Gem

"Gems" are an extra-terrestrial species of "magical" beings that play a central role in Steven Universe. They are sentient gemstones that can project a tangible, humanoid form. They are an intergalactic race which 5,750 years ago maintained several outposts on Earth, with plans to completely colonize the planet, but were driven off by Rose Quartz's rebellion, leaving the Crystal Gems, and the corrupted Gems, the only Gems on the planet, except for a small group of stranded Gems from the Gem Homeworld.

Though pure Gems shown so far all have female-like qualities, Gems are a gender-less race, with Steven Universe being the first male Gem to exist, as well as the first human gem hybrid.

Crystal Gems
Crystal Gems are the self-proclaimed guardians of the Earth. The title, Crystal Gem, is what distinguishes them from the rest of their kind, a species of magical alien beings, known as Gems, with powerful gemstones affixed to their bodies.

The group currently consists of the following Gems: Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Steven; and the fusion Gems: Opal, Sugilite, Sardonyx and Alexandrite. Each member wears a star symbol somewhere on their clothing - this likely existing as an indicator of one's role as a Crystal Gem.

Crystal Gems

 * Ruby: Hotheaded in a romantic relationship with Sapphire
 * Sapphire: Calm and collected in a romantic relationship with Ruby
 * Amethyst: The care-free member of the group who wields a three-tailed whip.
 * Pearl: The smart member of the group who wields a spear.
 * Steven Quartz Universe: A half-human member of the group who can summon a shield
 * Peridot: A green gem that controls gem-base technology who was a former Homeworld Gem. She is also the youngest.

Known Gem Fusions

 * Garnet: Permanent fusion of Sapphire & Ruby, The de facto leader of the group who wields a pair of gauntlets.
 * Opal: A tall and slender Gem who wields a bow. Fusion of Pearl & Amethyst.
 * Sugilite: A gigantic and bulky oni-like Gem who wields a flail. Fusion of Garnet & Amethyst.
 * Alexandrite: A tall six-armed giant who wields all weapons. Fusion of Garnet, Pearl, & Amethyst.
 * Malachite: A gigantic 4-legged fusion that can control water and summon a helmet. Fusion of Lapis Lazuli & Jasper.
 * Rainbow Quartz: Fusion of Rose Quartz & Pearl
 * Sardonyx: A tall and slender, magician-like Gem who wields a War Hammer, Fusion of Garnet & Pearl.
 * Smoky Quartz: A large, darkly colored gem with a wide build who is a fusion between Steven and Amethyst. Wields a yo-yo as a weapon.

Former Members

 * Rose Quartz: Steven's mother and former leader of the Crystal Gems.
 * Bismuth: A blacksmith who created all the weapons to the Crystal Army and uses shapeshifting as her weapon.

Homeworld Gems

 * Lapis Lazuli: A blue Gem who has the ability to control water.
 * Jasper: An orange gem sent to Earth with Peridot who can summon a crash-helmet.
 * Yellow Diamond: Leader of all gemkind along with Blue Diamond and White Diamond
 * Blue Diamond: Leader of all gemkind along with Yellow Diamond and White Diamond
 * White Diamond: Leader of all gemkind along with Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond
 * Pink Diamond who was originally the matriarch of earth and its colinization and the Fourth Diamond of the Great Diamond Authority, she was eventually shattered by Rose Quartz.

Appearance and Gender
Crystal Gems generally take on the form of female humans. The forms they take are only constructs their gem creates for them. The Gems appearance varies from Gem to Gem but their colors are mainly composed of the color palette of the gem they posses (e.g. Garnet is mainly red, Amethyst is mainly purple/violet). The Gems have a permanent form that they keep all the time, but if that form is destroyed or has taken too much damage, they retreat into their gem and create a new one. Their appearance may change upon regeneration if the Gems wanted to "reinvent" themselves.

Gems are not biologically male or female, or have female and male designations among themselves. The ones shown so far are feminine pronouns, with Steven being the first male due to his human half, as well as the first gem hybrid. The Gem's usage of gender pronouns with one another does not deter the fact that they are all just Gems, first and foremost. Rebecca Sugar had stated that Gems in general have a 50/50 chance of using pronouns.

History
All Gems have superhuman powers such as shape-shifting, Gem bubbling, weapon summoning, and Gem fusion. For thousands of years, the Crystal Gems have used these abilities to defend the planet Earth from countless magical threats. One of the Crystal Gems (and possible former leader), Rose Quartz, gave up her physical form (which may mean she died of childbirth) to give birth to a half-human child, Steven Quartz Universe. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl consider Steven an important member of the Crystal Gems, and the three have taken it upon themselves to raise and teach him how to use his powers.

