Caste System

The Gem Homeworld maintains a strict caste system, with each type of gemstone having a predetermined role and place in the social pyramid, each with their privileges and ordained purposes. Any Gem who, in any way, digresses from their role, be it intentional or not, would be considered defective. Since the penalties for such actions are severe, most disgruntled Homeworld Gems either keep their dissension to themselves or are forced to go into hiding. Because there are so many of one type of Gem, the Homeworld Gems — except the Diamonds — distinguish themselves via coded serial numbers.

Diamonds
Diamonds are the highest caste, similar to royalty and referred to as the "matriarchs" of Gem society; they make up The Great Diamond Authority. They are also of a massive size, towering over the other types of Gems seen, even some fusions. They all have diamond-shaped pupils in their eyes.

All Homeworld Gems are fanatically loyal to the Diamonds, seeing as Peridot formerly adored Yellow Diamond. Gems also appear to be categorized under their respective Diamonds, as Blue Diamond referred to Sapphire as being "of her court" and Peridot saying she was "made" for Yellow Diamond. Any form of infidelity displayed towards the Diamonds is considered punishable by death. Their honorific (from their subordinates) is "my Diamond".

There appears to be a caste ranking within the Diamonds themselves, as White Diamond is showed to be hierarchically superior to the other Diamonds and the leader of the Authority. Conversely, Pink Diamond was below Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond, and had to obey their orders.


 * White Diamond - First appearing in "Legs From Here to Homeworld", she is a member and the leader of the Diamond Authority.
 * Yellow Diamond - First appearing in "Message Received", she is the commander-in-chief of Homeworld's military.
 * Blue Diamond - First appearing in "Steven's Dream", she is the overseer of many of Homeworld's diplomatic Gems.
 * Pink Diamond / Rose Quartz - First mentioned in "Earthlings" and first appearing in "Jungle Moon", she was the initial leader of Earth's colonization before being allegedly shattered at the hands of Rose Quartz during the Rebellion. In reality, she took upon the identity of Rose Quartz and staged her death in hopes of removing the Gem Homeworld's presence on Earth.
 * Steven Universe - A human-Gem hybrid and current member of the Crystal Gems. He inherited the gemstone of his mother, Pink Diamond.

Sapphires
Sapphires are of the nobility class, described as being rare aristocratic gems and part of the "Elite"; in spite of this, they have no immunity from potential outcast status. They can see into the future using their "future vision". So far, Sapphires are the only non-fusion gem type shown with this ability. However, defective Sapphires, an example being Padparadscha, are only able to have visions of events slightly in the past. Their honorific is "your clarity".


 * Sapphire - A Sapphire that was sent to Earth as a diplomat to attempt to disband the Rebellion, a current member of the Crystal Gems.
 * Padparadscha - An "off-color" Padparadscha Sapphire, deemed defective for her ability to only see events that have already occurred.
 * Pink Diamond's Sapphires - Sapphires who used to belong to Pink Diamond, first mentioned by Zircon in "The Trial".

Emeralds
Emeralds are high-ranking Gems with authority. In the Steven Universe Podcast, Rebecca Sugar and Ian Jones-Quartey emphasize the fact that Emeralds (specifically the one seen in "Lars of the Stars") are very elite Gems, known to be in charge of fleets. The only Emerald shown owns three ships (her own personal shuttle, the Sun Incinerator, and the Destiny Destroyer) and is in charge of an unspecified amount of Gems.


 * Emerald - An Emerald whose ship was stolen by Lars Barriga and the Off Colors, since then she has been following them in her imperial warship, to reclaim her most prized ship from them.

Hessonites
While the exact role of a Hessonite is unknown, they are known to be commanders in charge of lower-ranking Gems. The only Hessonite seen in the series is Nephrite's (the Centipeetle Mother's) commander. She issued Nephrite the order to initially travel to Earth and the order to retreat from the incoming Diamond Attack. Another Hessonite is seen in the video game Save the Light (see below). Hessonites are tall and orange with poofy hair.


