December Birthstones – Turquoise and Tanzanite

If cold December gave you birth,
The month of snow and ice and mirth,
Place on your hand a turquoise blue;
Success will bless whate’er you do.

This was the twelfth birthstone poem in Tiffany & Co’s pamphlet from 1870, “of unknown author”, where we learn that Turquoise is the December birthstone.  In 2002 the American Gem Trade Association also added Tanzanite as a December birthstone.

Tanzanite and Diamond rings at the Jewel Tree, Cape Town, South Africa

We learnt all about Tanzanites in the blog post You Brilliant Tanzanite back in November 2013, after my visit to South Africa where they have a lot of lovely Tanzanite jewellery.  Just to refresh our memories, this blueish/purple stone was first discovered in 1967 in Tanzania, and Tiffany & Co brought it to the world in 1969 – and it received a very warm welcome indeed!  These days only small scarps of Tanzanite are found in the mines and the general consensus is that there is a supple of another 15-20 years left, before we completely run out, which only increases the demand for this beautiful gem.  Tanzanite is said to calm an overactive mind, to help you relax, slow down, and bring you back into balance.

Antique Turquoise Brooch Sweden

So I am a HUGE fan of turquoise, December’s original birthstone.  There is just something about its beautiful, soft colour and appearance that appeals to me – and the fact that it is my grandmother’s favourite gem might obviously have something to do with it!  In the photo above I am wearing a turquoise brooch that was found in the fascinating house in Sweden that I wrote about last year in the blog posts: A Window Into Early 20th Century Sweden – one of my favourite blog posts to date!

Turquoise brooch and earrings

The turquoise has covered so many different countries; travelling to Europe via Turkey (where it received its name), having been a favourite among the Ancient Egyptians, the early Victorians, as well as the Navajo Indians.  It is believed to protect its user from falls, and was attached to the bridles of the Turkish soldiers’ horses.  It is also believed to change colour due to the condition of its wearer – growing pale if the person is sick and regaining a stronger colour every day when transferred to a new, healthy owner (or hopefully changing colour as the owner that was unwell starts feeling better again!)  It is also believed to bring luck, success, ambition and creativity to its wearer.  So Happy Birthday to all of you sweet December children – now go and enjoy your lovely birthstones!

Citrine and Topaz – the November Birthstones

“Who first comes to this world below
With drear November’s fog and snow,
Should prize the topaz’s amber hue,
Emblem of friends and lovers true.”

Above is the November birthstone poem included in Tiffany & Co’s pamphlet from 1870, “of unknown author”.  So the traditional birthstone for November is the Topaz, however, the Citrine is considered November’s contemporary birthstone, as it is more reasonably priced and also more easily available than the topaz.

From Richard Ogden square cut topaz, by Hemmerle, Munich

The topaz was given its name by the Romans, who discovered the stone on a small island in the Red Sea called Topazos.  Just to make things a bit more confusing; they also found the citrine on this very island, and I can assure you that these two gemstones can be very difficult to tell apart!  As history would have it, the topaz spent the rest of its life getting confused and mixed up with other gemstones, and most often with the citrine, as the two stones are very similar in colour – their shape and form are however different and helps us to tell them apart.

Citrine Ring ca 1960/70s, Decades of Elegance

The topaz comes in a wide range of colours – pure topaz is colourless yet with the addition of for example chromium, we get red and pink hues.  The most sought after colour is a reddish orange one, called Imperial Topaz, which can resemble the exceptional Padparadscha sapphire that I have mentioned before, but that I am yet to write a blog post about.  Topaz can also be found in tones of green, blue, yellow and brown – and these have all been mistaken for various other gemstones through times.  As a result of all these misconceptions, the topaz has been assigned a world of different healing properties!  It is associated with constancy, loyalty, faithfulness and friendship, as the poem above so beautifully points out.  It is also believed to help with health problems, including curing fever, asthma and insomnia.  Topaz is today found in Brazil, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and China.

From Moira Jewels: citrine and tourmaline necklace, mounted in gold

The topaz was popular amongst the royals during the Middle Ages and in the 13th century it was believed that a falcon engraved into a topaz would help its wearer cultivate the goodwill of kings, princes and magnates (2).