In several episodes, Pearl references that there are/were many more of their kind, but never elaborated on the absence of other Gems on Earth, implying that they all may have died or disappeared. In the episode "Ocean Gem," it is revealed that there are in fact other Gems, and that the monsters that the Crystal Gems fight to defeat are former Gems that had gone corrupt. As of now, only four Gems remain on Earth.

As revealed in "Space Race", there are more Gems on different Gem-controlled planets. The Galaxy Warp was the main hub that was used to travel off of Earth to different Gem planets, but currently all the warp pads are broken. This reveals why only the Crystal Gems reside on Earth.

Culture

 * Pearl points out in "Tiger Millionaire" that, as Crystal Gems, they are not allowed to use their powers on humans. Although, that was broken when a human named Ronaldo kidnapped Steven.
 * Wearing a star on one's outfit seems to be the emblem of the Crystal Gems.

Biology
Gems seem to be mineral-based lifeforms due to primarily being living jewels, a gem's signature jewel is encrusted somewhere on their physical forms, such as the forehead, palm of the hands, chest, back or navel (depending on the individual), the gems are capable of shape shifting into other forms or at least their appendages into something else, they also seem to be immortal, similar to vampires, as Pearl stated they do not age, meaning they won't die from old age, but can die by other means, as is the case of Rose Quartz who is presumably a victim of childbirth. If a gem is severely injured they disintegrate back into their jewels and adopt a recovery stasis, a process that can take up to two weeks, though the time-span can vary depending on the gem's personality and sense of patience, as while Pearl took two weeks to heal due to being cautious Amethyst preferred to reform in mere seconds, but her attempts to rush created many deformities, their signature jewels also seem to be weak spots as if they were damaged the owner's forms would get messed up, as is the case of Amethyst's jewel getting cracked caused her form to morph itself in a crazed state, gems also never suffer from hunger or sleep and as such have no need to perform these daily duties as their jewels can provide them with nutrition but are nonetheless capable of doing these tasks.

Gems are also capable of merging into each other in order to become a gigantic version that can comprise of two or more gems in number, the fusion forms often have more than one pair of arms depending on the number of gems the fusion is made of, though this seems to only apply to separate kinds of gems, as when Ruby merged with other Rubies her physical features remained the same except for size, most of the time gems merge is during a crisis, some of the fusion forms though seem to be unstable, as in the case of Sugilite, the fusion of Garnet and Amethyst, who is incredibly aggressive that neither Garnet or Amethyst can get possession of themselves in the form and presents a danger to everyone around her.

New gems were created from facilities called Kindergartens. While biological reproduction is an alien concept to Gems, it is not impossible for them; while Gems can't reproduce with each other they can create Gem-hybrid offspring. Through shape-shifting, they can perfectly replicate reproductive organs of organic beings for their "human constructs" in order to reproduce. Rose Quartz is the only Gem to have done this and her son, Steven, inherited her Gemstone, without which she could not project a physical form and subsequently "died", although In "Guide to the Crystal Gems" it is implied that Gems are capable of reproducing without having to give up their physical forms.

Gems may have been created by another species, as they're unaffected by zero-gravity, unlike humans, and according to Peridot they can adapt to any planetary-gravity without any drawbacks, it's also possible that they are not restricted to breathing a certain component to remain alive (or if they even breath at all).

While Gems are sentient, they can be become feral and animalistic: these feral-gems are known as "corrupted", as stated by Pearl. Many corrupted-gems tend to adopt appearances and personalities of wild animals. The Centipeetle for instance was formally a normal gem with a humanoid-body, but when she became corrupted she morphed into a centipede-like beast, both physically and mentally. The gem-corruption also seems to function like a disease, as when Jasper fused with a feral-gem she had captured to battle Smokey Quartz, she showed evidence of getting infected with the corruption after defusing and eventually morphed into a monster herself.

