Brown Gemstones: A List of 15 Brown Gems

Brown, specifically potato brown, is in style this year. In 2021, people are loving the neutral versatility and comfort offered by brown clothing. But what about brown crystals and brown jewelry? Brown-colored gemstones are always in style, and brown stones have been around since the beginning of time!

Brown might make you think of not-so-pretty things: dirt, mud, sand, rotting food, bruised fruit… and we don’t have to explicitly say what else you might be thinking about when you hear the word “brown.”

But how about thinking about the color brown’s presence in nature? Brown isn’t just dirt; it’s trees, wood, and earth! It’s grounding — a source of life! Brown isn’t rotting food; it’s the color of so many delicious and rich foods filled with flavor and nutrients. It’s chocolate, brown sugar, baked beans, beef stew... coffee, hazelnuts, and maple syrup! Yum!

Like the grounding nature of the earth, brown symbolizes strength, stability, honesty, comfort, and reliability. Miners unearth brown crystals raw and uncut before they become precious gemstones! But, sometimes these brown stones are gorgeous as they are, in their earthy, natural states! Thus, brown is an excellent color for gemstones. These lovely traits are reflected in brown-colored gemstones, whether they’re brownish red gemstones, dark brown crystals, or light brown crystals. All of them are great healing stones as well. 

Ready to dive into all the lovely brown-colored gemstones, and their many hues and healing properties? Keep reading to be a pro at brown gemstone identification. By the time you’re finished, you’ll be able to list all the brown gem names by heart!

What are brown crystals called? They have many names! 

Here’s the brown gemstone list we’ll cover today:

• Tiger’s Eye

• Brown Tourmaline

• Brown Jasper

• Brown Golden Beryl

• Smoky Quartz

• Fire Agate

• Brown Zircon

• Brown Topaz

• Brown Moonstone

• Diaspore

• Brown Diamonds

• Brown Sphalerite

• Sillimanite Cat’s Eye

• Brown Aragonite

Before we tackle our list of brown crystals, let’s uncover brown gemstones meaning. 

What Do Brown Stones Mean?

Brown invokes feelings of reliability, security, groundedness, warmth, and honesty. Its simple hues offer comfort, and color many natural and nurturing aspects of life, including soil, wood, and earth. Think earth, fertility, and growth!

Brown stones offer many healing properties, as they help us feel at peace, relaxed, and connected with the earth and environment around us. Each brown crystal we’ll cover today offers these benefits and more, as each one has its own history and healing properties. 

Ready to jump in? Let’s start with the stone of protection. 

Tiger’s Eye

Tiger’s eye stones are chalcedony stones (varieties of quartz) showing simple chatoyancy, a characteristic featuring multiple streaks of light within the stone. You can find tiger’s eye stones in hues of golden brown, reddish-brown, blue, and blue-and-brown. The chatoyancy causes you to see different shades of colors depending on the angle you view the stone. 

These brown crystals are silky smooth, with a glass-like luster. The keyword? Glass-like. Tiger’s eye stones don’t break easily. With a Mohs hardness scale ranking of 6.5-7, these brown stones are relatively strong. 

Tiger’s eye symbolizes inner strength and protection! Ancient Egyptians believed tiger’s eye stones displayed divine visions. Ancient Romans even wore these brown crystals as protective amulets in battle. 

Healing properties for these brown crystals include:

• Toxic energy removal

• Mental roadblock dissolution

• Improved self-confidence

• Increased financial health

• Higher energy, metabolism, and sex drive

Connected to the root, solar plexus, and sacral chakras, these stones help people feel grounded and safe. If you’re a Gemini, Capricorn, or Leo, you get to call the Tiger’s Eye your zodiac stone. 

Sport your tiger’s eye on a pendant, bracelet, or ring to connect to your root chakra, or hold them while you meditate. Interested in finding more brown stones for strength and protection? Read on!

Brown Tourmaline

October’s birthstone, brown tourmaline comes in a couple of forms. Even commonly pink rubellite tourmaline gems sometimes have brown hues! The most common brown tourmaline is schorl, a sodium- and iron-rich species named after the old German village, Zschorlau. 

Another brown tourmaline variety is dravite, a sodium- and magnesium-rich variety named after the European Drava river locale. Sporting a 7-7.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, tourmaline is quite strong considering its glass-like appearance. 

Tourmaline offers many physical and spiritual healing properties, including:

• Improve nervous system function

• Better hand-eye coordination

• Increased empathy and acceptance

• Decreased anxiety and self-doubt

Tourmaline represents compassion, open-mindedness, and understanding. Ancient Africans used tourmaline to protect themselves from evil, and ancient Indians saw tourmaline as a tool for spiritual insight. 

Brown Jasper

If you’re wondering, “what healing crystals are brown,” jasper is an important stone to know. While jasper comes in many colors, the African variety is predominantly brown. Nicknamed the “Supreme Nurturer,” native Americans see brown jasper as otherworldly, protective tools for journeys into the divine. 

