Jewelry is an ancient form of adornment that has been used by people throughout the world for thousands of years. From simple beads and pendants to intricate necklaces and bracelets, jewelry is a way to express personal style and add a touch of elegance to any outfit. Jewelry can be made from a variety of materials, including precious metals, gems, and synthetic materials, and it can range in value from a few dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Jewelry trivia questions are a fun way to test your knowledge of this fascinating subject. Whether you are a jewelry enthusiast, a collector, or simply someone who appreciates the beauty of well-crafted jewelry, these questions offer a great opportunity to learn more about the history, styles, and techniques of jewelry-making.
Here are some examples of jewelry trivia questions: What are the different types of precious metals used in jewelry-making? What are the different types of gems and how are they valued? What is the difference between gold-plating and gold-filled jewelry? How do you identify an authentic piece of antique jewelry? What are the different techniques used in jewelry-making and how do they differ? These questions and others like them will help you expand your understanding of the jewelry industry and the art of jewelry-making.
127 Jewelry Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2024)
- What is the word used for the fractional measure of purity for gold alloys? As adopted by U.S. federal law, this is measured in parts fine per 24 parts whole.
Answer: Karat
- It's the name of a gemstone associated with the month of July, the title of a song by British band "Kaiser Chiefs," and the name of a programming language for developers. What is it?
Answer: Ruby
- The Nike San Francisco Women's Half Marathon features a hilly course ending with tuxedoed firefighters awarding finishers their medals in the signature blue box of what jewelers?
Answer: Tiffany & Co.
- What variety of quartz, with chemical formula SiO2, is pink and seems to be named after a red flower with prickly stems?
Answer: Rose quartz
- Typically, there are four gemstones that are considered "precious." Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and what fourth stone?
Answer: Emeralds
- When you hear it, you might think of antiques or fine jewelry, but which term also applies when you’re evaluating a property to figure out its fair market value? (Hint: An insurance company will also require one before they agree to cover a claim for any damage)
Answer: Appraisal
- According to Brides.com, the 13th-most-expensive celebrity engagement ring of all time is a 7-carat, $2.5 million dollar beauty given to Blake Lively by what "Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place" star?
Answer: Ryan Reynolds
- The 4 Cs of diamond inspection are: clarity, color, carat, and what?
Answer: Cut
- What gemstone is calcium carbonate in minute crystallized form, recovered from the soft tissue of a mollusk or other animal? It is associated with the month of June.
Answer: Pearl
- Tanzanite is a blue and violet mineral appropriately found exclusively in what East African country, known for its vast wilderness areas in places like Kilimanjaro National Park?
Answer: Tanzania
- In the early 2000s, you probably sported what piece of jelly jewelry on your forearm (specifically, a yellow one that said “Livestrong”)?
Answer: Bracelet
- Which blue-green beryl family gem gets its name from the Latin words for “water” and “of the sea?” (Hint: It’s also the birthstone for March)
Answer: Aquamarine
- If you’ve reached your 20th anniversary and are the envy of your coupled peers, it makes sense that you’d exchange which green gem to mark the occasion?
Answer: Emerald
- Before it was placed in its current home atop the Washington Monument, the pointed aluminum top of the famous obelisk had a "pop-up" two-day display at what famous NYC luxury jewelry store?
Answer: Tiffany's
- What yellow fossilized tree resin with a yellow-ish tint is often used in decorative jewelry? Mosquitoes trapped in it were the key to cloning dinosaurs in the movie “Jurassic Park.”
Answer: Amber
- According to Hemming Jewelers, Dana Dane's 1987 rap "Nightmare" dropped the first use of what popular term for jewelry?
Answer: Bling
- What “L” calcium-enriched feldspar mineral is named after the Canadian province, often associated with Newfoundland, that it was discovered in? The mineral also sounds like it was named after a popular breed of retriever dog.
Answer: Labradorite
- Natural pearls are actually very hard to come by—as few as 1 in 10,000 of which kind of wild mollusk will have a pearl inside?
Answer: Oyster
- Despite having less than 2,000 people living there, the Australian town of Coober Pedy is considered the "world capital" of what gemstone, the birthstone of October?
Answer: Opal
- Talc is a "1" and Diamond is a "10" on what scale used to measure the hardness of minerals?
Answer: Mohs Scale
- Which type of quartz is named after a tasty red fruit due to the coloring it has from seed-like specks of inclusions in the pink gem?
