We explain in videos and show in scene files how the materials must be set up to give the impression we are looking at a photograph of a opaque gemstone. Light and background are very important aspects to make it appear real and we provide a HDRI solution using a novel type of HDRI, coloured and monochrome, custom developed for exactly the purpose of providing the correct light and backdrop for gemstones.

True ambience (TA) renders have the advantage of even light and colour bleeding to adjacent surfaces but are less suitable to let light pass through transparent materials. Here, an IBL render is the better choice but the light only TA can provide is lost. We show how a TA and an IBL render can be combined to get the best of both methods.