Ultimate List of 56 Yellow Gemstones and Crystals

Many people adore yellow gemstones. They’re vibrant, sunny, and lively, often possessing a sense of energy and joy that makes them highly appealing for jewelry or collections. Along with the many well-known yellow stones, there is a slew of lesser-known yellow gems that are incredibly striking, making them excellent choices for jewelry wearers or collectors that want to branch out.

As with other colours of gemstones, yellow gems have unique meanings and are thought to provide a variety of benefits. Dive into reading this guide because it unveils 56 yellow gemstones and crystals, each with its unique charm and significance.

Yellow Gemstones Meaning

While every yellow gemstone can have a unique meaning, the vibrant hue is most commonly associated with happiness, energy, and warmth. Largely, it’s because the vibrant yellow color is reminiscent of the sun, a critical life source.

Yellow gemstones can also symbolize power, confidence, and inner strength. It’s also associated with the solar plexus chakra, which can represent new beginnings, intellect, youthfulness, and connection. The solar plexus chakra is seen as governing self-esteem, so yellow is often viewed as a way to boost self-confidence.

Yellow Crystal Benefits

Yellow crystals are usually associated with vigour, so many believe the stone can assist people struggling with low energy. Additionally, its bright, sunny colour is thought to promote mental clarity and can provide a sense of peace during times of stress or when facing challenges.

The colour yellow is also broadly considered a happy hue, so some believe it can help with depression. Others think yellow gemstones can help in the battle against blood pressure or digestive issues and may also assist those facing reproductive challenges. However, there’s no scientific proof that gemstones of any kind can treat or prevent a health condition, so seek care from a medical professional if you have any type of ailment.

Frequently Asked Questions About Yellow Stones

What Is the Rarest Yellow Stone?

While it’s hard to determine which yellow gemstone is genuinely the rarest, many people believe that yellow taaffeite fits the bill.

Taaffeite is one of the scarcest mineral species on the planet overall. Additionally, the gemstone is more often pink, mauve, or lavender. It’s highly uncommon for taaffeite to be yellow, but it can occur. As a result, the yellow gem that is the rarest colour of an already highly scarce stone, so there’s a decent chance it’s the rarest yellow gemstone in the world.

Is There Yellow Amethyst?

Technically, there’s no such thing as yellow amethyst. The purple colouring of amethyst is a defining characteristic of the stone. As a result, if the gem isn’t a shade of purple, it can’t be classified as amethyst.

However, amethyst is a type of quartz that gets its purple colouring from trace minerals, impurities, or irradiation. There’s also a yellow quartz variant, which is known as citrine. Citrine has a slightly different composition than amethyst, with unique impurities that lead to a yellow hue. As a result, citrine is functionally a yellow amethyst, even if it isn’t formally classified as such.

What Does a Yellow Stone Represent?

Yellow stones are often considered representative of the sun. They’re generally regarded as happy stones that promote optimism, energy, and confidence. At times, yellow gemstones are also thought to represent prosperity and courage.

What Is a Yellow Stone That Looks Like a Diamond?

Several yellow stones can resemble a diamond when it comes to cut and clarity, such as yellow sapphires and topaz. Plus, while rare, there are yellow diamonds. Diamonds can take on a yellow hue when nitrogen impurities mix into the carbon structure, modifying how light moves through the diamond and creating the appearance of a yellow tint.

What Gemstones Are Yellow?

Citrine

Citrine is a quartz variety that comes in shades of yellow, orange, and brown. Iron impurities typically cause the colouring, which can range from subtle to vibrant. Since citrine is quartz, it’s a highly durable stone that works well in jewelry. Citrine is also the November birthstone, which boosts its popularity.

Chrysoberyl

Chrysoberyl is a transparent to translucent gemstone, usually yellow with a slight green or earthy tint. When it exhibits colour-shifting properties, it’s formally classified as alexandrite. However, these can also display chatoyancy. While they’re more commonly faceted, stones with chatoyancy may be turned into cabochons to highlight that optical effect.

Golden Barite

Golden barite is a barium sulphate mineral known for its golden-yellow hue and excellent lustre. It can form crystal clusters, making it a popular collector’s stone in its natural state. Since it’s softer – rating between a 3.5 and 4 on the Mohs hardness scale – it’s easy to shape and polish. However, it does make it best for only occasional wear.

