Gemstones and the environment share an intrinsic relationship. Gemstones themselves are a product of temporary geological conditions and environments. They can be found on earth’s seven continents. They can be found in primary or secondary deposits, at the bottom of seas and on the top of mountains. The combinations of magmatism, metamorphism, and sedimentation have given us the treasures that we, for millennia, have valued as gems. The forces of tectonics and erosion have brought these to the surface, and within reach of humans. Humanity’s consumption of these precious minerals and the drive to extract them from the lithosphere has grown tremendously in recent times. There are many reasons for this voracious pursuit of gemiferous resources and this pursuit has had both beneficial and deleterious impacts. The extraction, trade, and consumption of gemstones affect the natural environment that surrounds us and us directly as humans, in multiple ways. This article seeks to explore the complex and dynamic linkages between gemstones and the fragile ecologies from which they are extracted. There is an imperative need for the industry to examine the social and environmental responsibilities that come with the production, trade, and consumption of colored gemstones. There has been a lamentable lack of proactive progress with respect to the mitigation of factors that degrade vulnerable regional environments. The complex and fragmented nature of gemstone supply chains has long meant that inaction has been the norm. This is, specifically in regards to environmental concerns, not necessary. Many of the ecological problems associated with the world of mining can be overcome by designing