From Moira Jewels: a pair of citrine and tourmaline cluster earrings, mounted in gold

The other birthstone for November, the citrine, is known as the “healing quartz”.  It is believed to support vitality and health while encouraging and guiding hope, energy and warmth within the wearer (3).  We can find the citrine in a wide range of colours; from pastel yellow to dark brownish orange and it is most frequently found in Brazil, Bolivia, and Spain.  There are so many wonderful things to say about the citrine, as it is known in crystal work as a success and prosperity stone – to the point that it is called the “Success Stone”! (4)

Sources:

(1) Birthday Gems

(2) EarthSky

(3) American Gem Society – Citrine 

(4) Crystal and Jewelry

Opal and Tourmaline – the October birthstones

October’s child is born for woe,
And life’s vicissitudes must know,
But lay an opal on her breast,
And hope will lull those woes to rest.

This is the October birthstone poem included in Tiffany & Co’s pamphlet from 1870, “of unknown author”.

An exquisite antique opal and diamond necklace from Richard Ogden

Oh you lucky October-born ladies and gents, your birthstones are the beautiful Opal and Tourmaline.  We quite recently looked closer at opals in the blog post The enchanting landscape of the Opal, and learnt that it is the national gemstone of Australia, which is where almost 95% of all opals come from.  I was delighted to finally get a good excuse to show you the this Art Nouveau-style opal and diamond pendant (photo above).  It comes together in that sweet little acorn design at the bottom, with nature being such a great source of inspiration during this period.

Antique Opal and diamond earrings at Richard Ogden

My favourite opal necklace 

The opal is associated with hope, innocence and purity, and it is thought to bring happiness, faithfulness, confidence and loyalty to its bearer – sounds pretty good to me!

A pair of elegant vintage tourmaline earrings from Cape Town

Vintage tourmaline earrings from Cape Town

Tourmaline is the other birthstone for October, which comes in a wide range of colours – above we can see a pair of green tourmaline earrings.  It can display several different colours in one single gemstone and I actually met a gem trader a little while ago who showed me some pieces of tourmaline that featured a rainbow of different colours, so I will definitely have to write another blog post on that once I locate the photos!  Tourmaline is found in Brazil, East Africa, Afghanistan and the US.

I was also very interested to find out that tourmaline has a rather unusual property: when it is warmed or rubbed it attracts small bits of paper, lint and ash, because it becomes charged with static electricity.  Benjamin Franklin saw the significance of it and used tourmaline in his studies of electricity.  Tourmaline is said to calm you down, and it is also believed to chase away fear, which is why it is sometimes referred to as the “Peace Stone”.

So a happy birthday to you, all you lovely October children, now go and enjoy your beautiful birthstones!

Sapphire – the September birthstone

A maiden born when September leaves
Are rustling in September’s breeze,
A sapphire on her brow should bind
`Twill cure diseases of the mind.

Bailey Banks Biddle for Tiffany & Co – a late 1920s diamond and sapphire bracelet from Moira Jewels at Richard Ogden in Burlington Arcade

Oh you lucky September children, you get the beautiful Sapphire as your birthstone!  The word Sapphire itself is derived from the Greek word Sappheiros, which means blue stone.  Through history sapphires have been such treasured gemstones that they have been assigned all kinds of different properties, for example truth sincerity, constancy, dignity, loyalty, serenity, faith, purity and wisdom.  What a wonderful stone to carry around indeed!  Sapphire was the gem of Apollo, the Greek God of light and the sun, truth and prophecy, healing, plague, music, poetry and so much more – and his worshipers would wear sapphires when they visited his shrine in Delphi to seek his help. (1)

Loose Sapphire and a Sapphire Diamond Ring

As we already know, sapphires and rubies are closely related, as they are both a form of the mineral corundum, and while red corundum is called a Ruby, all other forms are called Sapphires (except the pink/orange version: Padparadscha, which is very special and deserves its own blog post!).

I do wish that I had taken a better picture of this stunning selection of sapphires but at least you can see that they come in a rainbow of different colours!

Blue sapphires are the most well known ones, but sapphires do come in all other natural colours as you can see above: colourless, brown, purple, green, orange, pale pink, yellow, and are then referred to as fancy sapphires.  These various colours are caused by different chemical elements appearing in corundum, so if there for example is a presence of vanadium we will get a purple sapphire, whereas iron will bring us a pale yellow to green gemstone.

Grays Antique Market, Sapphire and Diamond Rings

The most sought after colour in sapphires is a medium-deep cornflower blue (a little bit lighter than the sapphires in the photo above) but I think that it is just such a personal preference when it comes to deciding one which one is the most beautifully coloured sapphire.  I have seen so many people come into the antique jewellery shop and fall in love with a completely different colour – everything from a very pale blue to one that takes on a purple hue and resembling a Tanzanite (here is a previous blog post that will remind you what a Tanzanite looks like: You Brilliant Tanzanite).  Personally I just adore the deep blue sapphires, that create such a beautiful contrast to all the white dresses that I always wear – and the combination in turn reminds me of my beloved Finnish flag in white and blue!