Answer: Strawberry
- What Austrian glass and jewelry company gives their name to the x Nike Air Force 1 Low sneakers, with little crystals embedded in white or black shoes?
Answer: Swarovski
- Sometimes called the "fire of the desert," what is the national gemstone of Australia?
Answer: Opal
- The Capitol in Lansing features 19 custom-designed chandeliers composed of copper, iron, and pewter weighing nearly 1,000 lbs each. What renowned jewelry maker made these fixtures?
Answer: Tiffany's
- Most commonly associated with the Russian royal family, a series of jeweled items created by the House of Fabergé firm resemble, and thus are named for, which other naturally produced object?
Answer: Eggs
- Which gemstone, one of the 'cardinal gems', is traditionally given as a gift on and used to represent a 40th wedding anniversary?
Answer: Ruby
- What gemstone is a hydrated amorphous form of silica and has types such as Fire, Black and Boulder? It is the birthstone for the month of October and a precious one of these often displays iridescence.
Answer: Opal
- Also the name of Swarthmore College's sports teams, what deep-red silicate mineral is the birthstone for January? The mineral is a homophone with a basketballer-turned-actor.
Answer: Garnet
- John Wesley Huddleston was the first person to find what precious stone in the jewel-rich crater near Murfreesboro, AR?
Answer: Diamond
- What French jeweler is famous for its "menagerie" animal pieces, including an onyx-and-diamond bracelet shaped like a panther that was owned by Wallis Simpson?
Answer: Cartier
- Inspired by the real-life Hope Diamond, what is the name of the fictional blue diamond necklace worn by Kate Winslet's character in the 1997 movie "Titanic?"
Answer: Heart of the Ocean
- The Star of Adam, the Black Star of Queensland, and the Star of India, are the three largest known examples of what precious gemstone, which is generally blue in color?
Answer: Sapphire
- The Color Bar Experience is an in-store offering of what jeweler whose namesake founder started it out of her Austin home in 2002?
Answer: Kendra Scott
- What collective name is given the gemstones sapphire, ruby, emerald, amethyst and diamond, traditionally considered the most precious? In mathematics, this name is used for numbers that denote a quantity, in contrast to ordinal numbers.
Answer: Cardinal
- Discovered in 1905 in South Africa and named after the chairman of the mine in which it was found, what is the name of the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever discovered?
Answer: Cullinan Diamond
- What “C” gemstone is a brownish-red semi-precious gemstone, similar to Sard? It is a variety of chalcedony with chemical formula SiO2.
Answer: Carnelian
- Emeralds and aquamarines are common forms of what mineral whose chemical formula is Be3Al2Si6O18?
Answer: Beryl
- Also called a talisman in earlier seasons, what piece of jewelry, awarded to the winner of an individual immunity challenge, means that a "Survivor" contestant who wears it cannot be eliminated in that week's Tribal Council?
Answer: Necklace
- Which commonly red gemstone consisting of silica is called “yashp” in Persian and is one of the traditional birthstones for March?
Answer: Jasper
- What “T” precious gem is a crystalline boron silicate mineral? It comes in a variety of colors and is associated with October.
Answer: Tourmaline
- What “O” precious stone primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of the silicate mineral chalcedony?
Answer: Onyx
- What type of jewelry, given to Queen Elizabeth II on her wedding day by the Nizam of Hyderabad, is thought to be the most expensive piece of royal jewelry in the world, with an estimated worth of £66million?
Answer: Necklace
- What gemstone is a variety of corundum, and was the color of the slippers that Dorothy Gale wore in 1939’s “The Wizard Of Oz?”
Answer: Ruby
- Both pearls and mother of pearl are from what iridescent material found inside of mollusks?
Answer: Nacre
- Currently part of the British Crown Jewels as part of the Queen Mother's crown, what diamond with a weight of more than 100 carats is named from the Persian for "Mountain of Light?"
Answer: Koh-I-Noor
- The oldest piece in the British Crown Jewels is what kind of gemstone? It is believed to have been taken from the ring of Edward the Confessor.
Answer: Sapphire
- The largest of what gemstone variety was found in Uruguay in 2007 and named "The Empress of Uruguay?" It weights two and a half tons.
Answer: Amythyst
- In the famous song made popular by Marilyn Monroe in the film, "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," what gemstone "are a girl's best friend?"