Brecciated jasper also comes in brown hues and is known as a great grounding stone, similar to the natural symbolism of the color brown. 

Both a March birthstone and Virgo zodiac stone, jasper offers Virgo-like grounding and protective properties to those who use it. A vital ancient and modern crystal healer, jasper connects to the roots and sacral chakras. They’re known as natural purifiers and offer protection from negative energy. 

Brown Golden Beryl

There are tons of different beryls, including emeralds and aquamarines. Made of beryllium, aluminum, silicon, and oxygen, beryl stones rank at a solid 7.5-8 on the Mohs hardness scale. 

The only brown variety is the golden beryl, sometimes called the brown golden beryl. This yellow-gold to brown crystal’s name is heliodor, though some gemologists classify golden beryl separately. The name "heliodor" is made up of two Greek words: helios, meaning “sun,” and doro, meaning “gift," joined to mean "gift from the sun."

Heliodor stones really are gifts from the sun, as they are known for boosting willpower and confidence! 

Fun fact: The darker the beryl, the more valuable the stone. So, the brown varieties are rare and valuable!

Smoky Quartz

Smoky quartz is a translucent, brown-to-black stone with dreamy hues resulting from irradiation. A clear stone, smoky quartz doesn’t usually have any inclusions. November’s birthstone, smoky quartz represents protection and strength and is connected to the ancient Earth goddess, Gaia. 

Ancient Chinese people used smoky quartz to prevent negative energy, and Celtic priests saw smoky quartz as sacred. 

Fittingly, smoky quartz connects to our root chakras, connecting our sacred connection between the Earth and the divine. Healing properties for smoky quartz include detoxification, eased headaches, decreased stress, and increased level-headedness. 

Next up: a brown stone showing rainbow colors from certain angles!

Fire Agate

Fire agate is known for displaying a rainbow of color, but brown is one predominant hue of the fiery stone. Many agates look different in color, but each one interacts with minerals like iron, titanium, chromium, and manganese to get their colorful hues. 

Fire agate sports a 6.5-7 ranking on the Mohs hardness scale, and its rainbow colors come from limonite inclusions. Native to Mexico, fire agate boasts prosperous healing properties, and crystal healers use it to invite wealth and good health into their lives. 

Agate might be your June birthstone if you’re a twin soul, as it is for all Gemini zodiacs.

Brown Garnet

Though known for its rich crimson variety, garnets come in many different colors, including brown! Hessonite garnets have a cinnamon-colored hue with gorgeous amber tones. January babies are lucky to call the garnet their birthstone. 

Historically, Anglo-Saxon noblemen decorated their weapons with garnets to enhance their strength in battle. Derived from the Latin granatum, which means seed, garnets reminded the Ancient Greeks of pomegranate seeds, representing passion and love. 

In healing, garnets are great for building up confidence, dispelling negative energy, and cleansing chakras. 

Brown Zircon

The December birthstone for Christmas babies, brown zircon is one of the oldest gemstones in the world. The Bible cites zircon as one of the first gems worn by Israel’s high priests. These days though, you can find zircon all over the world, including in:

• Tanzania

• China

• Cambodia

• Australia

• Madagascar

• Ukraine

• Canada

• USA

Untreated zircon stones often display hues of brownish-red and brownish-yellow, where we have our brown zircon. Unsurprisingly, brown zircon stones are linked to the root chakra and sport a 7.5 Mohs ranking to complement its grounding properties. 

Zircon is often associated with rebirth, spiritual enlightenment, and prosperity. If you’re after some healing, this brown crystal is a lovely choice. Brown zircon stones are known to help with:

• Respiratory issues like asthma

• Boosted self-confidence

• Sciatic nerves disorders

• Sense of purpose

Zircon isn’t the only stone supporting a stronger sense of purpose. Check out our next stone, the brown topaz. 

Brown Topaz

When you think of topaz, the blue and orange precious gemstone varieties might come to mind first. But there are some gorgeous brown topaz stones that deserve your love and attention!

Sherry topaz resembles sherry wine in color, with its yellow-brown tones. While most topaz stones are blue and orange, yellow and brown topaz stones have color centers, a defect allowing chromium to change a topaz stone’s color tone. Brown topaz is a common variety, so it’s not too expensive. 

These transparent gems boast lots of clarity, but pack a punch! With a Mohs hardness ranking of 8, topaz stones are up there when it comes to strength, almost at the diamond’s level!

A November birthstone, topaz has various origins and meanings. 19th century Russia saw the rise of the “imperial topaz,” owned only by the Czar’s family. Ancient Greeks and Egyptians associated topaz with their sun gods, likely because of the stone’s golden hues. Finally, Hindu cosmology associates topaz with the powerful god Jupiter and connects topaz with an overall sense of wisdom and long life. 

Wisdom and long life? Sign us up. Here are some more benefits and healing properties for topaz:

• Improved creativity

• Improved vision

• Eased chest pain

• Soothed nightmares

• Increased vitality and life span

• Increased focus and intuition

 Connected to the solar plexus chakra, topaz enhances your sense of self-awareness and charisma, similar to zircon’s benefit of an improved sense of purpose. 