Sapphires can be found in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Kasmir, Australia, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, China and the US.

A Sapphire and Diamond Ring from the Jewel Tree in Cape Town – sapphires are so beautiful when joined with diamonds in various jewellery designs!

A dear happy birthday to all you lovely September children!

Sources:

(1) Earthsky.org

Sardonyx and Peridot – the August Birthstones

Wear a sardonyx or for thee,
No conjugal felicity;
The August-born without this stone,
`Tis said, must live unloved and lone.

(conjugal relates to marriage or the relationship between husband and wife and felicity means happiness)

Okay so I think it is safe to say that this is an awful birthstone poem and I do frown upon it!  I really do not know what the “unknown author” was trying to get at when he or she wrote it, or what Tiffany & Co. were thinking when decided to include it in their 1870’s pamphlet with all the other sweet birthstone poems!  I suspect that my dislike for the poem is the reason as to why I haven’t been able to locate a piece of Sardonyx jewellery for this post –  which in turn is the reason for this August birthstone-blog post being a belated one.  Fortunately August has two birthstones and I have indeed found a lovely piece of Peridot today to share with you:

Peridot and gold necklace

Peridot

Above is a picture of a gold and peridot necklace featuring one out of two different birthstones for August: the Peridot.  You might remember that we have already made the acquaintance of this beautiful gemstone in a previous post: The dazzling gemstone Peridot.  Just to refresh our memories; the peridot is associated with love, truth, faithfulness and loyalty.  Furthermore it is thought to hold magical powers as well as healing properties.  How lovely to have a piece of jewellery that protects against nightmares, brings you power, influence, and a wonderful year! (1)

Peridot and gold necklace

Sardonyx

Sardonyx, the other birthstone of August, is a form of onyx and features bands of reddish brown and white.  It is believed to enhance willpower, integrity, stamina and vigor in crystal healing and it is also thought to be a stone of strength and protection.  The ancient Greeks and Romans loved their sardonyx and had them engraved with images of heroes that would bring them courage and victory in battles.

The banding makes the gemstone suitable for cameos, as the dark section is often left as the background and the white part of the stone is left as the image.  Sardonyx can be found in many different locations, including the US, Russia, Brazil, India, Germany and Uruguay – with the most popular stones comig from India.

I promise to take a photo of a Sardonyx as soon as I come across one, but until then you can check out these Google searches for Sardonyx and Sardonyx Cameo to get an idea of what the stone looks like.

Happy belated birthday all your lovely August children!

Peridot and gold earrings

Sources:

(1) American Gem Society

The Enchanting Birthstones of June

Pearls – one of the birthstones for the June-born children

“Who comes with summer to this earth,
And owes to June her hour of birth,
With ring of agate on her hand
Can health, wealth, and long life command.”

Researching the June birthstone has been very interesting because there are quite a few different stones available for all of you June sweeties!  From the 15-20th century the birthstone for this fair summer month (and cruel winter month for all of you southern hemisphere peeps!) was cat’s eye, turquoise and agate.  However, the common agreement since around 1912 is that the June stones are Pearl, Alexandrite and Moonstone.

Few items are as romantic as pearls!

The Pearl

Pearls are unique as they come from sea creatures and do not require any handling or polishing to reveal their natural beauty.  We started commercially culturing saltwater pearls in the early 1900s, and since the 1920s, cultured pearls have more or less completely replaced natural pearls in the market.  This is why you will find that jewellery containing natural pearls are far more expensive than those with cultured pearls. (1)  The Pearl is said to carry the properties of friendship, faithfulness and loyalty (2) and it is also believed to enhance personal integrity.

Vintage pearl necklace with a mother of pearl centre stone

Alexandrite

The second stone for June is Alexandrite, which is a very special gemstone – I am just so sad that I didn’t take a photo of an Alexandrite stone that a gem trader showed me the other day, as it would have been perfect here!  But do let me explain to you what it looks like and once I have a photo I will link it here: The dazzling Alexandrite (updated 18th June 2015).

This relatively modern gemstone was discovered in Russia in 1831 and given its name to honour the reigning tsar Alexander II. (3)  It is a very rare stone that has the extraordinary properties of changing colour; from greenish blue in daylight to red/burgundy in artificial light.  It is thought to improve memory and intuition in critical situations; to help creativity and inspire your imagination!