Answer: Diamonds
- What “t” is term of Persian origin that is used for a jeweled, ornamental crown traditionally worn by women?
Answer: Tiara
- What “F” mineral gemstone is a halide formed from the bonding of 1 atom of calcium and 2 atoms of atomic element number 9? Element number 9 gives this compound its -ite name.
Answer: Fluorite
- Used for making jewelry and coins, what “e” is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver?
Answer: Electrum
- While it sounds aeronautical rather than geological, the name for the darkest shade of black was inspired by which gemstone?
Answer: Jet
- What term borrowed from barocco (the Portuguese word for “imperfect”) describes pearls that are not completely round but rather, are unusually or irregularly shaped, or even lumpy?
Answer: Baroque
- Which term is used to describe gemstones that reflect or refract light in a star-like way?
Answer: Asterism
- Which term describes a flaw in a gemstone that occurs because a substance got trapped in the stone while it formed? (Hint: Even though the material changes the look of the stone, it doesn’t always make it less valuable. Sometimes—like with star sapphires—the “flaw” actually makes it more valuable).
Answer: Inclusion
- Pigeon Blood is a term applied to the brightest colored (and therefore most valuable) examples of what type of gemstone?
Answer: Ruby
- Which Belgian city, the largest city in Belgium by area, is known for its role in the diamond industry?
Answer: Antwerp
- The Halo Tiara, worn by the Duchess of Cambridge at her 2011 wedding to Prince William, features 888 diamonds cut into brilliants and baguettes. Which French jewelry company produced the tiara back in 1936?
Answer: Cartier
- Star garnets are a special form of garnet that display a reflection-like image of a four- or six-pointed star. Star garnet is very rare, and has only been found in India and what northwest U.S. state?
Answer: Idaho
- The DeLong star and the Prince of Burma are some of the most famous individual examples of what precious stone, which is chemically almost identical to sapphire?
Answer: Ruby
- You can call yourself a diamantaire if you work cutting which kind of precious gemstone?
Answer: Diamond
- Which C-term applies to a polished and cut gem that’s smooth and dome-shaped? (Hint: The opposite would be faceted)
Answer: Cabochon
- "The Enigma," the world's largest cut diamond, is what kind of rare black diamond whose name refers back to diamonds' elemental origins?
Answer: Carbonado
- Formally known as cordierite, what’s the more common, trade name inspired by the Greek word for “violet” given to a pleochroic, purple-blue gem?
Answer: Lolite
- At the Luxor Hotel, you can see over 200 artifacts (not including a sapphire heart necklace) from what famous sea disaster?
Answer: Titanic
- Which term is a much fancier, more regal-sounding word for the bejeweled headpieces commonly worn by royals? (Hint: Some consider crowns, tiaras, coronets, headbands, and such to be included in the category, the name of which comes from the Greek word for “band” or “I bind around”)
Answer: Diadem
- Heliotrope might be particularly popular among vampires since it’s also known by which murderous-sounding moniker?
Answer: Bloodstone
- Derived from the Latin “filum” and “granum,” respectively meaning “thread” and “grain,” what term is used for an ornamental metal work of fine wire?
Answer: Filigree
- Also called Oro Verde Quartz, which type of treated yellow quartz takes its name from a sour fruit?
Answer: Lemon
- What term is used to describe diamonds cut into shapes other than single cut and round brilliant cut?
Answer: Fancy
- Tsavorite is a rare green form of which semiprecious gemstone? This gemstone is most often reddish in color.
Answer: Garnet
- Which pink-orange Beryl gem was named after a famous Gilded Age America investment banker?
Answer: Morganite
- Sapphires and rubies are varieties of what mineral? This C letter stone is the second hardest natural mineral in the world, after diamond.
Answer: Corundum
- Which uncommon, colorless or white borate mineral was named for the Swedish explorer who discovered it and not the city in Germany or a certain kind of meaty sandwich?
Answer: Hambergite
- What term for a type of French bread is also used for a gem cut in a long, rectangular shape?
Answer: Baguette
- A large oval cocktail ring with pave diamonds has become popular because it is the style of engagement ring given by Edward Cullen to Bella Swan in what trilogy of novels?
Answer: The Twilight Saga
- The Star of India is a 563-carat, golf ball-sized specimen of which gem (in fact, the biggest one in the world)?
