 Fine Birthstone Jewelry
A Precious Gem for Each Month of the Year
A Gift of Birthstone Jewelry
A gift of birthstone jewelry is a very personal gift, no matter what the occasion or holiday you are celebrating, birthday, graduation, childbirth, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or any special time. Your birthstone symbolizes the month of your birth. We all feel a connection to our special stone, and a gift of fine jewelry that includes the birthstone is always cherished.
Shopping for Fine Birthstone Jewelry
When you shop for your birthstone jewelry, compare several stones side by side in the store. You’ll be able to judge the differences in brilliance, color and clarity. Generally, the gemstone with a deeper color is more valuable than the lighter color. Compare your stones on a white background, because the background affects the appearance of the gemstone color. Compare the stones in natural daylight, too. Some gemstones show to advantage in artificial light, while others show better in natural light.
The Birthstone Chart is the list of birthstones for each month of the year.
 - January: garnet
- February: amethyst
- March: aquamarine or bloodstone
- April: diamond
- May: emerald
- June: pearl, moonstone, or alexandrite
- July: ruby
- August: peridot or sardonyx and sapphire
- September: sapphire
- October: opal or tournaline
- November: topaz
- December: blue topaz, turquoise, lapis lazuli, or zircon
The Birthstone Jewelry for January is Garnet
 Garnet is the January birthstone. Garnets occur in every birthstone color of the rainbow, except blue. Most of us are familiar with red garnet, but you can choose your favorite color of garnet for your personal birthstone. You have a dozen spectacular colors to choose from.
Many other gemstones are heat-treated to enhance the color and clarity of the stone. But garnets are beautiful in their natural state and require no additional treatment.
In a garnet, as in most gemstones, the deeper the color, the higher value and price of the stone. However, a very dark garnet that looks murky and lifeless is not desirable in fine jewelry.The Birthstone Jewelry for February is Amethyst
 Amethyst, with its deep purple color, is the birthstone of love. It is a gemstone that has been associated with royalty and power through the ages, from Cleopatra to Catherine the Great. Amethyst gems are featured prominently in the British Crown Jewels. According to myth, an amethyst ring was worn by St. Valentine, who is the patron saint of lovers.
The Birthstone Jewelry for March is Aquamarine
 Aquamarine in Latin means “sea water.” It comes in many beautiful shades of blue and is most valued when it is pure blue without any greenish cast. Aquamarine gets its blue color from ferris iron.
Aquamarine mined in Brazil is of the highest quality and does not need heat-treatment. Other stones are usually heat-treated at a low temperature to remove any green color from the stone and bring out its beauty. Aquamarine gemstones look best in incandescent light indoors, so check the appearance of your fine jewelry outside in daylight, too. The aquamarine color shows to best advantage in a larger size stone. The darker the color of the stone, the more valuable it is.
The Birthstone Jewelry for April is Diamond
 Diamonds symbolize fidelity and endurance. Diamonds are found as colorless gems, near colorless and in rare fancy colors. Diamond is by far the hardest mineral on earth and is made of a single element, carbon, which has been under pressure deep in the earth since the age of the dinosuars. Diamonds have always been treasured for their hardness, which is one of their distinct advantages over other gem stones. The fancy colored diamonds, which are very popular in fine jewelry, contain mineral impurities called inclusions which give them their color. Pink, yellow and even black diamonds are available, for a price.
The Birthstone Jewelry for May is Emerald
 For May, the time of spring rebirth and renewal, the green emerald is a wonderful symbol. The ancients believed that emeralds were powerful gemstones. Emeralds were thought to cure dysentery and poisoning. Wearing emeralds, according to tradition, would protect you from evil spirits, sharpen your mind and improve your eyesight. The best emeralds come from mines in Colombia. It is a standard practice to enhance the beauty of the emerald by treating it with cedar or balsam oil. The value of the emerald depends upon the degree to which it has been enhanced with resin or other materials.
The Birthstone Jewelry for June Is Pearl
 Pearls are uniquely different from diamonds and other gemstones that are formed deep within the earth’s crust over millions of years. Instead, pearls are grown inside an oyster or clam. Pearls are formed inside the shell of an oyster and grow larger as the oyster deposits layers of nacre around an irritant of sand. The pearl is made up of tiny crystals of calcium carbonate. The pearl gets its unique luster from the buildup of these thin translucent layers of nacre. It takes just a few years for an oyster to grow a pearl. But it is quite rare to find a perfectly symmetrical, rounded natural pearl that is suitable for jewelry.
Saltwater pearls are formed by oysters living in saltwater. Freshwater pearls are formed by clams, rather than oysters. Cultured pearls are created by planting a “seed” in each oyster and confining them in the sea during the incubation. This practice yields pearls which are more often truly round.