A dear friend provided me with this lovely picture of her moonstone ring and earring  

Moonstone

The Moonstone is the third birthstone for June.  Moonstone was thought to alter its appearance with the phases of the moon until well after the 16th century, thereof its beautiful name.  When you look closely at a moonstone it will show you a floating play of light called adularescence, which looks very much like moonlight on water.  In India moonstones are sacred and it is believed that a spirit is encapsulated within the stone with the purpose of bringing good fortune. (1)  The ancient Romans believed that the image of the Goddess of the Moon, Diana, was enclosed within the stone.  The most highly treasured moonstones are from Sri Lanka, but they are also found in Alps, Madagascar, Myanmar and India.

 

Sources:

(1) American Gem Society

(2) Birthday Gems

(3) Earth Sky

Emerald birthstone for the May-beauties

 

Art Nouveau Emerald brooch on Portobello Market

The birthstone for May is the Emerald, all you lucky May-children!  It is one of my absolute favourite gemstones, with colours that span all kinds of glorious shades of green.  The emerald is thought to be a symbol of rebirth and it is also said to give its owner foresight, good fortune and youth. (1)  The largest and highest quality emeralds today are mined in Columbia, but they can also be found in Brazil, Afghanistan, Norway, Austria, Australia, Madagascar and Zambia, and a few more places around the world.

Antique emerald and diamond earrings from Portobello Market

The adoration of emeralds date go far back in time, as tools dating back to 1300 B.C, have been found in emerald mines in Egypt.  This was during the reign of Ramesses II, the third Egyptian pharaoh, who is often regarded as the greatest and most celebrated pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire. (2)  Given the beauty of the emerald, I wasn’t surprised to hear that a famous historical artefact was made of emeralds: the Crown of the Andes which was allegedly created by the last Inca king of Peru, Atahualpa.  I would love to see this crown, which is set with ca. 450 emeralds with a total weight of 1523 carats – if you are having a hard time picturing how much this is, imagine that a regular diamond ring is often around 1 carat, so 1523 times that! (3)

Emeralds were rather popular among the royals in both Babylon and Egypt, and in the latter royals were buried wearing these precious gemstones.  Queen Cleopatra’s emeralds are thought to have originated from mines in Southern Egypt, close to the Red Sea, and she loved them so much that she claimed the Egyptian emerald mines as her own (yup, if I had the power to do that I probably would have done it too!)

Antique Gold Leopard at Grays Antique Market in Mayfair

And over to my favourite part; the many myths surrounding the emerald.  The emerald has been thought to prevent epilepsy, stop bleeding, cure fever and protect the wearer from panic.  The ancient Romans dedicated emeralds to the goddess Venus, as the green gemstone symbolised the reproductive forces of nature.  In the Middle Ages people believed that emeralds held the power to tell the future.

Antique Emerald and Sapphire rings on Portobello Market

Emeralds are so beautiful that I can completely understand the temptation to choose an emerald for your engagement ring!  However, do keep in mind that they are relatively brittle stones and therefore easily damaged, so if you intend to wear your ring every day an emerald might be too soft a choice.  I would therefore recommend that you choose a diamond for your engagement ring, which can withstand the hardships of everyday wear and tear and go for a glorious emerald cocktail ring that you can wear on special occasions and keep safely tucked away in the meantime!

 Sources:

(1) American Gem Society

(2) Wikipeda – Ramesses II

(3) Earthsky.org

April Diamond Dreaming

“She who from April dates her years,
Diamonds shall wear, lest bitter tears
For vain repentance flow; this stone,
Emblem of innocence, is known.”

Antique chandelier diamond earrings at Westleigh Antiques, Grays Antiques Market

The traditional birthstone for April is the Diamond, which is known to bring all you lovely April children balance, clarity and abundance in life.  It is of course a symbol of eternal love, and the word Diamond comes from the Greek work “adamas” meaning “hardest metal (1).  It is after all one of the hardest substances on the globe, dating back billions of years in time!

Rough diamonds are found in nature and skilled diamond cutters cut them into various forms, creating reflecting facets that lead to the incredible brilliancy that we know so well (2).  Diamonds are also though to increase a person’s energy, whether positive or negative, as well as the healing properties of other crystals.  In other words, if you wear a diamond with an amethyst, it will increase that crystal’s soothing and calming properties.

Diamonds are believed to increase the powers of other gemstones when worn together.  Antique diamond rings at John Joseph, Grays Antique Market

As always, we must look into the legends that surround this birthstone, and the Diamond doesn’t disappoint: ancient Hindus believed that diamonds were create by lightning bolts and they would attribute so much power to diamonds that they placed them in the eyes of statues of deities.  The Greeks believed that diamonds were tears of the Gods, splinters of stars and crystallised lightning (oh I do love that!).