Answer: Sapphire
- Which hardy stone that’s only found in New Zealand is a valuable part of Maori culture and often featured in carvings? (Hint: While most are green, different types of it range in color from pale white to red.)
Answer: Pounamu
- The “Pink Star” is one of the most valuable gems in the world. In 2017, it sold for over $71 million. What kind of gem is the strawberry-sized stone (approximately 59 carats)?
Answer: Diamond
- What diamond, owned by the British crown, is currently the subject of demands for return by India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan? The gem was acquired by Britain during the reign of Queen Victoria.
Answer: Koh-i-noor
- Charoite is a rare, lavender gem that’s only found in what country that spans Eastern Europe to Northern Asia?
Answer: Russia
- Weighing 75 pounds measuring 2.2 feet in length, the largest ever found Pearl, the Pearl of Puerto was found of the coast of which island country?
Answer: Philippines
- What stone in the feldspar family is Florida's state gem? The state legislature chose it because of the space program at Cape Canaveral, even though the gem is not naturally found anywhere in the state.
Answer: Moonstone
- Which gemstone sounds a little cynical, though its name comes from the two stones that make it up: the first being a sandy brown-red stone and the second being one that’s usually black chalcedony?
Answer: Sardonyx
- Before modern science could tell them apart, what semi-precious gemstone was confused with rubies? The "Black Prince's Ruby" and the "Timur Ruby" in the British Crown Jewels are examples of this gemstone.
Answer: Spinel
- Dating back over 4 billion years, which nearly-impossible-to-wreck mineral is the oldest that scientists have dated?
Answer: Zircon
- What form of the mineral chrysoberyl changes color from green in natural daylight and red in incandescent light? The stone was named after the Czar of Russia who was assassinated in 1881.
Answer: Alexandrite
- Also a term used in printing in which an image is incised into a surface and this incised line holds the ink, what "I" is a name for an engraved gemstone, also known as hollow relief?
Answer: Intaglio
- Ametrine, a combination of amethyst and citrine which is one of the rarest forms of quartz, is only found in commercial quantities in a mine in what country?
Answer: Bolivia
- Masai tribesman Ali Juuyawatu is credited with the 1967 discovery of the first crystals of what T-word gem?
Answer: Tanzanite
- Handmade friendship bracelets that Adriana Carrig made to combat bullying turned into what jewelry boutique with locations around the U.S., including on Wisconsin Ave NW in DC?
Answer: Little Words Project
- Sometimes containing diamonds, an igneous rock called Kimberlite is named for a mining town in what Southern Hemisphere country?
Answer: South Africa
- The pretty blue of the Hope Diamond comes from atoms of what brittle B-word element?
Answer: Boron
- What blue and green gemstone is an opaque mineral, a hydrated phosphate of coper and aluminum? Its name is also that of the color it closely resembles.
Answer: Turquoise
- Which gemstone is a purple variety of quartz, which gets its name from the Greek belief that it would prevent its owner from getting intoxicated? It is considered to be the February birthstone.
Answer: Amethyst
- Similar in sound to a piece of jewelry, what six-letter word in rafting means to turn a boat with its broadside facing downstream?
Answer: Broach
- What “C” gemstone, associated with the month of November, has chemical formula SiO2, and has a vitreous luster?
Answer: Citrine
- What is the name of the international corporation founded in 1888 by Cecil Rhodes that monopolized rough diamond distribution in the 20th century?
Answer: De Beers
- Sold by Christie’s Hong Kong in 1997, the “Doubly Fortunate” necklace features 27 beads made from what lucky green stone?
Answer: Jadeite
- Its name, which it shared with a New York hip-hop group, means "fingernail". What mineral gemstone is chemically identical to agate, but has striped bands of chalcedony that run in parallel lines, rather than in curves?
Answer: Onyx
- Which “hot” type of opal gives off a bright orange, red, or yellow glow?
Answer: Fire
- If you’re into gem folklore, which yellow quartz would make great earrings since they’re supposedly all-the-better-to-hear-you-with? (Hint: The name comes from the French word for “lemon”)
Answer: Citrine
- As is commonly known, diamonds are made entirely of Carbon. With a single guess, name either of the two elements which make up rubies.
Answer: Aluminum and oxygen
- Jewelers have recently embraced the colorful mineral called Fordite or Motor City Agate, which is made from what material used in car manufacturing facilities?
