“Of evening tinct, the purple-streaming amethyst is thine.” – James Thomson

Amethyst is a variety of quartz, a semiprecious violet stone that is lovely in jewelry. Its violet/purple color is thanks to the iron in its composition. Amethyst generally has a hardness of 7 on Mohs harness scale.

Amethyst is found in good quality and quantity in several places, including Russia, Sri Lanka, Brazil, and other places in the far East.

Amethyst is February’s birthstone.

Amethyst derives its name from the Greek meaning “not drunk.” In Greek mythology the ancient Greeks thought that if they wore amethyst they could not get drunk.

Like most gemstones, amethyst can vary in color, from barely perceptible lavender to dark aubergine.  With dazzling hues of reddish to blueish, it is a gemstone not to be ignored.

“The aquamarine.. has the glassy tint of the waves of the sea.” – Charles Blanc

Boasting an incredibly beautiful natural color, it is no wonder the name aquamarine comes from the Latin word, seawater. Aquamarine is a 7½ – 8 on Mohs hardness scale.

Aquamarine evokes the color of the beautiful waters of the world’s seas. Even today, aquamarine is a favorite of sailors, divers and those who take to the sea for sport.

Aquamarine is March’s birthstone.

Some of aquamarine’s best gems include high clarity of limpid transparency, free of anything that darkens the stone but reveals beautiful hues of blue to slightly greenish blue hues.

The blue shades of aquamarine help us daydream reminding us of the endless skies for generations.

“Whenever you touch topaz, it touches you. It awakens a gentle fire, like wine awakens in grapes.” – Pablo Neruda

Topaz comes in a wide array of colors, including its trademark a beautiful, rare blue that mimics a clear summer sky. Other colors include colorless, yellow, orange, pink, violet, brown and, very rarely red.

Since blue is considered a rare color for gemstones, true, natural blue topaz stones are highly valued. When dealing with clarity of topaz, fashioned topaz gems are often free of visible inclusions or flaws. This can be specifically realized in blue, colorless, and yellow topaz. On Mohs hardness scale, topaz is an 8.

Blue topaz is one of December’s birthstones.

Blue topaz does occur naturally, but topaz gemstones are more commonly treated to produce the beautiful various blue hues in the stones.

“Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows.” – Helen Keller

Citrine is a variety of quartz whose color ranges from pale yellow to brown. It takes its name from its color, a gorgeous yellow, that is reminiscent of the citron fruit. Citrine is a 7 on Mohs hardness scale.

The leading producer of citrine is Brazil and more particularly, the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

Citrine is November’s birthstone.

Natural citrines are rare. In fact, most commercial citrines are heat-treated amethyst or smoky quartz. One of the ways you can tell a heat-treated amethyst is that it will have small lines in the crystal, whereas a true citrine is cloudy or smoky in appearance.

“True love is like a diamond; it is rare, beautiful and lasts forever.” – Unknown Author

Diamonds are pure carbon formed under pressure for millennia. The diamond carbon atoms have been bonded mostly the same way in all directions.

Diamonds come in many colors, brown being the most common and colorless being the most prized.

Diamonds are found all over the world from Canada, to Russia, to South Africa. Diamonds top out Mohs scale at a number 10.

When it comes to diamonds know your 4 C’s. Clarity refers to the level of transparency of a diamond. Cut deals with the ideal proportions of a diamond. Color is graded from D being the highest and colorless, all the way down to Z. Carat weight is calculated using the proportions of the diamond.

Diamonds are April’s birthstone.

Like the purest rain drops of spring, diamonds sparkle to remind us to look for beauty everywhere. Since ancient times, the diamond has been a symbol of eternal love, trust and faith.

“An emerald shines even if it’s worth is not spoken of.” – Marcus Aurelius

Emeralds are the green variant of the mineral beryl. Emeralds are found all over the world. For over 500 years Colombia has been the location for the finest emeralds and source 50-95% of the world’s production of this gorgeous, precious gemstone.

Colombian emeralds are the standard by which all other emeralds are measured. Emeralds have a hardness of 7½ – 8 on Mohs scale.

Emeralds are May’s birthstone. As May fills us with the bounty of spring, emeralds remind us of this beautiful season, it is a wonderful choice for May’s birthstone.

Variations of this rich, green color suggest soothing, lush gardens.

“In ancient Egypt, red garnet necklaces adorned pharaohs’ necks. Let us adorn ours now. What are we waiting for?” – Anonymous

Rather than being the name of a single mineral, garnet is actually the designation of a group of related silicate minerals. The color of garnet is dependent on which species it belongs to, and what its chemical composition might be. On Mohs hardness scale, garnets are a 6½ – 7½.

The name garnet comes from the Middle English word garnet, meaning dark red. Garnet comes from the Latin word for grain or seed. The latter likely points to the garnet’s similarity to pomegranate fruit, which produces small, but copious amounts of vivid red fleshy seeds.

Garnet is January’s birthstone.

Different species of garnet are found in every color, with reddish shades most common. Circa 1500’s, a famous Bohemian red garnet deposit was found and increased the availability of this striking gemstone.

Blue garnets are the rarest and were first reported in the 1990s.

“There are as many worlds as there are kinds of days, and as an opal changes its colors and its fire to match the nature of the day, so do I.” – John Steinbeck

Opals are formed of the mineral silica, however, they are in a completely non-crystalline form, unlike their counterparts agate and quartz. Since opals have high water content and are formed from hydrated, amorphous silica, they are classified as a mineraloid, rather than full minerals. Opals range from 5½ – 6½ on Mohs hardness scale.