So enjoy your birthday month all you lucky April born ones, and here is to hoping that a diamond crosses your path on your day!

Sources:

1. American Gem Society

2. Birthday Gems

April Diamond Dreaming

“She who from April dates her years,
Diamonds shall wear, lest bitter tears
For vain repentance flow; this stone,
Emblem of innocence, is known.”

Chandelier diamond earrings at Westleigh Antiques, Grays Antiques Market

The traditional birthstone for April is the Diamond, which is known to bring all you lovely April children balance, clarity and abundance in life.  It is of course a symbol of eternal love, and the word Diamond comes from the Greek word “adamas” meaning “hardest metal”, as it is one of the hardest substances on the globe – dating back billions of years!  

Rough diamonds are found in nature and skilled diamond cutters cut the gemstones into various forms, creating reflecting facets that lead to the incredible brilliancy that we know so well.  Diamonds are also thought to increase a person’s energy, whether positive or negative, and also the healing properties of other crystals.  In other words, if you wear a diamond with an amethyst, it will increase that crystal’s soothing and calming properties.

Diamonds are thought to increase the powers of other gemstone when worn together.  Antique Diamond Rings at John Joseph, Grays Antique Market 

As always we must look into the legends that surround this birthstone, and the Diamond doesn’t disappoint: Ancient Hindus believed that diamonds were created by lightning bolts and they would attribute so much power to diamonds that they placed them in the eyes of statues of deities.  The Greeks believed that diamonds were tears of the Gods, splinters of stars and crystallised lightning.  So enjoy your birthday month all you lucky April born ones, and here is to hoping that a diamond crosses your path on your day!

Sources

1. American Gem Society

2. Birthday Gems

February Amethyst Allure

The January Garnet-post turned out to be so popular that I will be writing posts about all the twelve fabulous birthstones.  Today we are looking into the February Amethyst, which of course is my personal favourite since I am a February child!

Antique Swedish Amethyst and silver bracelet

The Gregorian calendar – that is our solar calendar which consists of 12 months – has poems that match each one of these months with their birthstones.  These poems were first published in a pamphlet in 1870 by our beloved Tiffany & Co.  Here is lovely February poem:

“The February born shall find
Sincerity and peace of mind,
Freedom from passion and from care,
If they, the amethyst will wear.”

Vintage Amethyst, Marcasite and Silver Cocktail Ring

Now let’s pop over to Greece to hear some fascinating stories about this beautiful gemstone:  the Greeks believed in a God of Wine called Bacchus, and because of the Amethyst’s wine-like colour, the gemstone was associated with him.  Subsequently people believed that wearing an Amethyst prevented drunkeness and they would refer to it as the sobriety stone (1)  (maybe something to keep in mind for the next cocktail evening with the girls!)

I was also delighted to find out that the Amethyst comes with a romantic yet heartbreaking legend of its own:

Dionysus, the God of Intoxication, was one day insulted by a mortal, which angered him so much, that he swore revenge on the next mortal that he encountered.  The unsuspecting, beautiful young maiden Amethyst crossed his path on her way to pay tribute to the goddess Diana, but Diana turned Amethyst into a statute of pure crystalline quartz to protect her from Dionysus’ fury.  When Dionysus saw the beautiful statue he wept tears of wine that stained the quartz purple and created the gem Amethyst.

1920’s Amethyst, Marcasite and Silver Cocktail Ring

The Amethyst has been popular in both religious and royal crown jewels for ages, and legend has that it used to be valued equal to rubies, emeralds and sapphires.  In recent times however it has lost its value because of extensive deposits found in Brazil.  It was also the most common gemstone found in Bishops’ rings – a piece of jewellery worn to show the Bishops’ position.  The dual meaning of drunkenness came about here, as wearing an Amethyst would remind the Bishop not to become “drunken with power”.

We are loving the soft combination of purple and light pink

And I don’t know about you, but my thoughts are automatically drawn to Russia when it comes to amethysts – although I couldn’t put my finger on why!  Well, as it turns out the finest amethyst were historically found in Russia and these fabulous pieces were then featured in a lot of royal European jewelry (2).  English regalia (e.g. crowns and other ornaments used at a coronation) in the Middle Ages were decorated with amethysts to symbolize royalty.

That is the beautiful Amethyst for us and the next in line will be the incredibly beautiful Aquamarine – for all you March Puppies that is!

Sources:

(1) GIA Edu

(2) The American Gem Society