 * Nephrite's Commander - A Gem that commanded Nephrite and her crew at least from the colonization of Earth until the end of the Gem War. Her gemstone is situated on her chest.

Morganites
While the exact role of a Morganite is unknown, they are known to be in charge of lower-ranking Gems. One Morganite is mentioned by Rhodonite to have, at some point, replaced and outcasted Rhodonite's components after discovering they liked to fuse.


 * Unknown Morganite - A Morganite mentioned to have, at some point, replaced and exiled Rhodonite's components after discovering they liked to fuse.

Aquamarines
According to Pearl (as well as Aquamarine's own gloating), Aquamarines seem to have a high rank in Homeworld's hierarchy. Rebecca Sugar says that Aquamarines are one of the very high-ranked blue Gems on Homeworld.

The only Aquamarine seen was the one sent to Earth by the Diamonds to retrieve different "variations" of humans for Pink Diamond's Zoo. Aquamarine is the smallest non-Corrupted Gem seen so far.


 * Aquamarine - An Aquamarine sent to Earth by the Diamonds in order to retrieve different "variations" of humans for Pink Diamond's Zoo.
 * Unknown Homeworld Aquamarines - A group of Aquamarines seen celebrating the return of the Diamonds in "Legs From Here to Homeworld".

Topazes
Topazes' roles seem to be that of soldiers, obeying orders and acting as bodyguards for their assigned Gem. A fusion of two Topazes was sent to Earth by the Diamonds to retrieve different "variations" of humans for Pink Diamond's Zoo. These two Topazes are incredibly efficient at trapping and engulfing victims within their fusion. Rebecca Sugar says that Topazes are high-ranking yellow Gems. However, they are not as highly ranked as Aquamarines.


 * Topazes (left and right) - Two Topazes sent to Earth by the Diamonds as a fusion in order to retrieve different "variations" of humans for Pink Diamond's Zoo.
 * Two Unknown Topazes - Two yellow-orange Topazes, one with her gemstone on her navel, the other with an unknown gemstone placement, who surrounded Rose and Pearl before they escaped the Cloud Arena.

Lapis Lazulis
Lapis Lazulis are made to terraform, as stated by Yellow Diamond. Peridot states that Lapis Lazulis are typically partial to water and flying. It is unclear how high they rank in the caste system, though they seem at least equal to or higher than Peridots.

Lapis Lazulis' use of terraforming planets likely explains Lapis Lazuli's ability to manipulate massive bodies of water with ease (and possibly explaining her enjoying farming).


 * Lapis Lazuli - A Lapis Lazuli who was trapped in the Mirror for thousands of years, ultimately used by the Homeworld Gems for their invasion of Earth. She was eventually freed from the Mirror by Steven and is now a Crystal Gem.

Bismuths
Bismuths are a building caste, in charge of constructing temples, spires, arenas and other structures for the aristocratic members of Gem society on both Homeworld and Gem colonies. As such, they possess a broad stature for intensive physical labor, above average resistance to heat and damage, and hands capable of fluidly changing form, without the need for typical Gem shapeshifting, to fit a wide variety of purposes.


 * Bismuth - One of the original Crystal Gems, who possessed a zealotry towards Rose's beliefs in personal freedom, giving her the choice to make what she wanted. Before the end of the war, Bismuth introduces Rose to a weapon known as the "Breaking Point", which would completely shatter a Gem's gemstone, destroying them completely. Rose, feeling it is cruel, fights Bismuth, poofs and bubbles her, and keeps her fate a secret from the rest of the Crystal Gems. It was not until about 5,300 years later that she is freed, Steven learns the truth, and she is poofed and bubbled again, but this time the Crystal Gems are told of what truly happened. In the episode, "Made of Honor" she reforms a second time and joins the team permanently.
 * Unknown Bismuth - A Bismuth that appears in the flashback in "Same Old World". She is the one who poofed Lapis during the Rebellion.

