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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,…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Tanzanite is the newest birthstone for the month of December. Most tanzanite sold in jewelry today has a blue to bluish purple to bluish violet color that is produced by heat treatment. Its color has an interesting feature – it changes depending upon the angle of viewing. If you have tanzanite jewelry, look at the stone…