Brown Moonstone

Moonstones are feldspar stones, fitting for brown stones symbolizing groundedness, as the Earth’s crust is composed of 41% feldspar! Moonstones contain sodium, potassium, aluminum, and silicate. Known for their centipede-like inclusions, these stones range in color as well as clarity, from transparent and translucent, to opaque. With a 6.5 rating on the Mohs scale, moonstones sometimes chip and crack. And that’s why you’ll want to take good care of them!

Our moonstones — brown specimens with smoky hues and champagne shades — mainly come from India. But moonstones, in general, come from all over the world. 

To find the moonstone meaning, all you need to do is stare at the celestial moon for a while. What feelings come up? Hope, harmony, inspiration? Moonstone means all of these things and helps people tune into their nurturing side. 

Moonstones connect well with the sacral and third eye chakras, which balance sexual energy and your connection with yourself, respectively. They’re also known to offer support in menstrual cramps, childbirth, and fertility. With rampant fertile and sexual energy, it’s no wonder moonstone’s birth month is also the bridal month!

If your birthday is in June, you could invite some romance in your bridal birthday month with moonstone as your birthstone!

Diaspore

Originating from the Greek word “diaspora,” diaspore means dispersion, a meaning stemming from the stone’s breakdown following its heating or placement in a fire. Most high-quality diaspore stones are in Turkey, but other varieties come from Norway, Russia, and South Africa. 

Diaspore comes in many different shades, including pale, blue-green, pink-brown, fair-brown, and fair-green. These stones have a 6.5-7 Mohs hardness ranking and appear transparent to translucent. 

These brown stones symbolize intuitive power and support mental power, inspiration, and emotional attunement. 

Brown Diamonds

Also known as champagne diamonds and chocolate diamonds, brown diamonds have a sparkling brown shade, resulting from their formation. Many jewelers use brown diamonds as a budget-friendly alternative to white diamonds. 

Brown diamonds inspire growth and wealth. What are brown stones good for? If we’re talking about brown diamonds — almost everything! Naturally, they have strong emotional healing properties to match their meaning, including:

• Boosted energy

• Detoxification

• Reduced allergies

• Decreased lightheadedness

• Improved eyesight

Genuine chocolate diamonds are actually quite rare, and common varieties on the market are usually synthetic. If your birthday is in April, celebrate the chocolate diamond as your birthstone as a departure from the traditional white diamond!

Brown Sphalerite

You might know brown sphalerite as a silver cluster of crystals, but you can also find them in black, yellow, green, and brown hues! While you can find sphalerite worldwide, the highest-quality specimens come from Mexico, Switzerland, New Jersey, and Morocco.

Sphalerite ranks a low 3.5-4 on the Mohs hardness scale, but don’t be fooled! These brownish-red stones offer spiritual and emotional strength and are associated with hard work, dedication, and belief in oneself. Connecting to your sacral, root, and solar plexus chakras, sphalerite has great healing properties, including:

• Increased energy

• Improved vitality

• Heightened drive and focus

Therefore, it’s no coincidence much of the world’s zinc, an immune-boosting mineral, is sourced from sphalerite!

Sillimanite Cat’s Eye

Sillimanite cat’s eye gets its name from the long silver inclusion running through the brown stone’s body, resembling a sharp cat’s eye. 

These brown stones rank a 6-7 on the Mohs scale and are reasonably priced. They make a great budget splurge for a new piece of jewelry. 

The sillimanite cat’s eye inspires leadership and strength — a great stone to have on hand if you’re an aspiring politician, police officer, or aspire for any other position of power. Natural leaders will appreciate this cat’s eye’s ability to help with:

• Self-awareness

• Mental stability

• Balance of emotions and rationale

• Calming frustration

• Emotional healing

Brown Aragonite

Ever felt a seashell on the beach? The material of seashells is the same material in brown aragonite, little brown stones that channel lots of grounding energy. A form of calcium carbonate, brown aragonite has a Mohs ranking of 3.5-4 — a total softy!

Aragonite brown crystals are peachy brown and brownish red stones found in Spain, Morocco, and Peru. As connectors to the root and sacral chakras, it makes sense for brown aragonite to be zodiac stones for the earth signs: Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn. 

These brown crystals offer many benefits and healing properties, including:

• Multi-tasking

• Open-mindedness

• Personal growth and self-balance

• Overcoming fear of water

And that rounds out our list of brown-colored gemstones! 

Ready to Beam with Brown Gemstones? 

As you can see, there’s a brown gemstone for everyone on this list. Brown stones embody the earthy soil from which they came and evoke grounding properties to wearers. While other colored gemstones might catch eyes quicker, brown continues to see a resurgence in style trends, making it a lovely addition to your gemstone or jewelry collection. 

Ready to channel the grounding, healing energy of brown stones?

Head straight to our collection of earthy brown gemstones today!