The Birthstone Jewelry for July Is Ruby
 After colored diamonds, rubies are the most precious gemstone. The oval and cushion shaped cuts are most often available, because they waste less of this valuable stone. When rubies are placed on a brass plate or a yellow background the color appears darker, so you should always view the ruby on a white background. It’s best to compare rubies side by side to get a better sense of the color before you choose fine jewelry. Lighting can affect the appearance of a ruby. Rubies appear darker in artificial light. You can get a sense of the true color of a ruby by viewing it in natural light.
The Birthstone Jewelry for August Is Peridot
 Peridot is a green stone of exceptional clarity. It can be found in many shades of green, from yellow-green to brownish-green. The most desirable shade of peridot green is the unusual golden-green, a deep green with a golden overtone. Iron gives the peridot its color, which becomes deeper as the iron content increases. Peridot is not as expensive as the emerald, the “other green”, and has been called the “evening emerald.”
Almost all the world’s peridot has been mined in Arizona until recently. New rich discoveries of high-quality peridot were made in Pakistan in the Kashmir region in the decade of the 1990’s. This Kashmir peridot is of exceptional beauty and is highly desirable.
If your birthstone is peridot, you are fortunate indeed, as this August birthstone is believed to bring its wearer peace, success, and good fortune. And with the Pakistan discovery, there has never been such high quality peridot available. Now, that's lucky!
The Birthstone Jewelry for September Is Sapphire
 Sapphire is the birthstone of sincerity and purity of the soul. Ancient soldiers believed that the sapphire would change color if the wearer was unfaithful, so they gave sapphire jewelry to their wives just before the soldiers left for battle.
Sapphire is a member of the corundum family, and corundum in its natural state is colorless. Trace elements within the gems give the stones their color. Red corundum is what we know as ruby. All other colors of corundum are called sapphires. Sapphires are available in every color of the rainbow, but it is the deep blue that comes to mind first.
Blue sapphires receive their color from the presence of titanium. The greater the amount of titanium present, the darker the color of the sapphire gem. A greenish cast makes the sapphire much less desirable. Most experts agree that the best sapphires exhibit a slightly purplish secondary hue. This color adds a richness to the blue that could be described as velvety.
The star sapphire is another beautiful choice for a gift of fine jewelry.
The October Birthstone Is Opal
 The rainbow of colors displayed by opals made them the favorite through the ages. Opals were thought to cure a wide variety of illnesses. An opal is said to have the power to make its wearer invisible, and to give visions of the future that could foretell events. It was believed to bring good luck to the owner. Then superstition swung in the opposite direction. The opal was accused of causing the bubonic plague of 1348, and the very word caused fear and dread. Perhaps no other gem in history has endured such wild swings in popularity.
The most famous opal of all time is called “The Burning of Troy,” a fiery black opal jewel. It was given by Napoleon to Josephine and was the most beautiful opal known at that time. The beauty of the opal makes it one of the most breathtaking of the gemstones.
The Birthstone for November Is Yellow Topaz
 The exquisite yellow topaz, with its sunny yellow color, is the gemstone of healing and energy. According to tradition, it brings the wearer heightened mental strength and physical health. Even today, the yellow topaz is used in the practice of crystal healing to direct energy to the area in stress, and to soothe, heal and reenergize.
According to legend, the November birthstone derived its name from the island of Topazos in the Red Sea. "Topazos" comes from the Greek language, and means "to seek".
Yellow topaz is quite rare and expensive. Citrine is a beautiful yellow quartz stone that is widely available and not as expensive as yellow topaz. Citrine can be used as the alternate November birthstone. Because citrine is sometimes called “quartz topaz,” you should make sure which gemstone you are purchasing
The December Birthstone Is Blue Topaz
 The December birthstone is blue topaz, along with two other alternate birthstone gems, tanzanite and turquoise. You can choose your fine jewelry from a variety of beautiful and fascinating blues if you are a December child.
Blue topaz is the birthstone of wisdom and truth. It is said to support artistic creativity and provide guidance through life. Blue topaz is also thought to aid meditation and spiritual development.
A natural blue topaz is extremely rare. Most topaz as it comes from the earth is light brown, and, after it is exposed to light or low heat temperatures, will become colorless. When a colorless topaz is treated with irradiation, it becomes blue topaz.
The most abundant and the least valuable topaz is the colorless variety. The majority of colorless topaz stones are treated through irradiation and heat to produce the splendid color of the popular blue topaz.
The blue topaz requires extra care from rough handling, extreme temperature change and very hot water. It is not suitable for ultrasonic cleaning.
My wish is that your life brings you much success. I hope you have a very happy day.
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