Nephrites
Nephrites are in charge of piloting Homeworld Dropships to begin colonizing other planets, and may also serve as pilots for various other types of ships. Their rank in the caste system is never clearly stated, but it appears to be high considering they captain their own ships and Yellow Diamond was shown to contact a Nephrite captain directly in "Jungle Moon", something she would not do with a lower ranking Gem. Numerous Nephrites are corrupted, with one (known as "Centipeetle") formerly being a captain in charge of other Nephrites (in command of a drop ship that went to Earth). These Gems flew in Gem spaceships, and started building structures on Gem colonies.


 * Nephrite Facet-413 Cabochon-12 ("Centi") - Known as "Centipeetle" while corrupted, a Gem sent from Homeworld to start building an early Gem Colony on Earth. However, she got caught in the war and was ordered to retreat. She was unable to board her ship in time and suffered from the attack caused by the Diamonds, resulting in her corruption.
 * Nephrite's Crew - A group including two Gems that appear in "Monster Reunion", who became corrupted by not evacuating Earth and not leaving their captain behind. As of now, they live together in the Ancient Gem Colony Ship.
 * Unknown Nephrite - Pearl once took a Nephrite out of the cockpit of a dropship during the Rebellion.
 * Nephrite-XJ Cut-763 - A Nephrite who works for Yellow Diamond. In the flashback from "Jungle Moon", she shows hesitation for doing her job as the planet they are terraforming has organic life; Yellow Diamond ignores her complaints and demands her to do her job, or else she will shatter her and her crew personally.

Peridots
Peridots serve mainly as technicians and Kindergarteners, sometimes performing field assignments on other planets, such as the Peridot who befriends Steven. Their exact role is currently unknown; however, they are higher than Pearls (but not high enough to own a Pearl of their own). Era 2 Peridots are given Limb Enhancers to compensate for their lack of abilities older Gems have, due to the depletion of resources on Homeworld. One Peridot, so far, has been shown to have telekinetic capabilities over metallic objects.


 * Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG – A former Yellow Diamond court member and current member of the Crystal Gems.

Quartzes
Quartzes are a soldier caste. Made to fit the role of an elite warrior, Quartzes have incredible height, broad shoulders, and an intimidating muscular build. Rose Quartz and Jasper both fit this description. Amethyst is also a Quartz, although she does not fit the description because she "stayed in the ground too long", and was, therefore, overcooked. Some Quartzes are used as bodyguards and escorts, as shown by Jasper. They appear to be less numerous than Rubies. According to Ian Jones-Quartey, some have defensive powers as well (like Rose's) since "they can't all be tanks." Quartzes are described to be "huge, loyal soldiers". Jasper states that Quartzes are made to fight and that Jaspers, specifically, always get what they want. Some Quartzes also act as guards at Homeworld outposts, such as Pink Diamond's Zoo. They were commonly made on Earth. Quartz is the most diverse known Gem type, with Gems including Amethysts, Carnelians, Jaspers, and Rose Quartzes.

Other Quartz types include Agates, who rank higher than most Quartzes and seem to be administrative in nature, and Citrines, who seem to be an elite caste of guards (including Emerald's sixty-seven elite Citrine guards and Hessonite's Citrine guards in Save the Light).

Agates
So far, Holly Blue Agate is the only Agate shown in the show. She is in charge of a group of Quartz soldiers and manages Pink Diamond's Zoo. Quartzes of her type seem to have a higher ranking than standard "made-for-battle" ones. Their purpose seems to be administrative in nature. Yellow Diamond states in "What's the Use of Feeling (Blue)?" that they are meant to be terrifying figures that intimidate Gems under them into obedience. In "The Trial", it is revealed that they can also be bodyguards for high-ranking Gems, such as a Diamond. It can be assumed that, based on the way Holly Blue Agate acts around Sapphire, that Agates, while having some authority, are not very high-ranking Gems, or at least not as highly ranked as Sapphires.


 * Holly Blue Agate - An Agate who manages Pink Diamond's Zoo.
 * "Crazy Lace" - An Agate who was originally a member of the Crystal Gems.
 * Pink Diamond's Agates - Agates who used to belong to Pink Diamond, they were her bodyguards during the Rebellion, first mentioned by Zircon in "The Trial".
 * Yellow Diamond's Agates - Agates who reside in one of Yellow Diamond's Asteroid Mines, first mentioned by Rhodonite in "Your Mother and Mine".

