You've never seen anything quite like me before, have you? This is because I'm unique to Pets'n'Friends. You won't find me anywhere else, and even here I'm fabulously rare.

I'm a jasper, the most common precious stone in the currency range, but not the least beautiful. Even though I do say so myself!

I'm a lustrous blue sapphire, cabochon cut. I do have a few visible inclusions, but they just give me character, don't you think?

I'm a smooth pale grey chalcedony, one of the many forms of agate. I'd quite like to be in a pendant one day.

I'm an emerald. Here's something I bet you didn't know about me: the Emperor Nero was short-sighted, so he used one of my relatives as a lens to watch the gladiators. I wonder if he thought all gladiators were green?

There are many different types of onyx, but I'm the black one - cool and sophisticated. You'll often find me in men's signet rings.

No, I'm not a ruby, though I'm often mistaken for one. I'm a carnelian. Don't you think I'm handsome?

I'm a beautiful leaf-green peridot. Lighter and yellower in tone than the emerald, I like to remind people of the springtime.

You may have met my cousin, the golden yellow beryl. I don't look quite so dramatic, but I'm still well worth adding to your collection.

I'm a beryl, the same chemical composition as an emerald but a lovely golden yellow. An unusual gem, you don't often see me in jewellery. I wonder why not?

I'm a topaz. My relatives come in a whole spectrum of colours, from browns, oranges and yellows to hot pinks. I'm one of the more unusual ones in that I am a lovely pale grey with barely a hint of yellow.

I'm a turquoise, and what I may lack in transparency I make up in smoothness and lustre. Please don't confuse me with a push button - I'm much prettier than that!

I'm a jacinth, and I can be found in several different shades in the red/orange part of the spectrum. Did you know that my name is related to the word 'hyacinth'? I don't understand that. I mean, do I look like a hyacinth to you?

I'm an amethyst, one of the most valuable of the semi-precious stones. As you see, I'm transparent and richly coloured, but some of my relatives have quartzy white inclusions. It doesn't matter. Frankly we're all gorgeous, darlings!

I am a most excellent piece of jade all the way from China. As the Chinese discovered many hundreds of years ago, I am not only beautiful but useful; I can be made into vases, fans and other items, not just jewellery.

I'm an opal. In Shakespeare's time I was considered unlucky, a symbol of inconstancy, because of the way my colours change at different angles. Actually, though, I'm a friendly little gem who likes nothing better than to delight you with my subtly pretty colours.

I am malachite, a form of copper ore; it is the copper that gives me my distinctive green colour (just like Mr Spock's blood). If you like, I can go into a long technical explanation about how my beautiful bands form. Yes, I'm jewellery for geeks and very proud of it!

There's only one place in the world you'll find me, and that is Derbyshire in England (where I am quite plentiful). I'm often banded with yellow, hence my name; it comes from the French 'bleu jaune', meaning 'blue yellow'.

I'm azurite, one of the more unusual semi-precious stones. I'll even double as a planet for you, just in case you don't have enough to choose from!

I'm iolite, a beautiful dark blue gem. Don't you think I would look good alternated with sapphires in a necklace?