Golden Beryl

Golden beryl was first discovered in Namibia in 1913, and it gets its colouring from iron impurities. The gemstone is typically translucent to transparent, and high-quality versions are often faceted to showcase their brilliance. Rating between 7.5 and 8 on the Mohs hardness scale, golden beryl is highly suited to jewelry since it’s durable.

Golden South Sea Pearls

One of the rarer pearl varieties, golden south sea pearls naturally occur in Pinctada maxima oysters in the seas near Indonesia and The Philippines. They’re known for their distinct golden colouring and excellent luminosity, giving them a sense of warmth and elegance.

Golden Sphalerite

Sphalerite commonly has a glass-like appearance and can come in a wide array of colours. Crystals in the yellow-to-orange spectrum are frequently referred to as golden sphalerite. Colour segmentation can also occur in these translucent to transparent stones, causing one part to be distinctly yellow when another area is definitively orange of another hue.

Legrandite

Legrandite is a highly popular yellow gemstone for collections. Its lemony hue is incredibly striking, but it can be splotchy and form in crystal groupings. Generally, the stone is translucent, though transparent specimens have occurred. It’s rarely used in jewelry because it’s soft, coming in at only a 4.5 on the Mohs hardness scale.

Libyan Desert Glass

Libyan desert glass is potentially an impactite – meaning was either created or modified by a meteor strike – but that point is often debated. Generally, this yellow stone comprises lechatelierite, a nearly pure silica glass. It’s primarily found in Egypt near the Libyan border, and pieces have been found in historical artifacts, including items from King Tutt’s burial chamber.

Yellow Agate

Agate is a translucent type of chalcedony that comes in various colours, including shades of yellow. Pieces usually exhibit distinct banding, with yellow segments paired with other hues, such as white. While yellow is a naturally-occurring variant, some agate is dyed to achieve stronger coloration, so be wary of incredibly bright colours.

Yellow Apatite

Also referred to as gold or golden apatite, yellow apatite is a rarer variety of apatite, a phosphate mineral that comes in many hues, with most leaning green. It’s typically translucent to transparent with a glassy lustre, and some pieces can fluoresce orangish yellow when exposed to shortwave UV light.

Yellow Andalusite

Andalusite is a translucent to transparent gemstone that can come in shades of earthy yellow but may also be reddish, orange, or green. Faceted yellow andalusite often exhibits pleochroism, showing flickers of hues like red or green depending on lighting and the viewing angle. Generally, yellow andalusite works well for jewelry since it’s durable, rating at a 7.5 on the Mohs hardness scale.

Yellow Aventurine

Yellow aventurine is a translucent quartz variety. While aventurine is more commonly green, this version has a yellowish hue due to the presence of iron minerals. It is characterized by its vitreous lustre and comes in at a 7 on the Mohs scale, so it’s durable. Yellow aventurine often displays a faint chatoyancy effect, known as aventurescence, causing it to shimmer due to reflective minerals within the stone.

Yellow Calcite

Also referred to as honey calcite when its colour is more golden, yellow calcite is a yellow-hued opaque stone that’s relatively soft, scoring a 3 to 4 on the Mohs hardness scale. It’s a rarer variety of calcite, a calcium carbonate mineral, that often forms in crystal clusters, making it popular for collections.

Yellow Chalcedony

Chalcedony is a silica mineral that comes in various hues, including yellow. Typically, it’s semitransparent to translucent, and its natural lustre is usually a bit waxy. However, yellow chalcedony readily accepts a polish, and that can give it a glass-like shine.

Yellow (Lemon) Chrysoprase

While chrysoprase is typically a brighter green, yellow chrysoprase – also known as citron or lemon chrysoprase – does occur. These stones are usually yellow but have a slight green tint, and the presence of magnesium often causes the colour. The colouring can be unstable, as chrysoprase can fade due to high heat or prolonged sunlight exposure.

Yellow Danburite

Danburite is a calcium boron silicate mineral that can come in several colours, including yellow. It can form in crystal clusters and often has a slightly creamy appearance in its natural state. Since it scores a 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, yellow danburite is potentially suitable for jewelry, including pieces for everyday wear.

