Amethyst
The origin of amethyst comes from the Greek myths. Bacchus, the god of wine, was angered one day by an insult from a mere mortal. He swore revenge on the next mortal to cross his path and created a fierce tiger to devour the next mortal to come along. A beautiful young maiden named Amethyst was the next mortal to come along. Amethyst was on her way to pay tribute to her goddess Diana. When Diana saw the danger that Amethyst was in, she turned the young maiden into a large pillar of pure crystalline quartz. Remorseful for what he had caused, Bacchus wept tears of pure wine and turned the quartz a beautiful violet color, creating the gem we know today.

The Greek word "amethystos" translates to mean "not drunken." The Greeks considered amethyst to be a strong antidote against drunkenness, and wine goblets were often carved from large crystals. Today, the gemstone still symbolizes sobriety.

Amethyst was very important in the ornamentation of Catholic and other churches in the Middle Ages. The priests and other holy men thought amethyst encouraged celibacy and symbolized piety and it quickly became the stone most favored by the bishops. In fact, many of today's bishops still wear large amethyst rings as a symbol of their faith.

Because of amethyst's royal purple color, the gem has been in high demand throughout history. You will find many fine amethyst gems in the crown jewels of Great Britain, and the royal gems were also a favorite of Catherine the Great and Egyptian royalty. In Tibet, the gem is considered to be the stone of Buddha and many rosaries are made from the gem.

Most of our gem amethyst crystals come from mines in several African nations as well as Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Bolivia.

Amethyst is the birthstone for February.

Aquamarine
Aquamarine gets it's name from the Latin words for sea water. With it's medium to pale blue color, aquamarine has been treasured by civilizations since 400 BC. Ancient Greeks believed that aquamarine held the essence and spirit of the sea. Wearing this stone was said to prevent sea sickness and protect the wearer from adversaries. It was also believed to provide courage and a strong will.

Aquamarine is also said to have a soothing influence on land. This was especially true for married couples and it's power to help husbands and wives work out their differences and ensure a long and happy marriage makes it a good anniversary gift. A dream about aquamarine is supposed to mean that you will meet new friends.

To Christians, aquamarine represents harmony, happiness, childhood innocence, purity, and youthfulness.

Aquamarine is a member of the beryl family. Another beryl, emerald, is its close cousin. Aquamarine is found in Brazil, Zambia, Mozambique, Angola, Nigeria and other countries.

Aquamarine is the birthstone for March.

Citrine
Citrine takes its name from the French word for lemon "Citron." Many citrine gemstones have a rich lemony color. Very affordable, citrine can brighten almost any jewelry style. Citrine is a form of quartz, and a cousin in that respect to Amethyst. In fact, many citrine gems today started as amethyst that was treated with heat to change the purple color to the golden yellow shown above. For that reason, citrine should be kept away from long exposure to light or heat.

In ancient times, citrine was carried to protect against evil thoughts and snake venom.

Citrine is sometimes referred to as topaz quartz. This in incorrect, as golden topaz is an entirely different mineral. Because of its golden color, however, citrine is sometimes used as an alternative to topaz for the birthstone for November.

Garnet
The name garnet is derived from the Latin word "granatum" which means pomegranate. Garnets come in many varieties, the most common being the almandine garnet or the rhodolite garnet. Both are red varieties of garnets as is a third variety called pyrope garnet. We sell rhodolite garnets and a mixed breed called almandine-pyrope garnet in our jewelry. Garnet does come in many other colors, including green, black, orange, and more.

Red garnets have been treasured for thousands of years. Garnets were believed to cure fever and promote good health. Garnets were worn for protection by travelers. Over the years, this gem has meant many things to many people, symbolizing fire, faith, truth, grace, constanty, and fidelity.

Garnets are found all over the world. The best sources for the almandine-pyrope garnet are the Garnet Queen Mine in northern Idaho.They were also found years ago in Bohemia, Czechoslovakia, and Russia's Ural Mountains. Other garnet mines of note are in Africa, India, and Sri Lanka. They are also found in gem quality in Tanzania, Kenya, and even Arizona.

Garnet is the birthstone for January.

Iolite
Iolite gets it's name from the Greek words "ios" meaning violet and "lithos" meaning stone.

A unique feature of iolite is that a cube cut from an iolite crystal will look clear as water from one side, display a violet blue color not unlike a sapphire from another side, and look a honey yellow color from the top. This property is called extreme pleochoism. In fact, some people early on referred to the gem as "water sapphire", a name now obsolete.

The ancient Vikings of Leif Eriksson knew about this unique property of iolite and they used thin pieces of iolite as the world's first polarizing filter. When they looked through an iolite lens, they were able to determine the exact position of the sun. This enabled them to navigate safely and venture far out into the Atlantic Ocean. Because of iolite, they were able to sail to the new world and back.

Iolite is mined in India, Sri Lanka, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Brazil. Very affordable now, iolite is expected by many experts to become a jewelry staple in the future

Peridot
Peridot throughout the ages has been associated with superstition. Perhaps this is because the gemstone is born of fire. Peridot crystals are often found in the rocks created by volcanoes. They have also been found in meteorites that have fallen to earth. Some gems have even been cut from these extraterrestrial crystals.

Peridot was mined as early as 1300 B.C. on St. John's Island (also called Zebirget) in the Red Sea. During that time, though, the island was known as Topazios, and the green gems were incorrectly called "Topaz". The Egyptian kings favored these gems, which were often mined under very harsh conditions. The mine was ravaged by pirates of the area, but it was lost for centuries as the location is shrouded in perpetual fog. It was rediscovered in the 1900s.

The Romans called Peridot "evening emerald". Peridot was used as a decorative gem for many medieval churches with a 200 carat gem adorning the shrine of the Three Maji at the Cologne Cathedral.

