Education > Jewelry Care | The Beauty of Refraction | Birth Stones

 

Birth Stones

----Meaning and effects of gems

 

 

GARNET: Birthstone for January

 

Garnet was known and admired thousands of years before the Christian era and appears in the Bible as a breastplate stone of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Noah is said to have hung a large garnet in the ark for illumination.

 

“The well-formed image of a lion.” Explains the Book of wings, a 13th century treatise on symbolic signs by Ragiel, “if engraved on garnet, will protect and preserve honours and health, cure the wearer of all diseases, bring him honours, and guard him from all perils of traveling.”

 

Asiatic peoples used garnets as war-like missiles, believing their colour would inflict a more deadly wound. Such precious bullets were employed by Hanza rebels on the Kashmir frontier in 1892 and eagerly preserved as curiosities by the British troops at whom they were aimed!

 

The name “Garnet” evolved from the Latin word “granatus,” meaning “seed-like” or “having many seeds,” because garnet crystal, embedded in rock, reminded early scientists of the shape and colour of pomegranate seeds.

 

A diverse “family” of gems that includes seven gem species, garnets are available in all colours except blue, although Almandine (dark, slightly brownish-red to purplish-red colour) and Pyrope (more transparent with a slightly purer red than Almandine) are the most common garnets. Less familiar varieties include Rhodolite (a deep red) and Tsavorite (a green colour) garnets.

 

AMETHYST: Birthstone for February

 

The single most common mineral in the earth’s crust is quartz, and amethyst, birthstone for February, is probably the most valuable and recognized variety of quartz, loved for centuries for its wide range of purple hues.

 

The name “amethyst” derives from the Greek meaning “not to intoxicate.” Lore has it that when the beautiful maiden Amethyst was on her way to pray at the shrine of Diana she was attached by the tigers of ill-tempered Bacchus, god of wine and revelry. Diana protected Amethyst by turning her into a statue of pure white stone. Bacchus, recognizing the miracle, and repenting of his drunken cruelty, wept tears of wine over the frozen maiden, turning the stone a glorious hue of violet. Hence amethyst’s reputation for curing drunkenness. Even today, prelates in several religions wear the gem to offset any effects of communion wine.

 

Leonardo da Vinci believed amethyst had the power to control evil thoughts, quicken the intelligence, and render men shrewd in business matters.

 

Amethyst was also thought to preserve soldiers from harm and bring victory in battle, assist hunters in the capture of wild animals and, like many stones, preserve the wearer from contagion.

 

The principle sources of fine quality amethyst include Brazil, Uruguay, and the Ural Mountains of Russia. Other important amethyst-producing countries are Ceylon, Mexico, Japan, South Africa, Madagascar, the U.S. and Iran.

 

AQUAMARINE: Birthstone for March

 

Aquamarine is the Latin word for “sea water” – a superb descriptive choice given the stone’s possible hues, which range from an almost colourless blue, through stronger blues, to greenish-blue and bluish-green.

 

Aquamarines from Madagascar are frequently a medium dark blue and any stone of this colour is referred as a “Madagascar”. This colour of aquamarine has become quite rare, and therefore costly.

 

Bluish-green stones – the more common coloration – are usually called “Brazilians” since Brazil is the main source for aquamarine, although there are good aquamarine localities in Southwest Africa and India.

 

A number of qualities are associated with aquamarine. Both the ancient Egyptian and Greek cultures revered it as a stone which brought a clear, cool mind, courage, and a happy marriage to its wearer.

 

Aquamarine has also been considered a symbol of happiness and ever-lasting youth, as well as being thought of by the ancients as capable of inducing sleep. It was also believed in earlier times that water in which aquamarine had been soaked was a cure for eye troubles.

 

DIAMOND: Birthstone for April

 

The hardest substance on earth, the most brilliant of gems, diamonds were thought by the ancients to be the tears of the gods.

 

The name “diamond” comes from the Greek word “adamas,” meaning “unconquerable,” and is a substance composed of carbon which crystallized millions of years ago.

 

Generally white, most gemstone quality diamonds have very faint colour shadows, usually yellow or grey, which in part determine their value. “Fancies” are diamonds with definite colour such as yellow, brown, orange, pink blue or green. Deep coloured “fancies” are extremely rare, the most famous of these being the brilliant blue “Hope Diamond.”

 

The “Koh-i-noor,” or “mountain of Light Diamond,” has the longest history of all famous diamonds. From the rajahs of Malwa in 1304, to the Persian Peacock Throne, and eventually to Queen Victoria and the British State Crown, it has passed through centuries of personal trial and political turmoil looking, especially after being faceted around 1530, ever more beautiful.