Yellow Diamond

Yellow diamonds occur when nitrogen is present throughout the crystal structure of a diamond. Versions with strong yellow colouring are often referred to as canary diamonds. While they are naturally occurring, yellow diamonds are generally considered rare and one of the most expensive yellow gemstone options on the market. They’re also highly popular due to their high transparency and brilliance, making them valuable.

Yellow Fluorite

Fluorite naturally occurs in a variety of colours, including yellow. It’s a softer stone, rating between a 4 and 4.5 on the Mohs hardness scale. Typically, yellow fluorite is translucent, though it can have a slightly powdery appearance. Banding can also occur, causing a piece of yellow fluorite to have stopes in deeper, earthy hues, like brown.

Yellow Garnet (Topazolite, Hessonite, and Mali Garnet)

When people think of garnets, they typically envision a red hue. However, there are yellow garnets, and due to their transparency and durability, they work well for jewelry. Topazolite is a yellow version of the andradite garnet and often looks similar to yellow topaz. Hessonite is usually a golden orange. Mali Garnet is a grossular garnet variety that’s highly rare and exhibits vibrant yellow colouring that can show some green flickers when properly faceted.

Yellow Grossular Garnet

As mentioned above, the Mali Garnet is a type of yellow grossular garnet. However, other grossular garnets can also be yellow. Hessonite is also a grossular garnet, and it’s typically orange, but some lighter versions have honey-yellow colouring. The Leuco garnet is usually colourless, resembling a diamond, but it can also have a gentle yellow tint, making it striking but subtly coloured.

Yellow Heliodor

Heliodor is a beryl variety known for its yellow coloring, which sometimes leans slightly green. It’s technically a tradename for golden beryl that originates from Namibia, but it’s now used to describe a wide array of gem-quality golden beryl stones that have slightly weaker colour than those classified as golden beryl.

Yellow Helvine

Also known as helvite, helvine is a manganese-containing silicate mineral that can come in shades of yellow-green, golden yellow, or golden brown, as well as red. In its natural state, it can have a resinous lustre. However, it can look glassy, too. It is rated 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, so it isn’t overly soft.

Yellow Hessonite Garnet

The hessonite garnet is usually known for its orange colouring. However, some stones are closer to golden yellow. Yellow hessonite garnet is particularly well-suited to jewelry making due to its durability, and it works well for pieces worn daily. Its high transparency also gives it an excellent lustre.

Yellow Hiddenite

Hiddenite is a transparent spodumene variety sometimes used in jewelry as a gemstone. Typically, the stone is green, ranging from pale to a striking emerald hue. However, some versions lean into yellow territory. When faceted, it may cause the stone to look pale yellow from one angle and appear spring green from another, making the gem quite striking.

Yellow Jade

Yellow jade is any type of jade – including jadeite or nephrite – with yellow colouring instead of the classic green. It’s classically opaque or slightly translucent, and the stones are highly durable, making them suitable for fine jewelry too. However, some pieces marketed as yellow jade aren’t jade. Instead, they’re cloudy quartz varieties with yellow colouring.

Yellow Jasper

Jasper is a type of opaque chalcedony that can come in various colours, including yellow. Usually, the hue is slightly earthy, and you may see bands or veins of brown or white. Noreena Jasper is a yellow variety that is technically silicified mudstone that originates in Western Australia. Carrasite Jasper comes from the Owyhee Mountains in the United States and can have yellowish-green sections. Bumblebee Jasper is usually a vibrant yellow with gray, white, or near-black sections. Mookaite Jasper usually has earthy yellow segments mixed with areas closer to mahogany.

Yellow Kornerupine

Kornerupine is a gemstone that can come in several colours, including shades of yellow. It’s usually translucent to transparent, has a moderate fire, and it’s highly rare. Plus, it’s desirable due to its unique trichroic pleochroism, and some pieces also exhibit the cat’s eye effect due to rutile or graphite fibres in the stone.

Yellow Kunzite

Yellow kunzite is a spodumene variety that’s a relatively recent discovery, only first being recognized in the 1900s. The stone has an incredibly striking colour, often near lemon, though some are paler. It’s usually highly transparent and offers a vitreous lustre.

Yellow Kyanite

Kyanite is a translucent stone – technically an aluminosilicate mineral –most widely known for its blue colouring. However, yellow kyanite does occur, and it can come in bright shades that are usually a touch earthy or tinged green.

