The main types of gems and colored stones of the USSR are characterized. Description of geological-structural, genetic and other factors of formation and spatial arrangement of stone-self-color formations and deposits typical for them is given. Zoning of the country's territory for stone-self-color raw materials was carried out in the main geological structural and economic regions. Complex and monomineral provinces of stone-self-color raw materials have been identified. Methods of growing stone-self-color raw materials, diagnostics and processing of natural gems and their imitations are considered.