Gemstone Information

Ruby

Sapphire

• Blue, strongly linked to the sapphire as it is, with feelings of sympathy and harmony, friendship and loyalty. Thus the blue of the sapphire has become a color which fits in with everything that is constant and reliable.
• Blue is the main color of the sapphire, and it also includes gloriously colorful play of light in a sunset - yellow, pink, orange and purple.
• Its beauty, its magnificent colors, its transparency, but also its constancy and durability are qualities associated with this gemstone.
• Sapphires are found in India, Burma, Ceylon, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, Brazil and Africa.
• Their value depends on their size, color and transparency. With stones of very fine quality, these are, however, not the only main criteria, the origin of the gem also playing a major role.
• Mohs Scale Hardness: 9.0
• Colors:  Every color except red (which is ruby) or pinkish-orange (padparadscha)
• Birthstone: September
• Anniversary:  5th

Amethyst

• It is a symbol of the Spirit of God
• Symbolizes piety and protects its wearer from seduction.
• The price has a close relationship with the quality, and the quality varies immensely. Most of the material from Brazil is light-colored; In Madagascar, it is generally red or violet. Uruguay supplies the most beautiful and the deepest color.
• Mohs Scale Hardness: 7–lower in impure varieties
• Colors:  Violet
• Birthstone: February
• Anniversary:  6th

Garnet

• Deep, warm red indeed being the colour most frequently found in garnets.
• Spectacular finds, especially in Africa, have enhanced the traditional image of the garnet with a surprising number of hues.  Garnet also exists in various shades of green, a tender to intense yellow, a fiery orange and some fine earth-coloured nuances. The only colour it cannot offer is blue.
• Garnet means something like 'the grainy one', coming from the Latin 'granum', for grain.
• Garnets have been known to Man for thousands of years. Noah, it is said, used a garnet lantern to help him steer his ark through the dark night.
• Garnets mostly come from African countries, but also from India, Russia and Central and South America.
• Mohs Scale Hardness: 6.0 - 7.5
• Colors:  virtually all colors
• Birthstone: January
• Anniversary:  2th

Onyx: black magic

• In fine jewellery, the black backdrop is often supplied by onyx, a black chalcedony quartz with a fine texture. Some onyx also displays white bands or ribbons against a black background. If the layers are even, this type of onyx can be carved into cameos.
• Onyx was very popular with the ancient Greeks and Romans. The name comes from the Greek word 'onyx', which means nail or claw.
• Black onyx shines especially well when used as a backdrop for colour play.
• Mohs Scale Hardness: 7
• Colors:  range from white to almost every color (save some shades, such as purple or blue)
• Birthstone: none
• Anniversary:  7th

Agate: banded beauty

• No gemstone is more creatively striped by Nature than agate, chalcedony quartz that forms in concentric layers in a wide variety of colours and textures.
• Agate was highly valued as a talisman or amulet in ancient times.
• The mining of agate in the Nahe River valley in Germany, which was already documented in 1497.
• When the Nahe agate deposit had been exhausted, in the nineteenth century, Idar-Oberstein's cutters started to develop the agate deposits of Brazil
• Mohs Scale Hardness: 7
• Colors:  White to grey, light blue, orange to red, black.
• Birthstone: none
• Anniversary:  none

Jade

• Symbolic energy and beauty, the traditional and the modern are combined in jade in a particularly harmonious way. And in gemstone therapy it is said that jade 'stimulates creativity and mental agility on the one hand, while also having a balancing and harmonising effect.'
• 'Jade', or yu, as it is called in China, is strictly speaking a generic term for two different gems, nephrite and jadeite. Jadeite is rarer than nephrite and is therefore regarded as more precious.
• Nephrite deposits have been found in China, New Zealand, Russia, Guatemala and the Swiss Alps. Dark green jade, so-called Canada jade, is also found in Western Canada. Jadeite is found in China, Russia and Guatemala, but the best stones come from Burma, now known as Myanmar.
• In general, the value of jade is determined according to its colour and the intensity of that colour, the vivacity and texture, and its clarity and transparency.
• Mohs Scale Hardness: 6.5 – 7
• Colors:  shades of emerald green as well as white, gray, yellow, orange and violet.
• Birthstone: none
• Anniversary:  12th

Quartz: common chameleon

• If you gaze deep into a crystal ball, you will see a versatile gemstone, one of the most popular gems on earth.
• The pale pink colour of quartz, which can range from transparent to translucent, is known as rose quartz.
• Tiger's eye quartz contains brown iron which produces its golden yellow colour.
• The transparent, colourless variety of quartz is still known as rock crystal.
• Rutilated quartz is transparent rock crystal with golden needles of rutile arrayed in patterns inside it.
• Mohs Scale Hardness: 7 - lower in impure varieties
• Colors:  Clear (if no impurities); also see Varieties
• Birthstone: none
• Anniversary:  none