Citrines
Citrines are Quartz Gems who seem to be an elite caste of guards. They seem to serve high-ranking Gems.


 * Citrines - A group of sixty-seven elite Citrines who are mentioned to have guarded Emerald's ship, the Sun Incinerator, on the planet Klavius 7.

Rose Quartzes
Sometime between the start of Rose Quartz's rebellion and Pink Diamond's shattering, every Rose Quartz in existence was bubbled. They currently all reside in the Rose Quartz Bubble Room in Pink Diamond's Zoo. While Blue Diamond only wishes to keep the Rose Quartzes around for the sake of preserving Pink Diamond's legacy, Yellow Diamond wishes that every Rose Quartz be shattered, as they currently believe that one of them was responsible for the start of the Rebellion and the shattering of Pink Diamond, although this is not the actual truth. While being Quartz soldiers, Rose Quartzes are known for their defensive powers rather than the average offensive abilities Quartzes have.


 * Unknown Bubbled Rose Quartzes - A large collection of hundreds of Rose Quartzes, inactive and bubbled by the Diamonds after a Rose Quartz allegedly shattered Pink Diamond.

Amethysts
A kind of Quartz Gems with a purple coloring. The Prime Kindergarten on Earth produced Gems of this type.


 * Amethyst Facet-5 Cut-8XM - A defective and short Quartz and current member of the Crystal Gems.
 * Pink Diamond's Amethysts - Amethysts created on Earth who were among the first Quartz Gems to emerge from the Prime Kindergarten. Some would later become members of the "Famethyst".
 * Amethyst Zoo Guards - A group of Amethysts now serving under Blue Diamond in charge of guarding Pink Diamond's Zoo. Many are from the Prime Kindergarten and are members of the "Famethyst".
 * Amethysts Facet-5 Cut-8XG, 8XJ, 8XK, 8XH, and 8XL - Five Amethysts from the same section of the Prime Kindergarten as the Crystal Gems' Amethyst, and members of the "Famethyst".
 * Unknown Crystal Gem Amethysts - An unknown group of Amethysts that were formerly members of the Crystal Gems while Bismuth was active. They are currently presumed to be inactive.

Carnelians
A kind of Quartz Gems with a maroon red coloring. The Beta Kindergarten on Earth produced Gems of this type.


 * Carnelian - A defective and short Carnelian guarding Pink Diamond's Zoo, and a member of the "Famethyst".
 * Unknown Defective Carnelian - An unknown defective Carnelian mentioned by Peridot in "Earthlings".

Jaspers
A kind of Quartz Gems shown mostly to have tangerine skin and reddish-orange markings, however some Jaspers can come in different colors depending on the type of Jasper they are.


 * Jasper - An especially powerful Quartz Gem, as noted by Peridot in "Earthlings".
 * Jasper Guards - A group of Jaspers in charge of guarding Pink Diamond's Zoo, and members of the "Famethyst".
 * "Skinny" - A defective and tall Jasper guarding Pink Diamond's Zoo, and a member of the "Famethyst".
 * Biggs Jasper - A brown-orange patterned Jasper who was one of the original members of the Crystal Gems before being corrupted. Later, she was captured in the Great North by Jasper and was used to attack the Crystal Gems, but ended up being poofed and bubbled.
 * Snow Monster - A Corrupted turquoise-blue Jasper with pink spots that was captured in the Great North by Jasper, she was forced to fuse with her but she escaped from her.

Tiger's Eye
A type of Quartz which has yet to be seen, but has been mentioned by name.
 * Tiger's Eye - A corrupted former Crystal Gem mentioned by Bismuth in "Made of Honor", currently bubbled in the Burning Room.

Others
Quartz Gems lacking specific gemstone identification.
 * Unknown Quartz Warrior – A Quartz warrior shown to have fought Rose Quartz during in Pearl's flashback through her Hologram Projection in "Sworn to the Sword".


