-
Turquoise:
Turquoise is a copper mineral with a bright blue to blue-green color. The color is so familiar and so enjoyed that the word “turquoise” has become a commonly used word for a milky blue-green color. Only a few gemstones have a color that is so familiar. Turquoise is found in dry climates in the rocks above copper deposits. The southwestern states…
-
Sapphire
Sapphire: Sapphire is a gem variety of the mineralcorundum. When corundum is reddish blue to violet-blue, it is known simply as “sapphire.” Corundums of any other color (except red, which is ruby) are known as “fancy sapphire.” On the basis of dollars spent in the United States, sapphire is the most popular blue stone and the third most…
-
Blue Gemstones and Crystals
-
Lab-Created and Simulant Birthstones
Although many birthstone gems are affordable, some, such as diamond, emerald, and ruby, can be expensive. Decades ago, many jewelry manufacturers began using lab-grown and imitation gems in some commercial birthstone jewelry. These man-made alternative gems, along with sterling silver or low-carat gold mountings, provided three benefits: they significantly reduced the cost of the item; improved the size,…
-
Birthstone Hardness and Durability
Gems vary in hardness and durability. Below we have rated the birthstones according to their suitability for use in various types of jewelry, giving them ratings from “poor” to “excellent”. The ratings below apply only to natural gems. If you are considering a synthetic birthstone, they generally rate between good and excellent, but a consultation…
-
How Today’s Birthstone List Evolved
Standardization of the birthstone list in 1912 was a good thing to do. It reduced confusion between organizations and individuals who had different ideas of which birthstones should be used to represent different months. However, the list has been modified several times since 1912 – and there are still multiple “birthstone lists” in use. Fortunately,…
-
Historical Roots of Birthstones
The practice of associating certain gemstones with certain months of the year dates back at least 2000 years. George Frederick Kunz, a mineralogist and gemologist who served as the Vice President of Tiffany & Company in the late 1800s, wrote in his book, The Curious Lore of Precious Stones: “The origin of the belief that to…
-
Birthstone Engagement Rings
A growing trend in bridal jewelry is the “birthstone engagement ring”. Many couples are looking for color, or are looking for a stone other than diamond. The birthstone engagement ring can be a logical, affordable, and attractive choice for these couples. If you were born in April, this idea might not work because diamond is…
-
Birthstone Jewelry Popularity
Wearing and gifting birthstone jewelry is a long-standing custom in many countries. In the United States alone, consumers buy millions of dollars’ worth of birthstone jewelry every month. The first jewelry item that many children receive is often a birthstone ring, earrings, or pendant. Three-piece sets that include a birthstone ring, pendant, and pair of…
-
What Are Birthstones?
Birthstones are gemstones that represent the month of a person’s birth. As an example, emerald is the birthstone for the month of May. So, people born in May have emerald as their birthstone. The use of specific gems as “birthstones for a specific month” and wearing them in jewelry is a custom that began in eighteenth-century Europe and quickly spread to…