Cubic Zirconia

• The cubic crystalline form of zirconium dioxide (ZrO2), is a mineral that is widely synthesized for use as a diamond stimulant.
• The synthesized material is hard, optically flawless and usually colorless, but may be made in a variety of different colors
• Because of its low cost, durability, and close visual likeness to diamond, synthetic cubic zirconia has remained the most gemologically and economically important diamond stimulant.
• Mohs Scale Hardness: none
• Colors:  none
• Birthstone: none
• Anniversary:  none

Aquamarine

• From the light blue of the sky to the deep blue of the sea, aquamarines shine over an extraordinarily beautiful range of mainly light blue colours.
• Its light blue arouses feelings of sympathy, trust, harmony and friendship. According to the old traditions this promises a happy marriage and is said to bring the woman who wears it joy and wealth into the bargain. An ideal gem, not only for loving and married couples.
• Brazil is among the countries where aquamarine is found. Aquamarines are also found in other countries, for example Nigeria, Zambia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
• Mohs Scale Hardness: 7.5-8
• Colors:  almost colorless pale blue to blue-green or teal.
• Birthstone: March
• Anniversary:  12th

Peridot

• The vivid green of the peridot, with just a slight hint of gold, is the ideal gemstone colour to go with that light summer wardrobe. The birth of peridot is the month of August.
• The most beautiful stones come from the border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, the peridot as a gemstone also exists in Myanmar, China, the USA, Africa and Australia. Stones from East Burma, now known as Myanmar, have vivid light green and fine inclusions with a silky shine to them. Peridot from Arizona, where it is popularly used in Native American jewellery, often has somewhat yellowish or gold-brown nuances.
• The peridot is cut in accordance with its crystal shape, mostly faceted or in classical table cuts, or round, antique, as an octahedron or oval
• Mohs Scale Hardness: 6.5-7
• Colors:  Yellow, to yellow-green, olive-green, to brownish
• Birthstone: August
• Anniversary:  16th

Red Coral:

• Corals are a decorative material with a very special fascination - the perfect embodiment of Man's longing for summer, sun and far-off oceans.
• Corals live at depths of between three and 300 metres in the waters around Japan, Taiwan and in the Malaysian Archipelago, in the Red Sea, in the Bay of Biscay and around the Canary Islands, as well as in north-east Australia and the Midway Islands. In the Mediterranean, there are coral banks in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the coast of Sardinia, off Tunisia and Algeria, former Yugoslavia and Turkey.
• Their beauty can easily be impaired by the wrong treatment, for example cosmetics, hot water or bright light. Coral jewellery should be kept in a safe place and from time to time cleaned with a soft, damp towel.
• Red corals are still worn as a talisman to protect the wearer against evil spirits in many cultures. The ancient faith in the protective and invigorating force of coral is perpetuated in the custom of putting a necklace of red corals round the neck of a small child. Young girls too are often given a fine coral necklace as their first piece of jewellery.
• Mohs Scale Hardness: 6.5-7
• Colors:  Red is considered the most sought after color but coral also can be found in pink, white, yellow and black.
• Birthstone: none
• Anniversary:  none

Red Goldstone

• The most common goldstone is a reddish-brown colour with tiny glittery bits. Goldstone is a man-made gemstone, first created by alchemists trying to make gold. Not really a gemstone, more of a glass bead. Goldstone has been around since the European Renaissance, and is said to be one of the most popular gemstones in the world.
• Red goldstone is associated with vitality and energy.
• Occurrence: United States, India, Russia.
• Colors:  Red-brown with golden sparkles of light
• Mohs Scale Hardness: 6.5-7

Blue Goldstone

• Blue goldstone is blue in colour with tiny glittery bits. Infused with copper sparkles - a powerful energy generator.
• A stone of wisdom and science

Mother of pearl

• Mother of Pearl is also known as Nacre. Queen Elizabeth I of England was the first to name "Mother of Pearl" since the nacre is the mother of a pearl.
• Color: is in a variety of colors from white to black and nearly every other color in between. It derives its color from its genetic make-up, food, trace metals in the water and to a lesser extent the depth and salt content of the water.

