Birthstones
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January - Garnet The most popular and inexpensive variety is the African garnet.It is a rich brick or dark red stone that has a good luster and evenness of colour. They are available in many different shapes. Mainly mined in South Africa, Mozambique, Brazil, United States and Mexico. |
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February - Amethyst An amethyst is purple to almost pink variety of quartz, due to traces of manganese, and is the most prized variety of the quartz family. It is important when choosing an amethyst to ensure the stone is even in colour and not patchy. Amethysts are mainly mined in Brazil, Spain, North Carolina and Russia. |
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March - Aquamarine This beautiful gemstone belongs to the Beryl family and is normally found in Brazil, Madagascar and Nigeria. Its magical green-blue colour is due to the presence of iron traces. Aquamarines are thought to have therapeutic effect on the wearer and defend the body from negative energy. The deep rich blue aquamarines are rarer and therefore more valuable. |
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April - Diamond Lucky for all the girls born in this month! Diamonds are made from carbon crystallized under great heat and pressure. Diamonds have a hardness of 10 on the Mohs' scale of hardness and are recognized for their exceptional durability, which makes them resistant to any form of abrasion from other minerals. |
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May - Emerald Emerald was believed to promote honesty and frugality and hold within it the promise of new life in springtime. Emeralds are precious stones of great value and intrigue. Their colours vary from brilliant green to soft blue greens or pale leaf greens. The outstanding luster in some stone is due to chromium deposits found in the rough. Emeralds are mined in Colombia, Brazil, South America, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Zambia. Most stones are very brittle and porous and have a hardness of 7.5 - 8. Due to their more "gentle" nature, they should not be worn everyday as they will scratch and chip. |
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June - Pearl Cultured pearls are formed in the oyster, with the assistance of man. Pearl cultivators in Japan insert a small shell nucleus into the fleshy interior of a pearl oyster. The rest of the work is done by the oyster, which coats the nucleus with a nacreous material which hardens to form the pearl. Cultured pearls are amongst the most adaptable items in jewellery. Their simple elegance makes them an ideal choice in a wide range of pieces including necklaces, earrings and rings. There are a variety of shapes including baroque, pearl, barrel, round and mabe' (half sphere). As cultured pearls are formed by a natural process the shapes cannot be predetermined. |
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July - Ruby Rubies are regarded as a symbol of freedom, charity, dignity and divine power. The ruby is the most valuable variety of corundum. Like sapphires they vary in strength of colour and their value is dependent on two factors - colour and the number of inclusions. Depending on the size, cut and quality of the ruby they are usually more expensive than sapphires. A hardness of 9 means that these stones are very durable. The finest rubies are found in Burma, although Thailand is the main source of these jewels. |
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August - Peridot Peridot is the name applied by jewellers to the mineral know to mineralogists as "olvine'. Peridot has a highly characteristic green colour and vitreous luster that makes it a popular gemstone for jewellery. They are usually transparent and have very few inclusions. It has a hardness of 6.5 to 7 that means that it is fairly resistant to daily wear. Gem cutters are able to cut the Peridot into many fancy and mixed cuts. The main sources of peridot are the island of Zebiget, Arizona (USA), the Hawaiian Islands, Burma and Brazil. |
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September - Sapphire
Sapphire is regarded as a sign of truth, sincerity and constancy. A durable and versatile gemstone it has a hardness of 9 on the Moh scale - the hardest being a diamond at 10. Sapphire is an aluminum oxide know as corundum, not nearly as romantic a name as sapphire! This stone is valued according to the evenness and depth of colour, as well as the lack of visible inclusions. While most people think of sapphires as a deep blue, they actually come in a variety of colours, including yellow, green, pink, different shades of blue and colourless. |
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October - Opal Opals are popular gemstones, known for their iridescent flashes of colours. They are mainly cut into cabachons as they are brittle and can be damaged easily by chemicals, perfume, hand cream and daily wear. Solid opal has a hardness of only 5 to 6.5cm on the Moh scale and since they are easily damaged they are not suitable for daily wear - they are best worn as dress rings, earrings and pendants. The fiery opal or triplet is a harder-wearing opal and comes in a variety of lovely, lively colours, the blues, greens and reds being our most popular. Opals are mainly mined in Australia, but the bright orange fire opal comes from Mexico. It is said that those who fall under this birthstone have great foresight. |
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November - Topaz A very popular stone, the Topaz - which is mined all over the world - occurs in a variety of shades ranging from transparent to yellows and green to blues. They can thus be worn daily without significant damage or scratching, and can be cut into any shape desired. Our most popular cuts are marquise, round, oval, pear and octagonal. They set up beautifully in white or yellow gold. |
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December - Tanzanite Tanzanite is a very rare and precious gemstone. It is only found in one location in the world - the Merelani hills of east Africa, at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Discovered in 1967, it is said to be 1000 times rarer than diamonds! Tanzanite is blue in colour and shimmers in a slightly purplish hue. As with many coloured gemstones, Tanzanite is not ideally suited for everyday rings. To minimize the risk of harm, Tanzanite jewellery is suited for more selective wear. Due to its popularity it was declared in 2003 as the new birthstone for December! |
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