Answer: Paint
- In the Disney+ series “Ms. Marvel,” what article of jewelry awakened Kamala Khan’s superpowers? She found the item in a package from her grandmother, which her mother dismissed as “junk.”
Answer: Bangle
- What is the "A" term used in jewelry-making for the process in which metal alloys are gradually heated and cooled to bring them to a desired consistency, texture, or shape?
Answer: Anneal
- In May 2021, what company, the world's largest jewelry maker, declared that it would no longer use mined diamonds in its products?
Answer: Pandora
- What green-banded mineral crystal is made of copper carbonate hydroxide? Its “M” name is very similar to the minor prophet whose book of the Bible is the final book of the Old Testament.
Answer: Malachite
- Elvis Presley and Liberace are very familiar with these small imitation diamonds normally made from glass or plastic, and known by what name?
Answer: Rhinestones
- The Andamooka Opal is also called the Queen’s Opal because it was given to which British monarch when she visited South Australia in 1954?
Answer: Queen Elizabeth II
- Rachel Verinder wears the titular gem to her birthday party and loses it the same evening at the start of what 1868 novel by Wilkie Collins?
Answer: The Moonstone
- What August gemstone is primarily an ornamental mineral which exists in a variety of colors such as yellow or white, but is primarily known for being green?
Answer: Jade
- One of the world's largest and most famous yellow gemstone necklaces has only been worn by Audrey Hepburn, Sheldon Whitehouse, Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé. First discovered in 1877, what is the two-word name of this gemstone? We're looking for both words here.
Answer: Tiffany Diamond
- What silicate mineral of aluminum and fluorine is naturally colorless, but impurities can make it blue, brown, or orange? It shares its name with a 1969 Alfred Hitchcock movie about a Russian plot stage nuclear missiles in Cuba.
Answer: Topaz
- What “A” rock formation, primarily made of chalcedony and quartz, comes in a variety of colors and is primarily found in volcanic and metamorphic rock?
Answer: Agate
- Which variety of quartz is traditionally used in episcopal rings due to its characteristic purple color?
Answer: Amethyst
- If you had a lot of hair things, jewelry, and other random odds ‘n ends in your bedroom in the ‘90s, what colorful, plastic storage container might you have wanted to help you get organized (and popular)?
Answer: Caboodle
- Padparadscha is a pinkish orange(or orangish pink) variety of what gemstone? The name is derived from the Sanskrit word for "lotus color."
Answer: Sapphire
- The Sar-i Sang (also spelled Sar-e-sang) mines of Afghanistan are considered to be the world's finest source of what semi-precious stone, whose name comes from Latin words for "stone of the sky"?
Answer: Lapis lazuli
- What “A” gemstone, associated with the month of March, also comes in light green, slightly contrary to the pale-blue color that matches better with its name?
Answer: Aquamarine
- Which very soft red stone has a name that will remind you of a brand of “toast crunch” cereal or a bakery where you can pick up some iced buns, but it’s actually a sulfide mineral that can have toxic levels of mercury?
Answer: Cinnabar
- What four-letter word, perhaps more familiar from the realm of criminal justice, refers to the hook or loop by which a pendant or stone is connected to a necklace?
Answer: Bail
- What is the name of the green gem-quality olivine and silicate mineral that quite specifically is used for 16th wedding anniversaries? In the Middle ages, this mineral was considered to possess healing powers.
Answer: Peridot
- If you have the means, Alexandrite makes a pretty "great" gift and was originally mined in what continent-straddling nation?
Answer: Russia
- Which South American country produces the world's most emeralds by an incredibly large margin?
Answer: Colombia
- What diamond cut, a mostly square shape but with trimmed edges that technically makes it an octagon, is named after the cutter who famously divided the Cullinan Diamond?
Answer: Asscher
- Which group of minerals that have sodium, potassium, or calcium in them make up most of the Earth’s crust and include gemstones like sunstone, moonstone, and amazonite?
Answer: Feldspar
Play Jewelry Trivia with Water Cooler Trivia
Water Cooler Trivia is well-equipped to provide you with exciting and engaging trivia quizzes.
So, how does it work?
Each week, our team will deliver original trivia quizzes straight to your inbox.
All you have to do is pick the categories.
You can leave the rest of the heavy lifting to us.
Take Water Cooler Trivia for a test run with our four-week free trial.
About the Author
Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.
.png){kind=logo}
.png)