Videos






Trivia

 * List of known Gems and their ties to birthstones (by month).
 * Alexandrite - June, August (Alternative)
 * Amethyst - February
 * Garnet - January
 * Jasper - March (Alternative)
 * Lapis Lazuli - September (Alternative), December (Alternative)
 * Malachite - N/A
 * Opal - October
 * Pearl - June
 * Peridot - August, September (Alternative)
 * Rose Quartz/Steven/Stevonnie - October (Alternative)
 * Ruby - July, August (Alternative)
 * Sapphire - September, August (Alternative)
 * Sardonyx- August (Alternative), July (Alternative)
 * Sugilite - N/A
 * The team of Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Steven are known as Crystal Gems, while the species itself are just known as Gems.
 * All of the Crystal Gems' weapons (including Steven's shield) have the same color scheme as their gem.
 * The process for each Gem to summon their weapons depends on a different state of mind for each of them.
 * Amethyst places little effort or concentration, claiming that it "just happens" when she needs to summon her weapon.
 * Pearl claims that her process as being perfect and calculated, using the science of a flower petal dancing in the wind to describe how hard-work and dedication can help master the properties of one's own gem and "perform their own dance."
 * Garnet claims that she summons her gauntlets by linking her mind with the energy of all existing matter, channeling the collective power of the universe through her gem(s), matching her calm and meditative temperament.
 * Steven's means of summoning his shield is still unknown, though it is thought to be caused when he experiences pure joy, having first activated his gem after taking a bite of his favorite ice-cream sandwich, his ability to summon his weapon can also be attributed to the feelings of love and the want to protect.


 * Steven is the only member of the Crystal Gems whose skin isn't the same color as his gem, though his skin still exhibits a pinkish hue (and he has blushed before).
 * The gems themselves correspond with the Gems personalities.
 * Amethyst is a birthstone associated with love. The stone itself is associated with Dionysus, the god of wine and intoxication. Amethyst is not a clear thinker but is fun-loving.
 * Pearl is a stone associated with purity. Pearl is a mature, wise, and perfectionist person.
 * Garnet is a stone that protects from evil. Garnet is the most powerful of the Crystal Gems and often saves the day. She is also the leader of the Crystal Gems.
 * Rose Quartz is associated with love and joy. Steven is the most caring, and upbeat of the gems, and Rose Quartz is mentioned to have been very loving of everything.
 * Lapis Lazuli is associated with gods and power. She is a powerful Gem, nearly capable of defeating the Crystal Gems.
 * Peridot is a stone associated with the heart chakra, bringing balance and relieving stress. Peridot is shown to be level headed and calculated, if not passionate about her work.
 * Jasper is a stone associated with compassion and maternity, ironic considering Jasper's savage and aggressive temperament.
 * However, the gemstone is also associated with fire, so this could lead to Jasper's ill-temper.


 * Their gemstone placement seems to correspond to their personalities, actions, and how they think.
 * Amethyst's gem is over her heart; she tends to be fun loving, and often does whatever she wants.
 * Pearl's gem is on her forehead; she tends to over-think things and be a perfectionist.
 * Garnet's gems are on her hands; she tends to not talk often and respond through action instead.
 * Steven's gem is over his stomach (mainly his bellybutton); he tends to go with his gut instinct and is often hungry.
 * Rose Quartz's gem is also located at her navel; she was the most motherly and protective of the Gems, and the bellybutton is where the umbilical cord is cut off (further proof of her being an actual mother.)
 * Lapis Lazuli's gem is placed over the center of her spine; she sprouts wings from her gem and has been shown to be very vulnerable emotionally.
 * Peridot's gem is on her forehead; she is shown to be very intelligent (a trait she shares with Pearl), and dedicated to her mission.
 * Jasper's gem is placed over her nose; she is very self-centered and primal.


 * It is revealed by Pearl in "So Many Birthdays" that Gems don't age, but can still die if they are hurt badly enough and are not treated.
 * This trait does not apply entirely to Steven.


 * While Gems can't die from food poisoning, they can still get sick to the point of vomiting.
 * This does not apply to Steven, as he is a hybrid of a Gem. This is demonstrated in "So Many Birthdays," Steven accidentally ages to the point of near-death.


 * All Crystal Gems seem to have stars located somewhere on their outfits.
 * Steven: on his t-shirt.
 * Garnet: on the chest area of her body suit.
 * Amethyst: star-shaped holes on her leggings.
 * Pearl: on her shirt.
 * Opal: on the draping section of her shirt.
 * Rose Quartz: star-shaped hole on the stomach area of her dress.
 * Sugilite: ragged, star-shaped holes on her leggings and painted on her nails.
 * Alexandrite: special four-pointed star-shaped cutouts on her leggings and star-shaped hair.


 * Even though all the Gems have the ability to shapeshift, Amethyst, Steven, and Garnet are the only ones shown demonstrating it so far, with Amethyst performing the ability the most.
 * Steven may never develop the ability to shapeshift in the same way the Gems do because his body's physical form is real whereas a pure Gem's physical form is made of hard light.


