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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…

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…

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…

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 26.75 carats from Tanzania, showing a blue-green color in daylight and a purple-red color under incandescent light. Natural alexandrite of good color and clarity is an extremely expensive gem, however, lab-created alexandrite…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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.…