Garnet is the birthstone of January. Although many people think of a red gem when they think of garnet, it is actually available in almost every color - green tsavorite and demantoid , orange spessartine and hessionite , purple rhodolite , yellow mali and topazolite , pink malaya , red almandine and pyrope , black melanite.
These are just some of garnet's many colors and varieties. There are even opaque garnets that are usually cut as a cabochon pink hydrogrossular and green grossularite. The color variety of garnet gives people born in January many color options. The accompanying photo shows some of the many different colors in which garnet can occur.
Top row, from left to right: orange spessartite Mozambique , yellow mali Mali , green demantoid Namibia. Middle row: green tsavorite Tanzania , purple rhodolite Mozambique , pink malaya Tanzania.
Except for the orange hessonite from Sri Lanka, all of these garnets were mined in Africa, the relatively new source of spectacular garnets. Amethyst is the birthstone for February. It is the world's most popular purple gem - and that enhances its status as a birthstone.
The purple color of amethyst can be so light that it is barely perceptible, or so dark that a faceted gem can be nearly opaque. The color of amethyst spans a range from violetish purple, to purple, to reddish purple. Four Peaks is the most important amethyst mine in the United States. Aquamarine is the the birthstone for the month of March. Aquamarine is the blue variety of the mineral known as beryl.
It occurs in a range of colors from slightly greenish blue to a nearly pure blue hue. Aquamarine also occurs in a range of color saturations, from a very light, almost imperceptible blue to a rich deep blue.
The richly colored aquamarines with the purest blue color are most popular. Many people enjoy the light-colored stones which are much more affordable. Bloodstone is another gem that serves as a birthstone for March. It is an opaque green chalcedony that is marked with splashes of red and often other colors. Bloodstone receives its name from the red splashes of blood-like color.
As an opaque gem, bloodstone is usually cut into dome or shield-shaped gems known as cabochons. It has been a popular gemstone for at least two thousand years. In Europe and in older publications bloodstone is known by the name "heliotrope". Bloodstone is a popular and durable gem for men's rings, cufflinks, and tie tacks. Diamond is the birthstone of April.
It is the world's most popular gem. Many people enjoy diamond because of its brilliance and because of its dispersion. Dispersion is the ability of a gem to act as a prism and separate light into its component colors - as shown by the diamond in the accompanying photo.
Diamond is one of the most expensive birthstones. When cost is a concern, many people opt for a smaller stone. Others decide to purchase a more affordable lab-grown diamond. If cost is not an issue, then a beautiful colored diamond might be possible! Emerald is the birthstone for the month of May. It is the world's most popular green gem.
It is the green variety of the mineral beryl. Emeralds range in color from slightly yellowish green, to pure green, to slightly bluish green. Pure green emeralds are the most popular and valuable. Emerald can be a costly gem, and it often lacks the high level of clarity that many people desire. For that reason, lab-grown emeralds have become a popular option in birthstone jewelry. Lab-grown emeralds can be purchased at a small fraction of the cost of a natural emerald of similar size, color, and clarity.
The buyer and the recipient of an emerald birthstone gift might be pleased with this option. Pearl is an organic gem and the traditional birthstone for the month of June. There are three basic types of pearls: 1 natural pearls, which form naturally within the shell of a living mollusk; 2 cultured pearls, which are propagated by people by inserting a "seed" into a mollusk shell with the intent that the mollusk will deposit layers of nacre around it; and, 3 imitation pearls, which are usually plastic beads with a lustrous coating applied.
Most pearls in today's market are cultured pearls, which are very affordable when compared to natural pearls, and make a much nicer gift than imitation pearls. Most jewelry stores sell pearl jewelry, most often with cultured pearls.
The pearls in the photo are a white South Sea pearl, a black Tahitian pearl, and a gold South Sea pearl. Alexandrite is a color-change variety of chrysoberyl that appears as different colors under daylight and incandescent illumination. Pictured here is a faceted specimen of color-change alexandrite of Natural alexandrite of good color and clarity is an extremely expensive gem, however, lab-created alexandrite can be found in many jewelry stores.
Some of the lab-grown alexandrite has a spectacular appearance! Photo by David Weinberg for Alexandrite. Moonstone is a feldspar mineral that produces a "pearly" luster when light enters the stone and is reflected by mineral layers within the gem. Moonstone is most often a white or gray color with a glow that is white or silvery - like the glow of the moon that's how it got its name! Moonstone also occurs in pink, orange, near-colorless and other colors. Rare moonstones produce a blue or a multicolored glow.
These are called "rainbow moonstones" and they are market favorites. The accompanying photo shows two cabochons of rainbow moonstone with a bright blue glow.
Ruby is the birthstone for the month of July and the world's most popular red gem. Rubies range in color from orangy-red, to red, to slightly purplish-red. The most desirable and valuable colors are pure red and slightly purplish red. Natural rubies have historically been expensive gems, but recent discoveries in Africa bring many attractive natural rubies into the market at affordable prices.