 

Today, diamonds are no longer reserved for the wealthy and powerful. Modern methods of mining, cutting, faceting and marketing? have brought this stone within reach of us all.

 

EMERALD: Birthstone for May

 

Emeralds are one of the most valuable of gemstones and, historically, one of the most fascinating.

 

As the birthstone for May, the emerald’s lovely green colour symbolizes the beauty and promise of spring.

 

Emeralds were being mined in Upper Egypt as long ago as 2,000 B.C., and were cherished by both King Solomon and Cleopatra – even though the stones from this source were of poor quality.

 

The truly great source of emeralds to this day is Columbia, where it was first mined and treasured by the Incas, and later “re-discovered” by the Spanish Conquistadors in the 16th century.

 

Many special powers were attributed to the emerald: heightening of intelligence, improvement of eyesight, and the curing of infertility. Long ago emerald was dedicated to the goddess Venus, and lovers believed it was endowed with the power of revealing the faithfulness of the beloved, as well as enabling the wearer to predict the future!

 

Two of the most renowned emeralds are the “Devonshire Emerald,” a 1383.95 carat uncut Columbian crystal given to the sixth Duke of Devonshire by Dom Pedro the First, Emperor of Brazil, and now on permanent loan to the British Museum of Natural History, and the “Patricia Emerald,” a 1,200 carat beauty on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

 

PEARL: Birthstone for June

 

“Gift of the Sea,” “Queen of Gem,” “Angels’ Tears”: whatever epithet you choose, pearl, the birthstone for June, stands for beauty, mystery, romance…

 

Man’s love affair with pearls was in full flower even in ancient times. The Egyptians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Indians and later, every Royal House in the world, kept large amounts of pearls in their treasuries.

 

Many legends surround pearls including, most fittingly, the power to bestow love, happiness and good fortune. It was said that drinking a mixture of powdered pearl and wine – such as Cleopatra did in (successful) pursuit of Marc Anthony – assured a lover’s affection.

 

Two of the world’s most famous natural pearls are “La Peregrina” (“The Incomparable”), once owned by Philip IV of Spain, and said to have so much luster that it appeared to be transparent, and “Hope Pearl,” named for the same family as the “Hope Diamond,” and, at 50 mm in length, 113 mm in circumference and weighing 90 grams, the largest natural pearl known.

 

RUBY: Birthstone for July

 

Ruby, birthstone for July, has been called the “Gem of Regents.” Coming from the word “rebeus,” Latin for “red,” the noble ruby has enchanted man the world over for hundreds of years and many magical powers have attributed to it.

 

Calling it the “Sun’s Own Gem,” the Hindus believed that the fire in ruby could heat water.

 

The Greeks, who often make rings set with rubies, said the stone could melt wax on which it was pressed.

 

Egyptians thought the ruby kept mummified corpses warm, and their warriors carried it into battle for good luck.

 

The ruby is a corundum and therefore kin to the sapphire. Pure corundum is colourless, but with nature’s addition of chromium oxide it becomes a ruby. Colours can range from yellowish red to bluish red. Rubies of deep, bluish red are called “pigeon-blood” rubies and are the rarest and most valuable.

 

Some of the most famous rubies come from Myanmar (Burma), where, in the small area around the city of Mogok, the stones have been mined for 800 years. Good rubies are also found in Ceylon, Thailand, Tanzania, Afghanistan and Australia.

 

Long before it became the birthstone for July, ruby was the gem of love, of mystery, of ancient beliefs. It still is!

 

PERIDOT: Birthstone for August

 

Imagine a gemstone that has come from space, been mined by ants, and which may well have been the fabled “emeralds” of Cleopatra. Such is peridot, birthstone for August.

 

Peridot is the gem form of the mineral olivine. Generally yellowish green or olive green, the peridot is most often found in volcanic deposits since olivine, its base mineral, is one of the most important minerals contained in common lava. Thus the “miner” ants, when building their tunnels in volcanic soil, push the peridot pebbles – the refuse of tunnel building – onto the anthill for man to find.

 

Peridots have also been discovered in meteorites. To think that the gem on your hand has traveled light years through space is truly “awesome.”

 

Mined since 1,500 B.C., the best peridots on St. John’s Island were once guarded by a mysterious force which put all intruders to death, a rumour most likely started as an anti-poaching device.

 

The Egyptians believed that peridot glowed in the dark and could break evil spells.

 

The Romans thought peridot dispelled anxiety and the fear of darkness and the unknown, as well as having great medicinal value – all good reasons to wear peridot today!

 

SAPPHIRE: Birthstone for September

 

The symbol of truth, consistency and enduring love, sapphire is one of the hardest and most durable of gemstones.

 

It has been revered through the ages. The Persians believed that the earth rested upon a sapphire, thus producing the blue colour of the sky.