Both precious and common opals may be translucent or opaque, with their backgrounds being any color in the spectrum, including black or white.

Black opals are the most valued, due to their rarity, with the more common variants being in shades of green, white, and grey.

Opal is one of October’s birthstone.

Opal’s beautiful optical effect known as opalescence draws the gaze of any passerby. Each type of opal displays its brilliance differently. Opals play a kaleidoscope of color and beauty right before us.

“The pearl is the queen of gems, and the gem of Queens.” – Unknown Author

The pearl is unique among gems in that it is not a stone at all. Instead, it has a biological origin, being produced within living shelled mollusks. The rarest pearls of the highest quality are those that are created naturally, however pearls can also be cultured and farmed.

In the making of jewelry, pearls are not polished or cut as other gemstones. Pearls are a 2½ – 5 on Mohs hardness scale.

Pearls are June’s birthstone.

Pearls are treasures from the earth’s waters. Pearl’s most recognized colors are white and cream, but they also occur in a range of other colors and hues.

“These gems have a life in them: their colors speak, say what words fail of.” – George Eliot

Peridot is one of the very few gemstones which may occur only in a single color, olive-green.

Depending on the percentage of iron in peridot’s crystal structure, its intensity and tint may vary from yellow to olive, to brown/green. The largest cut peridot olivine is a 310ct (62-gram) specimen in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. Peridot is a 6½ – 7 on Mohs scale.

Peridot is August’s birthstone.

Peridot is the extreme gem, with a color of yellow-green. This stone is found in lava, meteorites and deep in the earth’s mantle.

“There is a shade of red for every woman.” – Audrey Hepburn

The ruby is a precious gemstone and is the red variant of the mineral corundum. When corundum is in its purest form it is colorless. It receives its color when trace elements become part of the mineral’s crystal structure, causing a span of hues. The name ruby comes from the Latin word ruber for red. Any blue or purple variants are known as sapphires, rather than rubies. The ruby is a 9 on Mohs hardness scale.

Rubies are July’s birthstone.

Known as a cardinal gem, it along with amethyst, sapphire, emerald and diamond, have traditionally been considered precious above all others.

Rubies can be pink to red, with the most valued shade being the blood-red color (also known as pigeon blood).

“Morning: that first sapphire dome of glow.” – C K Williams

The sapphire is a precious gemstone and is a variant of the mineral corundum. Sapphires are usually blue but natural fancy sapphires also occur in other colors. Sapphires come in a rainbow of colors, such as yellow, purple, orange, and green, or parti sapphires which show two or more colors, with the exception of red. Fascinatingly, pink corundum may be tagged as being either a sapphire or a ruby, depending on where it has been found. Sapphires are a 9 on Mohs hardness scale.

Sapphires are September’s birthstone.

Tons of earth and countless hours of labor are needed to bring a gem from mine to market. One of the more famous sapphires includes the Rockefeller Sapphire, a 62.02ct, rectangular step cut stone, that was unearthed in Myanmar, Burma.

“The gemstone tanzanite is young and was discovered in 1967. Let us broaden our galaxy and never stop learning. There is beauty still to explore.” – Anonymous

“Diamonds are precious stones and to be prized. Tanzanite is 100 times rarer than diamonds. What do you have to say for yourself, diamond?” – Anonymous

Tanzanite is a rare stone, only found in a very, small mining area near the Mirerani Hills, in Tanzania.

Depending on the orientation of its crystals, tanzanite may alternate between blue, violet and burgundy, and can appear differently when viewed under certain lighting. Interestingly, blues of tanzanite appear clearer when the stone is subjected to fluorescent light, while its violet hues come across stronger when viewed under incandescent light. When unprocessed, tanzanite tends to be clear to reddish-brown and only gains its blue and violet tones when heat-treated. Tanzanite is a 6 – 6 ½ on Mohs hardness scale.

Tanzanite is one of December’s birthstones.

Tanzanite is relatively new to the world of gems. When it was first discovered it was hoped to be sapphire, but this lovely and unusual crystal was realized and named by Tiffany and Company, who initially promoted this gem of a gem.

“Pink gives me love that would make red blush.” – Anthony T. Hincks

Tourmaline is classified as a semi-precious stone and comes in various colors in addition to its classic pink. Tourmaline’s colors range from black, to blue/black, deepest brown, yellow, red, green, and blue. Bi-colored and multicolored variants are common, and some can even change, depending on which direction they are viewed. Tourmaline has a 7 – 7½ range on Mohs hardness scale.

Pink Tourmaline is one of October’s birthstones.

Tourmaline gemstones have the widest color range of any gem. Many of the different color variations have inspired their own name, like watermelon tourmaline. One can guess this beautiful spray of color, green presenting on the outside and pink in the middle. This unique color arrangement is typically brought out when the crystals of this material are cut in slices.

1Mohs scale of mineral hardness is a way to characterize hardness in minerals. It is used to help with determining a minerals resistance to scratching. The scale ranges from 1 to 10, 10 being the hardest and most resistance to scratching.

It was created by Friedrich Mohs, a German geologist and mineralogist. It is a qualitative ordinal scale that applies the knowledge of a minerals ability of harder material to scratch a softer material.

This information on gemstones is in no way intended to be all encompassing. There are many more beautiful stones to learn about. Keep growing your knowledge and love of gemstones. – Hupp Jewelers, your legacy jeweler.