Category Archives: Gemstone Spotlight

Birthstone Spotlight: January Garnets

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Garnet ring

Garnets are actually a group of minerals that have a lot in common. As the world becomes more and more gem-savvy, more people are coming to know the wonders of garnet.

First of all, garnets are all silicate minerals and crystallize in the isometric crystal system (also known as the cubic crystal system). The most common crystal form within the isometric system in which Garnets form is a “rhombic dodecahedron:” a 12 sided form that is somewhat of a cube with fanciful flourishes. While a true cube has 6 sides, garnets add another 6 just for fun.

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Birthstone Spotlight: October Opal

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Opal three

If you were born in October, you are lucky enough to have your choice of two very colorful birthstones: Opal and Tourmaline. This month’s blog post focuses on Opal—the “Gem of Mystery.”

Opal has perhaps the most mysterious look of any gemstone—especially fine opal. Who would guess that a “rock” from the earth could look like a miniature version of the Northern Lights? The idea of something from the earth looking so ethereal is somewhat of a contradiction. The soil we tramp over in our everyday life is so “earthy”—brown, drab, lifeless, dull, and opaque.

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Birthstone Spotlight: September Sapphire

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sapphires

Sapphire is a lot bigger subject than might be thought by the casual observer. For many years, many people thought sapphire was simply that very dark blue stone in small sizes offered by most jewelry stores as the September birthstone. Sapphire is certainly that, but ever so much more…

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Famous Mogok Rubies of Myanmar

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Myanmar ruby rawWhether you are born in July, are a collector of fine gemstones, or a jewelry devotee, the Mogok Ruby should be part of your lexicon. Fine Ruby is sometimes known as the “king of gems”. Ruby from this fabled area of Myanmar (Burma) is highly sought after. Some of the premier stones in collections and museums are from this special Mogok region.

One such stone is the “MOGOK RUBY” weighing 15.97 carats. This beautiful cushion cut gem sold at Sotheby’s auction house of New York for $3,630,000.00 in 1988. It was purchased by Graff of London and later resold to the Sultan of Brunei as an engagement ring for his wife. The incredible color and size make this gem ruby a superior collectible. What would it be worth in today’s money? No doubt a lot more. Especially now that it has an interesting provenance…

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Birthstone Spotlight: June Pearl

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PearlMost people are very familiar with the pearl as one the birthstones for June (Alexandrite and Moonstone are the other two June gemstones). Pearl, with its variety of colors and shapes, is an organic gem loved and treasured for centuries. It is said that the Romans built armies from the sale of a single pearl, while poems abound about its transcendent beauty.

The pearl was selected as a birthstone for June by the American National Association of Jewelers in 1912. Not only can you select your favorite pearl as a birthstone, you can also receive a pearl for your 3rd, 12th and 30th wedding anniversaries. The allure of pearls is far reaching…

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Birthstone Spotlight: April Diamond

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loose-diamonds

The word “Diamond” is probably the most emotionally charged word in the entire lexicon of gems. Diamond is the most sought after gem in the world. Whether or not the diamond deserves this pinnacle is up for debate, but the fact that the diamond sits on the pinnacle is not.

This is due to many factors:

1. Diamonds are beautiful to the eye.
2. Diamonds tend to last.
3. There are enough to go around. Well sort of…..
4. They are well promoted.

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Birthstone Spotlight: March Aquamarine

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AquamarineAquamarine is one of my favorite gems. Of course with me, talking about my favorite gemstones is like asking a parent about their favorite child—whichever one I’m thinking about or talking about at the moment is the favorite. Still, aquamarine is right up there in my true favorites.

Aquamarine—one of the many faces of beryl

One of the interesting things about aquamarine is its true rarity—due to the unique trace minerals that have combined with its underlying base mineral, Beryl, to produce its beautiful blue tone…

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Birthstone Spotlight: February Amethyst

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AmethystIn past blogs about birthstones we have been talking about gems that have their gemstone “label” in common with their mineral names. Gems like Garnet, Topaz, and Tourmaline are also the mineral name. In contrast, Amethyst is a color name for quartz, which is a mineral. Amethyst is the quartz in its purple color.

Quartz itself comes in at least several colors: citrine (yellow, orange and red), amethyst (varying shades of purple), ouro Verde (a chartreuse color), whisky quartz (brownish), smoky quartz (brownish gray), prasiolite (light bluish green), and Ametrine (naturally occurring mix of purple and yellowish gold. Some of the colors occur in nature and some are induced by man. Amethyst occurs naturally in nature.

If quartz itself were a birthstone we would be talking about all of the foregoing colors. But amethyst is plenty wonderful all by itself…

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Tourmaline the Rainbow Gem

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tourmaline colorfulIt is interesting that both opal and tourmaline are associated with many colors. In the instance of opal there are many colors within one stone. In the instance of tourmaline there are many stones—each with its own color. Of course, to complicate matters, there are tourmaline gems with multiple colors—lots and lots of colors—all within one stone, just presented differently to the eye than opal.

No wonder the most often-used nickname for tourmaline is The Rainbow Gem. Tourmaline comes in so many colors and so many shades of each color that it is a favorite of collectors. Many serious gem collectors have separate tourmaline collections within their overall collection.

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