Hufflepuff's gemstone?

This is a pretty simple question, but I'm stumped. I know Gryffindor is ruby, Ravenclaw is sapphire, and Slytherin is emerald, but there seems to be no official gemstone for Hufflepuff. Various online sources say it could be a yellow diamond, a yellow garnet, topaz, amber, or other things which I've never heard of (I don't know anything about stones). Any opinions? I mean, what sort of stone is both yellow and in the same league as rubies, sapphires, and emeralds?

I'm hedging on just going with topaz, but I don't know what its plural is...topazes? topaz stones? :confused:

I have always assumed the Hufflepuff's gemstone was a topaz. It seemed the most obvious thing, and as the other three stones are well known ones, it makes sene that the fourth would be also.
As for the plural, I looked it up and it is indeed topazes. Hope this helped you a little.

Thanks for the plural! The well-known gemstones thing is a good idea, and it definitely helps with my lack of mineral lore. :)

The only thing is, internet searches don't show topaz as yellow in particular--some are, but I actually came up with more images of blue topazes than yellow. Same with garnets; a lot of those are red...and I somehow feel like Hufflepuff wouldn't have diamonds. That leaves amber, which is always yellow and is pretty well known too, and even has medicinal purposes (according to some website). And I like its name better than topaz, for a Hufflepuff gemstone anyway. I guess the problem with amber is that I always think of the color "amber" as a darker yellow or orange, or even brown.

I am very indecisive...maybe I'll flip a Galleon.

I realise I'm a little late here, but I had some thoughts.

I had always thought that Hufflepuff's gemstone was topaz, but I did a bit of research and figured out, as you did, that topaz is not always yellow. In fact, it's not even usually yellow. Actually, it usually has no colour at all, and it can often be blue, pale green, orange, pink, or even red. So, while it could very well be Hufflepuff's gemstone, since it seems to fit in with emerald, ruby and sapphire quite well, I'm not entirely sure because the colouring is so varied.

As far as amber goes: it's basically fossilized tree sap, so it doesn't really seem to fall into the same category as emerald, ruby and sapphire. Also -- though apparently amber can be basically any shade of red/orange/yellow, and even green -- when I think of amber my first thought is definitely orange. Basically, I don't think it's likely. If you're stuck between topaz and amber, I'd go with topaz.

What about citrine, though? It's basically yellow/orange quartz, so it's always some shade of yellow as opposed to blue or green. According to a website I found, most citrine that's for sale is very dark, but that's because it's basically burnt purple quartz as opposed to natural citrine, which is usually pale yellow or pale orange. It's also a November birthstone along with topaz, which means it fits quite well with the other three house gemstones. My only issue is the value, since I've never thought of quartz as a very valuable gemstone at all, though citrine could very well be different.

Hope I could help! :)

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Originally Posted by Eleanor Lupin

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What about citrine, though? It's basically yellow/orange quartz, so it's always some shade of yellow as opposed to blue or green. According to a website I found, most citrine that's for sale is very dark, but that's because it's basically burnt purple quartz as opposed to natural citrine, which is usually pale yellow or pale orange. It's also a November birthstone along with topaz, which means it fits quite well with the other three house gemstones. My only issue is the value, since I've never thought of quartz as a very valuable gemstone at all, though citrine could very well be different.

Hope I could help! :)

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When I needed to come up with a stone for Hufflepuff, I looked at the citrine, too! I think it's a good choice, but I also thought it's value compared to the other houses might seem as yet another slap in the face of the Hufflepuffs, who don't get the respect they deserve! So I did a little more searching and discovered there aren't a lot of pure yellow gemstones. While unable to find a yellow stone to compare in value to rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, aside from yellow diamond, I decided on Yellow Tourmaline. While Tourmalines come in almost every color of the rainbow and can be found all over the world, the pure Yellow Tourmaline was said to be pretty rare, according to the site I found, and it is apparently difficult to find good sized ones, so while still not in the league of rubies, etc., they are more expensive than the citrine.

I also thought Tourmaline sounded exotic. :o Of course, yellow diamonds would be nice and fit in with the other houses in terms of value, but I liked the sound of Tourmaline.

Anyway, it's another option if you haven't already decided on one of the others.

Thank you both for your help! And hey, you're not late at all--it's just for this silly one-shot I want to eventually finish...

Okay, citrine makes me think of citrus fruits. ;D Don't know if that's a good or bad thing, as that includes lemons, but also limes and oranges. And tourmaline sounds good, except that I was hoping for something that's usually yellow...although I'm starting to suspect that I'll never find such a thing! Also, I hadn't previously never heard of either tourmaline or citrine...and I think Georgia's right that Hufflepuff's stone shouldn't be less well known than the other Houses' stones.

I think I will remain indecisive forever. Okay, no, actually, I think I will end up going with either tourmaline or topaz. Probably the latter, as even if it's not always yellow, people tend to imagine it as yellow...though I may change my mind again yet.

Thanks again!

I think you ought to keep in mind, too, that while we tend to give one color to a gem, most gems do come in varying colors. It is not necessarily the color that makes them the gem, but rather their makeup and shape. So don't hesitate to give Hufflepuff a gemstone that isn't always yellow. :)

I'm realise I'm coming a bit late, but I couldn't help myself.

How about the canary diamond? It's a yellow diamond that's very rare and therefore VERY expensive. There's one yellow diamond for every 10,000 white ones.

Cheers,