Yellow Labradorite

Yellow labradorite is a feldspar mineral primarily found in North America, including Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Usually, the hue is either a true yellow or slightly earthy, leaning into golden territory. Since it’s a 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, it’s generally easy to cut and facet.

Yellow Lepidolite

Technically, yellow lepidolite is a type of mica that features aluminum, potassium, and lithium in its composition. Yellow is one of the rarer colours of lepidolite, and the stones usually range from translucent to transparent. Usually, versions found in jewelry are imbued with quartz, making up for the lower natural durability of lepidolite.

Yellow Londonite

Londonite is a rare translucent to transparent gemstone only found in specific areas in Madagascar. It’s rarely faceted, but it can have a striking yellow colouring and an excellent, glassy lustre. It’s also highly durable, rating nearly 8 on the Mohs hardness scale.

Yellow (Lemon) Quartz

Lemon quartz – or yellow quartz – is a variety of heat-treated or irradiated amethyst that causes the colour to shift toward a golden or lemony hue. The stones are quite durable, as is true of all quartz varieties. It’s also typically transparent and works well for cabochons and faceted stones.

Yellow Moonstone

Also referred to as golden moonstone, yellow moonstone is a yellow-hued variety of moonstone, a feldspar mineral. It typically exhibits adularescence, a type of play of colour that gives the gem a soft glow that appears to originate from within. Usually, yellow moonstones are turned into cabochons to highlight the adularescence.

Yellow Muscovite

Muscovite belongs to the mica group. While it’s more commonly white or silvery, yellow muscovite does naturally occur. Typically, the stone is translucent, and yellow versions have a slight earthy tint to their colouring as if they were gently stained by tea.

Yellow Obsidian

Obsidian is a type of naturally-occurring glass – caused by volcanic activity – that’s typically black. Yellow Obsidian is a similar type of glass, but most are human-made. The colour is typically a light yellow, and it offers excellent transparency. However, some yellow obsidian is naturally formed, though it’s highly rare and isn’t usually crystal clear. Macusanite Obsidian is a prime example, as it’s usually a pale yellow.

Yellow Onyx

Onyx is a type of chalcedony that’s usually black or white. However, there are yellow varieties, and those typically occur due to iron or other impurities. Generally, yellow onyx is semi-translucent to translucent, and it’s popular for jewelry due to its reasonable durability and the intriguing patterns that can form in the stone.

Yellow Opal

Opals can come in a variety of colours, including yellow. The shades of yellow opal usually range from just a slight tinge to deep gold. The stones are opaque to translucent but can exhibit opalescence, causing them to display a gentle glow and show other colours depending on lighting and viewing angle.

Yellow Orthoclase

Yellow orthoclase generally comes from Madagascar, and it’s a transparent yellow version of sanidine, usually ranging from light champagne to a mid-toned yellow. The reason it’s referred to as yellow orthoclase is that it was originally believed to be orthoclase. While further analysis showed it was sanidine, the name already stuck.

Yellow Prehnite

Prehnite can come in shades of green, blue-green, and yellow, and it’s even transparent at times, though that’s rare. Versions that are yellow-green and translucent are often faceted to highlight the striking colouring, though yellow prehnite is also widely used for cabochons. Cabochons are particularly popular for some specimens, as yellow prehnite can exhibit a cat’s eye effect.

Yellow Sapphire

Yellow sapphire is part of the corundum family of minerals, and it can range in colour from lemon to honey due to the presence of iron or titanium. Yellow sapphires are highly durable, making them suitable for jewelry pieces worn daily. Since yellow sapphire is typically transparent, faceting the stone is most common.

Yellow Scapolite

Scapolite is known for excellent transparency, and it comes in a variety of colours. Yellow scapolite can be a relatively true yellow, though it may also lean slightly green or be a little earthy, making it appear golden. Yellow scapolite is usually faceted for jewelry to showcase its transparency and fire.

Yellow Selenite

Yellow selenite is part of the gypsum family and can form in striking crystal clusters. The colour is usually lemony or a bit golden, and the stones are commonly transparent, with some being closer to translucent. Since it can have inclusions, it’s often turned into beads or cabochons, though some high-quality pieces are sometimes faceted.