 

Many ancients believed that the Ten Commandments were written on a sapphire tablet.

 

Back in the 12th century, the Bishop of Rennes praised sapphire’s divine powers and started the use of this gem in church regalia.

 

Like ruby, sapphire starts out as colourless corundum. The blue of sapphire is created when titanium, iron oxide and, sometimes, a trait of cobalt is added. Sapphires can range from grayish blue to deep inky blue. “Fancy sapphires,” created when other minerals are added by nature, can range in colour from white, through pink, violet, green, yellow, orange to black.

 

Kashmir is renowned for its sapphires. Quality stones also come Ceylon, Myanmar, Australia and the U.S.

 

The largest cut star sapphire in the world, the “star of India” – a fabulous blue-grey gem with a gleaming white star – makes its home at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

 

OPAL: Birthstone for October

Opal is for many people the most beautiful and desirable of all gemstones. Its beauty – the flashing rainbow colors that emerge from a fine opal through light refraction – unique, and has intrigued and mystified man since ancient times.

 

The Romans called opal “cupid paederos” – meaning “child beautiful as love” – and revered it as a symbol of purity as well as hope, since the stone was thought to protect the wearer against disease.

 

The Arabs believed that opals fell from heaven in flashes of lightning and thus acquired their marvellous colours.

 

After centuries of admiration, the opal was shadowed during the 19th century by the superstition that it was an unlucky stone. The source of this strange rumour was a novel called Anne of Geierstein by Sir Walter Scott in which the heroine’s moods were mirrored in her opal. Her anger was shown by the stone flashing red, for example. On Anne’s death, the stone “turned ashes grey” in colour. Gradually, to the relief of opal lovers, the superstition has disappeared.

 

An amorphous, hydrous form of silica, the opal comes in many colours, ranging from black, through semi-transparent and transparent to white, with many variations in each stage of coloration.

 

Renowned opals from Australia range in size from several hundred carats to over 700 carats, while the famous “Roebling Opal,” found in Nepal, weighs 2,610 carats – one of the largest masses of precious opal in the world.

 

TOPAZ: Birthstone for November

 

According to the Roman writer Pliny, the name “topaz” is derived from “Topazios,” an island in the Red Sea that was probably the early source of peridot. However, present-day authorities believe that the name is derived from the Sanskrit word “topaz,” meaning “fire.”

 

In earlier times all yellow stones were called topaz. It was believed that topaz drove away sadness and strengthened the intellect. Powdered topaz mixed with wine was used as a cure for asthma, burns and haemorrhage.

 

Topaz was long considered the stone of fruitfulness and faithfulness, as well as conferring cheerfulness on the wearer, calming passions, and preventing bad dreams. All these powers were believed to increase and decrease with the changes of the moon.

 

Yellow topaz is most common, but there is pink, green, blue, brown, red and colourless (or white) topaz as well. Two main sources for topaz are Sri Lanka and the Mogok area of Myanmar, gem-rich areas where the stone is mined indirectly – as a by-product of the search for ruby and sapphire! Brazil and California are other important sources of topaz.

 

Some of nature’s topaz production is truly breath-taking. The American Museum of Natural History has two blue topaz weighing 308 and 120 each, and two deep blue Brazilian stones of 258 carats and 1,463 carats (the “Morganthau Topaz”). The British Museum holds a 614 carat flawless, step-cut, blue topaz from Brazil and a 1,300 carat flawless, colourless, oval-shaped specimen.

 

Blue Topaz: Birthstone for December

 

As cool and inviting as a blue lake on a blistering summer day, December's birthstone is derived from the Sanskrit word "tapas" meaning fire.? This is because Blue Topaz was considered by ancient civilizations to have cooling properties.? Not only was it believed to cool boiling water when thrown into the pot, but to calm hot tempers as well!? This gemstone was credited with many other healing powers, among them the ability to cure insanity, asthma, weak vision and insomnia.? The Blue Topaz was even thought to have magical properties in its ability to make its wearer invisible in a threatening situation.?

 

Blue Topaz is the hardest of the silicate minerals.? While pure Topaz is colorless, minor changes of elements within the stone result in a variety of other colors, such as blue, pale green, red, yellow and pink.?

 

The blue hue is created when Topaz is heated, whether the heat source is natural or engineered by man.? The three shades of Blue Topaz are Sky, Swiss and London Blue.? The latter is the deepest blue and is often used as a less expensive substitute for Sapphire.?

 

Topaz is found primarily in Brazil, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Pakistan, China, and the United States.?

 

A gift of Blue Topaz is symbolic of love and fidelity.? Luckily, this cool blue gemstone has no legendary power to put out the burning flame of love!