A Guide To Colored Stones As Birthstone
Jewelry … |
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January – Garnet
Garnet is a brownish red stone. The shades of red are caused by a
presence of iron, chromium and manganese. Garnet can be found anywhere
in the world. |
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February – Amethyst
Amethyst is the prized member of the quartz family. Early Greek legends,
and its
wine-purple color, associated amethyst with bacchus, the
god of wine. |
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March – Aquamarine
Aquamarine’s cool blue hues are reflected in its name, which comes
from the Latin for
“sea water”. This gem’s body color ranges from
a greenish blue to blue green. |
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April – Diamond
Worthy of its own category and the hardest of all minerals, the diamond
remains the single most popular gem in the world. Created billions
of years ago, its structure is the simplest of all crystallized
carbon. |
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May – Emerald
Emerald is a lush green color and the most famous of the beryl family.
It is also the gemstone for the twentieth and thirty-fifth wedding
anniversaries. |
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June – Pearl
Pearls occur in a wide variety of colors. The most familiar colors
are white and cream. The body color is often modified by additional
colors called overtones, which are typically pink (called rose),
green, purple, or blue. Pearls symbolize modesty, chastity, and
purity. |
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July – Ruby
This best loved red gem captivates the hearts of the gem professionals
and consumers alike. Ruby comes from the Latin word rubber, which
means red and can range in color from vivid red to pinkish purplish,
or orangey red. |
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August – Peridot
Formed deep inside the earth, this stone is brought to the surface
by volcanoes. Usually, transparent it comes in an attractive range
of colors from brownish or yellowish green to greenish yellow
(olive or lime). |
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September – Blue Sapphire
For centuries, sapphire has been associated with royalty and romance.
Traditionally, known for being blue, sapphires also come in violet,
green, yellow, orange, pink and purple (also known as rainbow
sapphire). |
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October – Opal
This phenomenal gem has been regarded as the luckiest and most magical
of all gems because it shows all colors. This play of color occurs
by light entering the stone. Once the light is diffracted, it
produces and entire rainbow of color. |
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November – Topaz
Besides the color brown, Topaz also is blue, green, yellow, orange,
red, pink, purple and even colorless. Red is the most valuable
topaz, but blue is the most common. |
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December – Zircon
Zircon’s name still means “imitation” to many people, but it actually
is a beautiful colored gemstone. This gem’s most common color
is often “zircon blue”. Other colors include, green, yellow, orange,
red, brown and even purple. |
