Birthstone Information and Background
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Birthstones are a perfect way to personalize a piece of jewelry that really says something about you. Jewelry with
birthstones also makes for a fabulous gift! Here is some information to help you pick that perfect stone.
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*Click the month for Details*
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January is the month for Garnets.
- Garnets come in all colors like brown, green, purple, red, orange, and shades of all, some common and some rare.
- Garnets that are deep red, violet-red and black come from Arizona in America, South America, Ceylon, India, and
Australia.
- Green, dark green, cinnamon, brownish yellow and jade green garnets come from Switzerland, Ceylon, and South
Africa.
- Bright apple green garnets (called Saverite) come from Russia and Finland.
- Standard brown colors you see in department stores are inexpensive and come from India, South America, Russia,
And North America.
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February is the month for Amethyst.
- Amethyst belongs to the Quartz family.
- Quartz comes in every color of the rainbow plus white and black.
- Amethyst is steeped in ancient lore, mysticism and age old magic.
- The stone's availability and magical qualities made it the stone of preference for commoner and kings four thousand
years ago and it traveled all over the globe as a form of trade exchange.
- It is still one of the most popular stones in the world and used in many different countries for common and uncommon
purposes.
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March is the month for Aquamarine.
- Aquamarine belongs to the Beryl family of Gemstones.
- Aquamarine is found in the United States, Columbia, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, Rhodesia, India, Pakistan, Zambia,
and Ceylon.
- The Aquamarine was the stone of the sea-goddesses and sirens of the past times.
- Beads of aquamarine are found in ancient Egyptian mummy tombs.
- King Solomon is said to have worn one in his breast plate of the 12 holy gemstones.
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April is the month for Diamonds.
- Diamonds come in these colors: colorless, yellow, grey, black, pink, green, blue, different shades of brown, and
cinnamon.
- Besides having spiritual and magical properties, they really do have a rarity factor.
- It takes a minimum of a million diamonds that have been mined to obtain a one carat gem quality diamond.
- So each one carat quality diamond found is one in a million.
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May is the month for Emeralds.
- Emerald is one of the world's most popular stones.
- Colors range from a deep grass green to yellow green and blue-tinges mixed with deep shades of green, quality
emeralds can run up to three or four thousand a carat, the word emerald comes from the Greek word smaragdos,
meaning green.
- A member of the Beryl family of minerals, it contains chromium which gives the emerald its green color (all green stone
have chromium, which is what gives them their green color).
- Emeralds are not found in alluvial rivers or in streams, as many gems are.
- They are found in conjunction with layers of mica schist. They are found in pegmatite dikes.
- Small pockets of emeralds are found by digging with pick and shovel through the dikes and schist. Very small crystals
of lower qualities are 90% of what is found.
- Emerald mining is very labor intensive and the amount of time spent looking and digging is why emeralds are so
expensive.
- Emeralds are found in South America, Egypt, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, India, Pakistan and Rhodesia.
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June is the month for Pearls.
- Unlike other birthstones, which are formed from inorganic substances, a pearl is formed by a living organism.
- A natural pearl (often called an Oriental pearl) forms when an irritant works its way into a particular species of oyster,
mussel or clam.
- As a defense mechanism, the mollusk secretes a fluid to coat the irritant. Layer upon layer of this coating is deposited
on the irritant until a lustrous pearl is formed.
- A cultured pearl undergoes the same process. The only difference is that the irritant is a surgically-implanted mother of
pearl bead or piece of shell.
- The core is, therefore, much larger than in a natural pearl. As long as there are enough layers of nacre to result in a
beautiful, gem-quality pearl, the size of the nucleus is of no importance to beauty or durability.
- Imitation pearls are a different story altogether. In most cases, a glass bead is dipped into a solution made from fish
scales. This coating is thin and may eventually wear off.
- The island of Mallorca is known for its imitation pearl industry.
- Most pearls are white with flashes of iridescent pink. Less common colors are yellow, gray, tan, and black.
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July is the month for Rubies.
- Rubies are made of aluminum oxide (corundum).
- The red in rubies is caused by trace amounts of chromium. The redder the ruby, the more chromium.
- Some rubies are bi-colored or multicolored.
- Rubies grow in crystal form and belong to the hexagonal family of shapes, before cutting and polishing.
- Rubies come from Burma, Thailand, and Ceylon.
- In biblical times, and prehistoric time, they came from Mogok and Burma.
- High quality rubies of one carat are many times rarer than diamonds of one carat and can cost more.
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August is the month for Peridot.
- The word Peridot comes from the Arabic word meaning gem.
- Peridot shares with the diamond the distinction of being born in the cauldron of volcanoes, many found are over a
billion years old.
- They are unique in the gem world.
- Peridot is found in the United States, Norway, Red Sea, Burma, Ceylon, and recently Turkey.
- Other rare colors are yellow, brown, and orange (orange is extremely rare).
- Two thousand years ago, in the Roman Empire, peridot was call "olivine".
- Italian peridot is olive in color.
- American peridot is a light yellow-green.
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September is the month for Sapphires.
- Sapphire can be found in a rainbow of colors, all but red. (Red Sapphire is actually Ruby, its cousin!)
- There are also "star sapphires" which are domed stones that show a starlight effect on the top.
- They are found in the US, Australia, Burma, Thailand, and Ceylon.
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October is the month for Opals.
- The word opal comes from the Latin word meaning precious stone.
- Opals are made of silica jell, layer after layer is added over millions of years.
- Top quality fiery opals are rare.
- Opals are mined in Australia, Brazil, and Mexico.
- Quality opals with all the colors flashing and radiating their sparkling beauty are very expensive.
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November is the month for Citrine.
- The name Citrine comes from an old French word, "citrin", meaning lemon.
- One of the more rare forms of quartz, this gemstone ranges in color from the palest yellow to a dark amber named
Madeira because of its resemblance to the red wine.
- Sister Stone to the purple quartz known as Amethyst, Citrine crystals are found in igneous metamorphic and
sedimentary rocks. It is believed that some Citrine may have actually begun as Amethyst, but heat from nearby molten
rock changed it to the yellow form of quartz.
- Citrine is known to change color when subjected to heat and is routinely heated in the jewelry-making process to
intensify its color.
- For this same reason, though, this gemstone should not be left in direct sunlight for a long time because it will
permanently alter the color.
- Most Citrine is mined in Brazil, but other sources of the quartz are Bolivia and Madagascar.
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December is the month for Blue Topaz.
- 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.