Lab-grown ruby is very common in jewelry stores in the United States. Lab-grown rubies have been in the United States jewelry market since the early s. Today, if you go to a mall jewelry store such as Zales or Kay Jewelers, you will encounter a case with a large assortment of ruby jewelry items for sale.
Many of them will likely be synthetic or lab-grown ruby. If you spend time studying them, you might note that the synthetic gems usually have better clarity and better color than natural gems of similar price.
Many people are happy to pay the higher price for natural gems because they treasure gems that formed naturally within the Earth. Others are happy with the great appearance and lower price of lab-created gems. Peridot is a traditional birthstone for the month of August. It has a yellowish green color and is one of the world's most popular and affordable green gems. Shoppers can expect to find it in almost every jewelry store.
Peridot is the gem variety of a mineral group known as olivine. Much of the world's peridot is found in basalt flows. Basalt is an igneous rock that solidified from lavas erupted from volcanoes. The green sand beaches of Hawaii contain peridot crystals weathered from basalt. Some peridot falls to Earth in meteorites. Spinel is a newcomer to birthstone jewelry. Being named a birthstone will do more for the popularity of spinel than millions of dollars spent on advertising. Spinel is the perfect birthstone.
First, spinel occurs in every color of the spectrum - now people born in August are no longer limited to a yellowish-green peridot. Spinel occurs in a red color similar to ruby and a blue color similar to sapphire.
Red and blue are both common natural colors for spinel. Second, spinel is an extremely durable gem. It has the hardness and toughness for use in any type of jewelry - and that durability will enable it to endure over a lifetime of wear. Very few gems are more durable than spinel. Some but not all birthstone lists include sardonyx as a birthstone for August. Sardonyx is a banded variety of chalcedony that exhibits straight, parallel bands of white, black, orange, red, or brown chalcedony.
Some of the most spectacular cabochons and beads are cut from sardonyx. Sardonyx has also been used as a material for cutting cameos.
These take advantage of the layered, multicolored nature of the material. Cameos have been popular in jewelry for at least years. Cameos are often cut from many other materials, especially shell materials, but many of the finest cameos are cut from sardonyx. Sapphire is the birthstone for September. Most people immediately think of a blue gem when they hear the name "sapphire". That is because gem-quality specimens of the mineral corundum with a blue color are called "sapphire" by definition.
However, corundum occurs in many colors. When it is pink, orange, green, purple, yellow, or any of these other colors, the name " fancy sapphire " is used.
Bloodstone consists of dark green jasper with iron oxide inclusions. Image: Pat Daly Gem-A. Bloodstone was typically fashioned into amulets and carved with a family's coat of arms or crest. These bloodstone intaglios could then be placed in signet rings and used as melted wax seals.
This gem material has also been used as panels in snuff boxes, and in a more decorative manner in pietra dura inlay , cabinet doors and larger items of furniture. In the 17th century during the Renaissance, bloodstone was carved into forms such as a nef - a shallow bowl on a footed stem mounted with gold and other gemstones such as garnets. An example of this form can be seen at the Waddesdon Bequest at the British Museum.
In contemporary jewellery designs, bloodstone is typically found in polished oval or emerald-shaped cabochons that showcase its characteristic veins and specks of red.
Bloodstone is commonly carved into beads for necklaces and bracelets, which can be worn everyday as 'lucky charms'. Bloodstone is a polycrystalline material and as is fairly tough and resistant to fractures and chipping. As bloodstone is a type of quartz it has a hardness of on the Mohs scale, which makes it fairly resistant to scratches, but caution must still be exercised when wearing bloodstone.
When cleaning, use a soft cloth or brush and warm, soapy water. Speak to a member of the Gem-A education team to find out more on education gem-a. Read more. If you're lucky enough to be born in January, vibrant garnet is your birthstone. A rainbow jewel of the gem world, garnet displays the greatest variety of colour of any mineral and is very often untreated, making it a rarity in the gem world. Browse Aquamarine jewelry.
Diamonds, the birthstone of April, are commonly associated with love which make it the perfect gift for a loved one. While white diamonds are most common, fancy colored diamonds can be found in various colors including yellow, blue, pink and a variety of others as well. Browse Diamond jewelry. Emerald, the birthstone of May, carries the rich green color of Spring and radiates a beautiful vivid tone.
They are considered to be a symbol of rebirth and love. Emeralds are the rarest gemstones and are typically mined in Colombia, Brazil, Afghanistan and Zambia. Browse Emerald jewelry. June birthdays claim two birthstones; pearl and Alexandrite. Pearls have been wildly popular in jewelry for centuries because of their natural beauty.
Alexandrite gemstones are extremely rare and desirable since they change color based on the lighting. Browse Pearl jewelry. Browse Alexandrite jewelry. Rubies, the birthstone of July, are considered the king of gems and represent love, health and wisdom. It was believed wearing a fine red Ruby bestowed good fortune on its owner.
A Ruby is the most valuable gemstone and its value increases based on its color and quality. Browse Ruby jewelry. August is the latest month to claim two birthstones; Peridot and Spinel. Spinel is available in a brilliant range of colors and is believed to protect the owner from harm and soothe away sadness.
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