Yellow Serpentine

Yellow serpentine is a type of silicate mineral, and it’s typically a bit on the softer side, coming in anywhere from a 3 to a 6 on the Mohs hardness scale. Overall, yellow serpentine is usually opaque and typically has a slightly earthy or green tinge to its colouring. Mottling, banding, or other patterning is also common, usually in sections ranging from light gray to deep gray or green.

Yellow Sillimanite

Sillimanite comes in three colours, including yellow. Yellow sillimanite is rare and difficult to cut, so it’s not widely seen in jewelry. The stone can range from opaque to transparent. With some transparent pieces, the gemstone contains thin fibres, giving it a silky look when faceted.

Yellow Smithsonite

Smithsonite is a near-opaque to translucent gem that can come in various colours. When cadmium is present, it often ends up a striking yellow. Yellow smithsonite is a softer stone, measuring between 4 and 5 on the Mohs hardness scale. As a result, it’s more commonly treated as a collector’s stone instead of used for jewelry.

Yellow Sphalerite

Yellow sphalerite – also referred to as golden sphalerite – is a yellow-orange gemstone with an earthy tinge. Iron usually plays a role in the colouring, with higher amounts of iron making the stone darker. The stone is generally translucent to transparent and often has a resinous to diamond-like lustre. The colouring can also be slightly mottled, causing the gem to exhibit several hues when faceted.

Yellow Sphene

Sphene is a calcium-titanium silicate mineral. It can come in a variety of shades, including yellow. Generally, sphene is known for a fire that rivals diamonds, and some specimens also exhibit pleochroism. One issue is that sphene is relatively soft, only rating 5 to 5.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, so it’s not ideal for everyday wear.

Yellow Spinel

Spinel – an oxide mineral – comes in a variety of colours. When iron or magnesium is present, it can cause a yellow hue. Yellow spinel is highly durable, often rating near an 8 on the Mohs hardness scale. Additionally, it has high clarity and transparency and has a brilliance not unlike what you find in ruby or sapphire.

Yellow (Honey) Topaz

Yellow topaz – also known as honey topaz – offers excellent fire and high transparency, making it suitable for faceting. The exact shade is usually a touch warm or earthy, creating a sense of depth. Topaz is also known for durability, so it’s suitable for everyday wear.

Yellow Tourmaline

Tourmaline comes in many colours, including yellow tourmalines. Generally, yellow tourmaline is any tourmaline gemstone ranging from delicate champagne to vibrant gold, with particularly bright versions often called canary tourmaline. Many are faceted for jewelry, as they’re durable stones. However, some may become cabochons if they have the cat’s eye effect.

Yellow Turquoise

While yellow turquoise is genuine stone, it’s not technically turquoise. Instead, it’s typically jasper or serpentine with a hematite matrix that resembles the patterns you see in turquoise. Additionally, yellow turquoise is usually a dyed stone, allowing it to achieve a richer yellow colouring.

Yellow Vesuvianite

Also known as idocrase, vesuvianite is a gemstone that forms in crystals, and it comes in several colours, with yellow being one variety. Typically, the yellow versions are a bit earthy or are tinged green. The stone usually falls between 6.5 and 7 on the Mohs hardness scale, so it’s reasonably durable. They also vary from translucent to transparent and can have a glassy or oily lustre.

Yellow Wulfenite

Yellow wulfenite is usually translucent and can range from bright yellow to orange-yellow. Generally, it’s resinous or waxy, and it’s incredibly soft, usually only scoring a 3 on the Mohs hardness scale. As a result, it’s not widely used in jewelry. Instead, crystal formations are often collector’s pieces.

Yellow Zircon

With yellow zircon, you get a durable stone that ranges in colour from champagne to strong yellow, potentially with a golden tinge. Yellow Zircon is traditionally transparent, so it works well for faceting. It is usually a 7.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, so it’s durable enough for daily wear.

Yellow Zoisite

Zoisite is a class of minerals with several varieties. Yellow zoisite is a rarer version, and it’s occasionally referred to as yellow tanzanite since tanzanite is also a zoisite mineral. Typically, the yellow colouring is lighter and may lean slightly green. Yellow zoisite often has strong transparency and clarity and is durable enough to work well in jewelry.