The Gem Aristocracy

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## Summary

Homeworld Gems are created for specific purposes, but occasionally some of the Gems that are made display rare magical talents that are not typical of the rest of the Gems of their type. Those Gems are given elevated positions of power within the Homeworld heirarchy by the Diamonds - the Gem Aristocracy.

## Evidence

### Gems Are Created For Specific Purposes

From the episodes "Back to the Barn" and "Too Far" we find out from Peridot that Homeworld has a strict class system and that Gems are created for very specific purposes.

### Gems Whose Powers Exceed Their Predicted Abilities

In "The Answer" we learn that Rubies were used as common footsoldiers, but we also learn that Sapphire was a rare aristocratic Gem with the power to see into the future. This is not the first time a Gem with rare powers has appeared in the series. In "Ocean Gem" both Pearl was surprised by how powerful Lapis Lazuli was...

... and in the same episode Lapis Lazuli was equally as surprised when she learned that Steven had healing powers. There are two possiblities for Pearl's reaction:

*(1) She has never personally seen a Lapis Lazuli use their powers or...*

*(2) Mirror Lapis Lazuli has powers that a regular Lapis Lazuli is not supposed to have.*

Lapis Lazuli recognized Steven as a Gem and even offered to take him back to Homeworld, but her shock of hearing that Steven has healing powers implied that such powers (as the ones that Rose Quartz herself had) were rare among Gems. Lapis Lazuli's reaction towards Steven is the most telling, she knew he was a Gem and therefore knew what purpose the gemstone Steven had was supposed to do - healing was not one of those expected purposes.

In "The Answer" we see the silhouettes of various members of Blue Diamond's court, including Lapis Lazuli. If what Peridot said about Gems being created for specific purposes applied to the Gem aristocracy then we would most likely see a limited range of types of Gems being used in her court. Instead each and every Gem within Blue Diamond's court was unique. So why were these Gems selected? We go back to Sapphire's description of being a Gem with rare powers. Essentially Gems with rare powers were being selected by Blue Diamond to be in her court (e.g. Lapis Lazuli).

### Additional Note (Gems Abilities and their Ranks)

These "talents" (I shall call these additional abilities talents for easier reference) may not be limited to just one extra ability per aristocratic Gem. It is possible that Rose Quartz's ability to grow sentient flora to act as her guardians is yet another skill that regular Rose Quartzes are not meant to possess as both Amethysts and Jaspers do not appear to have any skill similar to Rose's phytokinesis. Status within the Diamonds' courts may be dependant not only on how useful the Diamond thinks that an aristocratic Gem has, but also how many of these additional talents they possess, however it is something that can only be explored when more about Gem aristocracy is revealed.

## Conclusion

Homeworld Gems are made with very specific purposes in mind, either to be worker/servant or a warrior, however there are occassions when a Gem displays a rare magical talent that is not typical of their Gem's type. These Gems are raised to the upper levels of Gem society, where they assist their respective Diamonds in ruling the Homeworld colonies as well as enjoy other privelages such as ownership of Pearls. These can be Gems of any type, as long as they possess useful additional abilities... even a Peridot or a Quartz. Both Sapphire and Rose Quartz of the Crystal Gems as well as Lapis Lazuli are Gems that posess (or posessed) talents that are not typical of their Gems' types. This suggests that at one point Rose Quartz was a member of the Gem aristocracy or was a potential candidate.