Crystal Gems

"♫ We..are the Crystal Gems! We'll always save the day! And if you think we can't, We'll always find a way! That's why the people of this world believe in: Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl... and Steven! ♫"

- Crystal Gems theme song

The Crystal Gems are the main protagonists in the animated series Steven Universe. They are apart of a species of beings known as Gems and are a splinter faction of the Homeworld Gems.

Description
The Crystal Gems were formed about 5,000 years ago by Rose Quartz to protect Earth from magical threats. All members of the group are part of an alien race known as "Gems". The current members are Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Steven and Peridot. Steven is Rose Quartz's son. Due to Gems lacking any sex organs, Rose shapeshifted a womb for her son to be born from and died due to passing on her gem to him.

History
The Crystal Gems were a group formed around 5,000 years ago. For a thousand years, the Homeworld Gems had been exploiting Earth, paying no mind to any life that is already there. Rose Quartz founded the Crystal Gems as a group to go against Homeworld in rebellion. They won, however the Homeworld Gems killed all but a few that Rose saved as a final effort. Sometime later, Rose Quartz found Amethyst in the now-abandoned Kindergarten and she joined the Crystal Gems.

Ever since then, the Crystal Gems have been dedicated to protecting the Earth from magical threats. A change in leadership occured about 10–12 years ago; when Rose Quartz died to give birth to Steven, Garnet took over as the group's current acting leader. Bismuth was also forced back into her gem and was inactive for over 5,300 years.

Gender
Though most of the ones shown so far look and sound female, Gems are a genderless race with Steven being the first (and currently only) male Gem.

Current Members

 * Garnet
 * Ruby (fused)
 * Sapphire (fused)
 * Pearl
 * Amethyst
 * Steven Quartz Universe
 * Peridot
 * Lion

Former Members

 * Rose Quartz (founder and original former leader, deceased)
 * Cluster Gems (former Crystal Gems forcibly fused together by the Homeworld)
 * Bismuth (original member but bubbled by Rose and Steven, Inactive)

Unknown Members

 * Crazy Lance (Mentioned by Bismuth)
 * Snowflake (Mentioned by Bismuth)
 * Bix (Mentioned by Bismuth)
 * Other Amethysts (Mentioned by Bismuth)

Known Fusions

 * Garnet - (fusion form of Ruby and Sapphire)
 * Opal - (fusion form of Pearl and Amethyst)
 * Suglite - (fusion form of Garnet and Amethyst)
 * Sardonyx - (fusion form of Garnet and Pearl)
 * Alexandrite - (fusion form of Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst)
 * Rainbow Quartz - (fusion form of Rose and Pearl)
 * Stevonnie - (fusion form of Steven and Connie)
 * Smoky Quartz - (fusion form of Steven and Amethyst)

Allies

 * Connie Maheswaran - Ally of Steven and the Crystal Gems and student of Pearl
 * Greg Universe - Father of Steven and recurring ally
 * Lapis Lazuli - Former Homeworld Gem-turned ally and close friend of Steven

Trivia

 * In the "Pilot" and "Cheeseburger Backpack", it is implied that the Crystal Gems are over a hundred years old. It is possible that there are more Crystal Gems because Pearl mentioned that there were many Gems on Earth in the past.
 * In "On The Run", Amethyst was confirmed to be the youngest of the Crystal Gems at 6,000 years old.
 * All of the Crystal Gem's weapons (including Steven's shield) have the same color scheme as their gem.
 * Steven is the only member of the Crystal Gems whose skin isn't the same color as his gem.
 * Their gem placement seems to corespond to their personailities, actions, and how they think. Amythest's gem is over her heart; she tends to respond to whatever her heart tells her and does whatever she wants. Pearl's gem is on her forhead for her brain; she tends to overthink 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; he tends to go with his gut instinct and is often hungry. As it is over where his belly button would be, it may symbolize his mother/son connection to Rose Quartz. Their summoning of the gems tends to also match their gem placement.

Gems - Alien Species Wiki