 * Beta Kindergarten Quartz Monsters - Various Corrupted Quartz Gems captured and incarcerated for Jasper's Corrupted Gem army, later freed during "Earthlings".


 * Three Unknown Blue-Purple Quartzes - Three Quartzes with unknown gemstone placements and names who surrounded Rose and Pearl before they escaped the Cloud Arena. They serve Blue Diamond.

Rubies
Rubies are another type of soldier caste. Garnet describes them as "common", seeing as they are all originally identical to one another. They appear to be used as personal escorts and bodyguards for high-ranking Gems. Seeing as they are so numerous, inferred from Ruby's comment of there being "tons" of her, Rubies are considered somewhat unimportant and highly expendable grunts, though they compensate by fusing together into bigger constructs of themselves. Rubies are also sent to different planets to seek out specific Gems. As Rubies are merely common soldiers, they are not very intelligent, being easily fooled by Steven's claims that Jasper is on Neptune and Amethyst's obvious disguise as Jasper, and according to Holly Blue Agate, they are seen as being incompetent or irresponsible. In the Steven Universe Podcast, Rebecca says Rubies' main strength on Homeworld is their ability to combine; a Ruby would never be sent alone to do anything. Rubies are not supposed to have different personalities; the fact that they do "flies under the radar" because they act serious around higher-ranking Gems.


 * Ruby - A Ruby that remains fused with Sapphire as Garnet, a current member of the Crystal Gems.
 * Ruby (right shoulder gem) - A known Ruby that used to protect Sapphire, as shown in "The Answer".
 * Ruby (right back-hand gem) - A known Ruby that used to protect Sapphire, as shown in "The Answer".
 * Ruby-1F4 Cut-4ND ("Eyeball") - A known Ruby sent to retrieve Jasper, a veteran of the Gem war on Earth; a witness who testified against Steven in his trial.
 * "Army" - A known Ruby sent to retrieve Jasper.
 * "Navy" - A known Ruby sent to retrieve Jasper, who would later steal the Roaming Eye after deceiving the Crystal Gems.
 * "Leggy" - A known Ruby sent to retrieve Jasper.
 * "Doc" - A known Ruby sent to retrieve Jasper, as well as the leader of the "Ruby Squad".
 * Rhodonite's unknown component Ruby - A Ruby who used to work for a Morganite before being replaced.

Zircons
Zircons act as lawyers for the courts of the Gem Homeworld. Presumably, they have no choice over what cases they prosecute for or defend (as revealed in "The Trial") and they are assigned cases instead. In the Steven Universe Podcast, Rebecca Sugar and Ian Jones-Quartey say they have a sort of medium rank on Homeworld, serving the upper class but really having no individual power.


 * Zircon (Defense) - A Zircon who defends Steven during his trial.
 * Zircon (Prosecuting) - A Zircon who acts as the prosecutor during Steven's trial.

Rutiles
Not much is known about Rutiles, though they seem to have piloting capabilities.


 * Rutile Twins - A Rutile whose gemstone incubated incorrectly and formed with two upper bodies with separate personalities.
 * Other Rutiles - The Rutiles that ran away after the Rutile Twins emerged.

Pearls
Pearls are a servant caste, described by Peridot as being "someone's shiny toy." They are expected only to serve and be submissive and obedient, simply waiting on their owners and not acting independently in any way. Pearls typically fulfill tasks such as holding their owners' belongings and serving as footmen, opening doors for their masters; they are expected to consistently exhibit subservience by remaining silent unless spoken to and remaining a few paces behind their superior when walking with them. They also provide simple luxuries like singing, dancing, and visual entertainment by projecting holograms. Pearls are also status symbols on Homeworld reserved for higher castes such as the Diamonds and aristocrats like Sapphires, as Peridot comments that the idea of a Peridot owning a Pearl is ridiculous. Pearls may also be earned by committing a significant act of heroism. Physically, all Pearls appear to have a slender form and a beak-like nose. They can also be "customized" by owners in color and appearance. Pearls are normally dismissed with the phrase "That will be all", generally followed by the owner clapping her hands twice, when they are no longer needed.


