emeralds
May – Birthstones & More
May’s traditional birthstone – and alternatives The traditional birthstone for May is the emerald. Emeralds are a deep green beryl and most emeralds are clouded with inclusions so nice quality emeralds can be pricey. The green color comes from chromium. Deposits of emeralds are found in Columbia (the best dark green stones), Brazil (lighter green…
Read MoreBirthstones and Alternatives for April and May
The idea of one gem for each month and the concept of wearing your “birth stone” started long ago – between the 16th and 18th centuries.The National Association of Jewelers released a list of so-called “modern birthstones” in 1912 in the United States. Wearing your birthstone is supposed to bring you luck. However, if you don’t…
Read MoreBirthstones for April and May
What is a birthstone? The association of one gem to each month and the idea of wearing your “birthstone,” started long ago – between the 16th and 18th centuries.The National Association of Jewelers released a list of so-called “modern birthstones” in 1912 in the United States. Wearing your birthstone is supposed to bring you luck.…
Read MoreI’m Trapped Inside!
Inclusions in Gemstones An inclusion is any material that has been trapped inside a gemstone during its formation. Inclusions can be animal (insects), vegetable (a leaf), or mineral (the needles in tiger eye). It should be noted that according to Walter Schumann’s “Gemstones of the World”, amber is the only incidence of organic…
Read MoreEmeralds
I recently ran across a fabulous CNN article on emeralds and I wanted to share it with you. Emerald is the Modern and Traditional birthstone for May. According to the author of the article, the value of emeralds is the result of their scarcity. Emeralds are over 20 times rarer than diamonds —…
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