Peridot has been connected to superstition throughout the ages. Associated with the sun, Peridot is believed to have the power to break evil spells and dispel the mysteries of the dark. During the Middle Ages people wore Peridot to gain foresight and divine inspiration.

Peridot is also treasured in Hawaii as the goddess Pele's tears. Most of the Peridot sold in Hawaii is from mines in Arizona on the San Carlos Indian Reservation. Peridot is also found in exquisite large crystals in Myanmar (Burma), China, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.

Peridot is the birthstone for August.

Ruby
For thousands of years, ruby has been the world's most valuable gemstone. Best quality rubies are more valuable and costly and rare than the most valuable diamonds, carat for carat. The record price for a single ruby was $227,301 per carat for a perfect 16 carat ruby ring. This ring was sold at Sotheby's in England in 1998 at a cost of over $3,600,000.

Ruby gets its name from the Latin word "rubeus" which means red. Ruby is a member of the corundum family of gems which also includes Sapphire.

The most famous source of fine rubies is Burma, now called Myanmar. Thailand is the ruby capital of the world, with 80% of all rubies mined cut and marketed there. Other sources for fine rubies are newly discovered deposits in Viet Nam and even in Thailand. Rubies are also found in Sri Lanka, Kenya, Afganistan, Pakistan, and Tanzania

Ruby is the birthstone for July

Sapphire
Sapphire has been treasured for thousand of years by all cultures and was known as the celestial gemstone. The ancient Persians believed that the earth rested on an enormous sapphire and the sky reflected its beautiful blue color. In the 12th century, the Bishop of Rennes praised the sapphire and initiated its use in ecclesiastical rings.

Sapphire is a member of the corundum family and, as such, is closely related to the ruby. Sapphire gets its name from the Latin "sapphirus" and the Greek "sappherios." Both words mean "blue" in their respective languages.

Sapphire has long symbolized sincerity, truth, and faithfulness and, as such, is an excellent choice for an engagement ring. Prince Charles gave Diana a sapphire engagement ring and inspired couples all over the world to revive this venerable tradition.

Fine gem sapphires are found in many locations around the world. The best sapphires are found in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Australia, Cambodia, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, China, Vietnam, Madagascar, and Montana in the United States.

Sapphire is the birthstone for September.

Tanzanite
This beautiful gemstone was discovered in 1967 in Tanzania, Africa. The discovery was a never before seen variety of a mineral called zoisite with a brilliant violet-blue color. To honor the discovery location, in 1969 the gem was named tanzanite by Tiffany & Co. in New York who introduced the gem to the public that same year. The gem is extremely rare, as it so far has only been found in one location, the Merelani Hills of Tanzania below Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Tanzanite gets its mesmerizing color from an optical property called trichroic. This means it shows different colors when viewed in different directions. Viewed from one direction, it looks bronze. This is the predominant color when found in the ground. When viewed from another direction. the color looks blue. From another direction, the gem takes on a purple hue.

The blue colored stones are the most valuable, and the gems are gently heated by the stonecutters to intensify the richness of the hue. Local lore has it that the effect of heat on the stone was discovered by the Masai herders noticed the beautiful blue gem crystals laying on the grass of a field where they drove their cattle. A lightning strike the night before had started a small grass fire and the heat from the fire changed the color of some brown zoisite crystals laying on the ground among other stones.

Blue Topaz
The name topaz is most likely derived from the old Sanskrit word "tapaz" which meant fire. A common misconception exists that all topaz is golden in color. In fact, pure topaz is completely colorless but is found in a variety of colors such as yellow, golden, brown, pink, blue, red, and green. Some rare and exceptional topaz gems are pale pink and sherry red.

The most famous topaz is thought to be a giant colorless topaz set in the Portuguese Crown, the Braganza, which was first thought to be a diamond.

There are many legends associated with topaz. The ancient Greeks believed it had the power to increase strength and make its wearer invisible to the enemy. It was also thought to dispel all enchantments and help improve the eyesight of the wearer. Some people thought it would change color at the presence of food or drink. This made it a favorite of early monarchs. Others thought it had mystical curative powers and could cure insomnia, hemmorages, and asthma.

We use blue topaz in our jewelry which comes from the gentle heating of pale topaz to bring out the lustrous blue color. Pale topaz for turning into the blue topaz gems is found in Brazil, Sri Lanka, China, and Nigeria.

Topaz is the birthstone for November. Blue Topaz is sometimes used for the birthstone of December, as well.

Green Tourmaline
In 1703, a package of tourmaline labeled "turmali" from Sri Lanka was sent by mistake to a stone dealer in Amsterdam. Bright rainbow collections of gemstone varieties were called turmali parcels. The name tourmaline is said to have originated from this Sinhalese term which means "mixed". Many of the stones in the Russian Crown jewels from the 17th century first thought to be rubies were actually red tourmalines.

The Dutch noticed that the stones attracted ashes and straw when heated, and named the stones "aschenstrekkers" which means "ash drawers". They used this unique property to clean their pipes.

It is estimated that tourmaline has been used as gem material for over 2000 years. The Chinese have long valued this beautiful gem. They have carved tourmaline ornaments for girdles, headdresses, badges, and buttons. The last Empress of China, Tz'u Hsi, loved pink tourmaline and bought a ton of it from the new Himalaya Mine in California. She is said to have had a tourmaline pillow carved from a huge crystal from that location for her head to rest in eternity upon her passing.

Nearly every color of the rainbow has been found in tourmaline. Most cherished for jewelry has been the pink and green tourmalines as well as the rarer blue tourmaline. Tourmaline is found in Brazil, Tanzania, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, California, and Maine.