 * Pearl - A renegade Pearl and the sole confidant of Pink Diamond, later known as Rose Quartz. She is a current member of the Crystal Gems.
 * Blue Pearl - A Pearl that serves Blue Diamond.
 * Yellow Pearl - A Pearl that serves Yellow Diamond, acting as her receptionist and screening her calls for her.
 * White Pearl - A Pearl that serves White Diamond.
 * Rhodonite's unknown component Pearl - A Pearl who used to belong to and serve a Morganite before being replaced.

Unknown Roles
Identified Gems that lack a known Gem type or role.
 * Desert Glass - A corrupted Gem with the ability to create structures out of sand. She is currently bubbled.
 * Watermelon Tourmaline - A corrupted Gem with the ability to create strong gales with her breath. She is currently bubbled.
 * "Snowflake" - A former Crystal Gem mentioned by Bismuth in "Bismuth". She may be a Snowflake Obsidian, which is a type of volcanic glass.
 * Larimar - A corrupted former Crystal Gem mentioned by Bismuth in "Made of Honor", nicknamed "little Larimar" and currently bubbled in the Burning Room.
 * Beryl - A corrupted former Crystal Gem mentioned by Bismuth in "Made of Honor", currently bubbled in the Burning Room. Since aquamarine, emerald, and morganite are types of beryl in real life, Beryl may have had a high ranking in Homeworld society.
 * Serpentine - A corrupted former Crystal Gem mentioned by Bismuth in "Made of Honor", currently bubbled in the Burning Room.

Fusion Gems
Fusions (or specifically Same-Gem Fusions) are used as weapons in the caste. They are used in times of war, seen as objects rather than their own beings. A fusion outside of battle is considered highly inappropriate and extremely unorthodox, being regarded as disgusting, embarrassing or discomforting to behold (as inferred from Jasper and Peridot's reactions towards Garnet). However, the existence of Topaz reveals that, despite Peridot and Jasper's prejudice, fusion outside of battle is indeed legal on Homeworld providing the fusion is same-gem and may only be allowed for certain Gem castes (e.g. soldiers).

To a further extent, only fusions of the same type are seen as acceptable (such as a fusion consisting of several Rubies or several Topazes). Fusion between Gems of different varieties is considered more of an abnormality in Gem society, as the Gem diplomats of Blue Diamond's Court in "The Answer" refer to Garnet's fusion as "disgusting" and "unheard of". As another example, Rhodonite and Fluorite, two "off color" fusions of different Gem types, were cast out from Homeworld's society and forced to hide to avoid being shattered. Rhodonite's components were replaced by her commander, Morganite, after she found out that they liked to fuse. The reasoning for the prejudice against different Gem fusions is because they create an entirely new Gem, which disrupts Homeworld's caste system; the new Gem has no place in the caste system, and thus holds no job that will benefit the Gem empire.

Defective Gems
Gems that are defective (also referred to as "off color") serve no use to the Gem empire and are outcasted from society. If caught, these Gems are shattered. The only known exceptions to this are the Quartz soldiers stationed at Pink Diamond's Zoo, who were kept in service by Blue Diamond due to previously belonging to Pink Diamond.

Corrupted Gems
Corrupted Gems, also known as Gem Monsters, are Gems who have become corrupted, assuming a monstrous form. One of the main objectives of the Crystal Gems (other than their protection of humanity) is to defeat and contain corrupted Gem monsters, and hopefully cure them. These types of Gems do not exist on the Gem Homeworld, and, as such, have no place in Gem society.

Level 2 Canon

 * Hessonite - A Hessonite who is the main antagonist in Save the Light, the director of "Squaridot" and former owner of the Light Prism.


 * "Squaridot" - A boss who appears in Save the Light, nicknamed "Squaridot" for her square hair. She is currently bubbled.


 * Hessonite's Nephrites - A group of Nephrites working on Hessonite's war ship. They are said to be performing a drill at the time of the Crystal Gems' arrival to the ship.


 * Hessonite's Citrine Guards - A group of Citrines who act as guards on Hessonite's war ship. They are only heard by the Crystal Gems before their final confrontation with Hessonite.