 * It is revealed in "Giant Woman," that the Gems are able to fuse together into even more powerful Crystal Gems. Here are the ones shown so far:
 * Garnet + Amethyst = Sugilite from "Coach Steven"
 * Pearl + Amethyst = Opal from "Giant Woman"
 * Pearl + Garnet + Amethyst = Alexandrite from "Fusion Cuisine"
 * Garnet + Pearl + Amethyst + Rose = Unnamed fusion Gem implied to be depicted via the Crystal Temple.
 * Lapis + Jasper = Malachite from "Jailbreak"
 * Ruby + Sapphire = Garnet, first revealed in "Jailbreak"
 * Pearl + Garnet = Sardonyx from "Cry for Help"
 * Pearl + Rose Quartz = Rainbow Quartz, seen in a flashback in "We Need to Talk"
 * Gems cannot fuse with humans, as shown in "We Need to Talk", however Gem-hybrids can fuse with humans, such as Steven did with Connie to form Stevonnie, and hybrids can fuse with pure Gems too, which Steven did with Amethyst and spawned Smokey Quartz, even feral, corrupted gems are capable of fusion, including with uninfected ones, as one successfully fused with Jasper.


 * It is revealed in "Steven the Sword Fighter" that Crystal Gems retreat to their gem and lose their physical form when badly injured. It is unknown how long it usually takes for Crystal Gems to regenerate as Pearl's regeneration took about two weeks. Also, when Crystal Gems regenerate their bodies, they can get a new outfit as shown in the aforementioned episode.
 * According to Rebecca Sugar, Gems do not need to eat or sleep, but they can enjoy doing so anyway.
 * If multiple Gems stay fused for too long or have a fusion with an unstable personality, they can slowly lose their individuality. A prime example is the fusion Gem Sugilite from the episode "Coach Steven" and Malachite in "Chille Tid."
 * All of the known Gem weapons are medieval: Garnet has gauntlets, Pearl has a spear, Amethyst has a whip, Steven has a shield, Lion has Rose's sword, Opal has a bow and arrows, Sardonyx has a war hammer, Jasper has a crash-helmet and sword and finally Sugilite has a flail.
 * The gemstones themselves seem to correspond with the Crystal Gems personalities.
 * Pearl's gem, the pearl, being automatically smooth and perfect.
 * Amethyst's gem, an amethyst, being coarse and rough.
 * Garnet's gem, a garnet, specifically focused on raw garnets, which are mysterious with just a little bit of red peeking through hidden inside.


 * Rebecca Sugar had said that Gems have a 50/50 change of using gendered pronouns.
 * This is done regardless to what Gems identify as, as Gems don’t have gender designations amongst themselves.
 * This is demonstrated in "Ocean Gem", as Pearl called Lapis a "she".


 * Rebecca Sugar confirmed that each of the Crystal Gems is based off of one the stages of the human emotional development spectrum.
 * Steven is codependent. Common on most children. This means children are dependent on their parents or any adult figures on practically anything and everything, as they are expected to be.
 * Amethyst is counter dependent; the explorer and rebel, fighting authority even if it's a bad idea. Common in teens and young adults. People here know that they have free will and will tend to distrust and challenge authority. Known as the rebellious stage.
 * Pearl is group-dependent; the responsible manager, legalistic to a fault. Group-dependent people are ready on taking on responsibilities and expects others to be group-dependent as well. Tends to be obsessed with the notions of obligation and duty.
 * Garnet is independent; free to take on the burdens of others, can be a bit reckless, and is understanding of the growth that risk-taking can give as well as its limitations. Tend to be merciful, and kind, and generous. They will help people because they want to, and they will not help people because they want to.
 * One can also argue that Rose Quartz is transcendent; kind and loving to a fault. Uses everything on her power to help those in need.
 * Master of Empathy. Understanding in all situations and acts accordingly to the given situation. Merely acts to the best of their ability, understanding the limitations of their own understanding. But in being emotionally mature their actions tend to flow out in proper response to most any situation. Sympathetic when they should be. Angry when they should be. Forgiving when they should be.
 * In "Nightmare Hospital", it is revealed Gems do not have a heart or heartbeat.
 * As revealed in "Message Received", Gems are differentiated from other Gems of their category by identification codes based off of "Facet" and "Cut". For example, Peridot's specification is Facet-2F5L, Cut-5XG.