing or return policy if it doesn't fit or isn't right? 

A jeweler confident in their work answers all four plainly. 

Handcrafted in Tombstone, Arizona 

DeSantis Jewelry has been making gemstone rings, cross pendants, and other fine jewelry in-house for more than three decades, working from our studio in Tombstone, Arizona. If you're choosing a piece for yourself or for someone whose taste you're still learning, or you want a custom design built from scratch, reach out to us directly — we're happy to walk through the details before you commit to anything.