BIRTHSTONES

The making of jewellery is one of the most ancient forms of art. It satisfies the urge to adorn oneself and beautify the body or to transform an otherwise plain garment into something eye-catching. Precious stones and other forms of jewellery stand for power and wealth. Many stones are believed to bring good luck, and birthstones are worn in the belief that they will favourably influence the life of the wearer.

January's birthstone is the garnet, the Rhodolite being the most prized, and means equilibrium. The garnet comes in shades of red. The fire garnet, which is often mistaken for the ruby, is the reddest of all. The amethyst is the birthstone of February, meaning seriousness and comes in pale lilac or mauve. March's birthstone, meaning wisdom, is the aquamarine, belonging to the same family as the emerald. Its colour varies from an almost white, pale blue to a slightly darker blue, which is the more prized one. Next is the brilliant diamond, and is the birthstone of April. It means innocence and is definitely still a girl's best friend. Diamonds are white, but the diamond of a very slight blue tint, which together with the pink, mauve, and red tinted gems, is among the rarest. Mays birthstone is the exquisite emerald, meaning love. Concealed within the Colombian mines are the world's most magnificent emeralds, where they are cut on the spot! The emerald is green or blue in colour, depending on its chemical nature. “Garden” is a term used in connection with emeralds which refers to the inclusions and fissures almost always present in this mineral, and which is vaguely reminiscent of vegetation. The pearl or moonstone, meaning wealth, is the birthstone for June and they are admired and desired as symbols of beauty, power and love.

In the Bible, Christ acknowledges their worth when he used “throwing pearls before the swine” as an analogy to warn against wasted efforts. The pearl does not owe its existence to the earth, but is the organic product of a living creature, the pearl oyster. These pearl oysters form natural banks in the warm seas, where they attach themselves to more or less solid limestone surrounded by rock. Fresh water pearls are found in molluscs which live in rivers and lakes. July's birthstone is the ruby, meaning freedom and is the stone of fire and flame. The ruby has always been very popular as adornment for crowns. August is the Sardonyx, meaning friendship. Its transparency makes this stone popular for cameos. The next birthstone is Septembers, which is the sapphire. The most favoured colours are Kashmir blue and yellow-orange, or yellow sapphire. The blue sapphire should be free of any trace of green, but rather be a cornflower blue or ultramarine. Yellow sapphires should be the colour of pure gold. The influence of the Sapphire is said to be so powerful that even in the hands of another person it would still work in favour of the former owner. Octobers birthstone is the opal meaning hope. There are numerous varieties, but the Precious opal, if held to the light, shows a marvellous display of brilliant colours and is the most prized of all. Most opal come from Australia. The birthstone for November is the Topaz, meaning loyalty. The true topaz may be yellow, gold, pink, blue, green, mauve or red and is widely used in jewellery-making. Finally, Decembers birthstone is the turquoise which is becoming increasingly rare. The colour ranges from sky-blue to apple-green but the best turquoise is dark and should be free of any black veins or white specks.

Birthstones are more than mere stones; people are drawn to their mystery and allure.