Turquoise

• Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral. It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gem and ornamental stone for thousands of years owing to its unique hue. In recent times turquoise, like most other opaque gems, has been devalued by the introduction of treatments, imitations, and synthetics onto the market.
• Meaning: Strength, protection from harm, psychic sensitivity and connection to the spirit world
• Mohs Scale Hardness: 5-6
• Colors:  Blue, blue-green, green
• Birthstone: December
• Anniversary:  11th

Iolite

• Iolite is a popular and interesting gemstone, and is the gem variety of the mineral cordierite. It has a delicate and quite pretty violet blue color that is unlike other gemstones, although it has been compared to a light blue sapphire. It is this reason that it is sometimes known as "water sapphire". Although the color is attractive and popular, iolite is not extremely rare and is therefore affordable.
• The major sources of gem grade iolite come from Sri Lanka, India, Madagascar and Burma
• COLOR: Blue, violet, yellow-brown; transparent to translucent
• Mohs Scale Hardness: 7 - 7.5
• Anniversary:  21th

Tourmaline

• Tourmalines come in just about every color in the rainbow. Some of the colors have unique jewelry related names.
• Located: Brazil | Calif., Maine, USA | Sri Lanka | Italy | USSR |
• Mohs Scale Hardness: 7–7.5
• Colors:  Most commonly black, but can range from brown, violet, green, pink, or in a dual-colored pink and green.
• Birthstone: October
• Anniversary:  8th

Prehnite

• Named after Colonel Prehn, this gemstone has the distinction of being the first gemstone to be named after a person.
• Prehnite is a complex silicate often found in the lining in the cavities of volcanic rocks.
• Mohs Scale Hardness: 6 - 6.5
• Colors:  Colorless to gray to yellow, yellow-green or white
• Anniversary:  8th

Cat's Eye

• Cat's-eye or cymophane is also much sought after, on account of the luminous line that bisects it from top to bottom and moves from side to side as the stone is turned. Several other gems also produce cat's-eyes, but none shows a line with such delicate yet sharp silky splendor as chrysoberyl. It is caused by extremely fine hollow channels traversing the stone at right angles to the line. In most other gemstones the 'eye' caused by solid fibrous crystals and is therefore coarser and more diffuse. Accurate cutting is required to place the line exactly in the middle of the stone.
• Cat'-eye come mainly from Ceylon's gem gravels and, unlike alexandrite, they have been much prized for thousands of years. The stones are simulated most closely by yellow quartz cat's-eyes but all applicable tests will clearly distinguish between the two gems. No synthetic chrysoberyl cat's-eyes are marked.
• Occurrence: Found mostly in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and Brazil.
• Mohs Scale Hardness: 8.5
• Colors:  Yellow to greenish yellow to grayish green, displaying chatoyancy
• Anniversary:  18th

Marcasite

• The mineral marcasite, sometimes called white iron pyrite. Marcasite is often mistakenly confused with pyrite, but marcasite is lighter and more brittle
• Frequently found replacing organic matter, forming fossils, in sedimentary beds, particularly coal beds. May be intergrown or replaced by pyrite.
• Locals: Mexico | Germany | France | Missouri/USA |
• Mohs Scale Hardness: 6-6.5
• Colors:  Brass Yellow

Citrine

• Like golden Rhine wine or sparkling Madeira, heavy and sweet, citrine jewellery shimmers and brings a hint of sunshine to those dull November days.
• it has been found in Spain, on the Scottish island of Arran, in France, Hungary and in several mines overseas
• In mysticism, the topaz is attributed with a cooling, styptic and appetising effect. It is said to dispel sadness, anger and nocturnal fears, to warn its wearer of poisons and protect him or her from sudden death. It is reputed to make men handsome and intelligent and sterile women fertile and happy.

Emerald

• Emeralds are fascinating gemstones. They have the most beautiful, most intense and most radiant green that can possibly be imagined: emerald green. Inclusions are tolerated
• The Incas and Aztecs of South America, where the best emeralds are still found today, regarded the emerald as a holy gemstone. The name emerald comes from the Greek 'smaragdos' via the Old French 'esmeralde', and really just means 'green gemstone'
• The magnificent green of the emerald is a colour which conveys harmony, love of Nature and elemental joie de vivre

Opal

• All of Nature’s splendour seems to be reflected in the manifold opulence of fine Opals: fire and lightnings, all the colours of the rainbow and the soft shine of far seas. Australia is the classical country of origin. Almost ninety-five per cent of all fine opals come from the dry and remote outback deserts.
• The group of fine Opals includes quite a number of wonderful gemstones, which share one characteristic: they shine and sparkle in a continually changing play of colours full of fantasy, which experts describe as “opalising”
• Pliny, the famous Roman author, called Opal a gemstone which combines the best possible characteristics of the most beautiful of gemstones: the fine sparkle of Almandine, the shining purple of Amethyst, the golden yellow of Topaz, and the deep blue of Sapphire,”so that all colours shine and sparkle together in a beautiful combination“.
• Due to the differing percentage of water, Opals may easily become brittle. Opal jewellery should be worn as often as possible, for then the gemstone will receive the needed humidity from the air and from the skin of its wearer.
• For ages people have believed in the healing power of Opal. It is reported to be able to solve depressions and to help its wearer find the true and real love. Opals are supposed to further enhance the positive characteristics for people born under the zodiac sign of Cancer. Black Opal is recommended to those born under Scorpio, and Boulder Opal is the lucky stone for Aries.