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Glossary Jewellery

BIRTHSTONES

Garnet, January's birthstone, comes from the Latin word for grain because of the rounded crystals that form the garnet. Garnets are a group of differently coloured gemstones with similar chemical composition and come in a variety of colours including colourless, yellow-orange, various shades of red, and green--yet most people recognise garnets to be the beautiful burgundy red.

February's birthstone  is Amethyst. The Greek word amethyst probably means "not drunken" since it was once thought to have many supernatural powers and could be worn as an amulet against drunkenness. The amethyst is the most highly valued stone in the quartz group. Its color ranges from violet to pale red-violet and is found in alluvial deposits, mostly in Brazil, Uruguay and Malaysia.

The March birthstone is Aquamarine, which is latin for "Water of the Sea." Its colour ranges from light blue to blue-green, and comes from iron. There are aquamarine deposits in all continents, but the most important are in Brazil. It is mined from pegmatite and coarse-grained granite, and is more frequently transparent than an emeralds.

Diamond is the traditional birthstone for April and the only gemstone highest on the Mohs' hardness scale--a 10. The name diamond refers to its hardness, the Greek word adamas meaning "unconquerable." There are diamond deposits in many parts of the world, most occurring in Africa and Siberia.

The traditional birthstone for May is emerald. The name emerald derives from Greek meaning "green stone." Its colour varies from emerald green, light green, yellow green to dark green, the most important deposits being found in Columbia in or near pegmatite veins. Emeralds are formed by rising magma and metamorphism, and are a 7-8 on the Mohs' hardness scale.

The more common birthstone for June is the pearl. Where the name pearl derives is unknown, but it perhaps comes from the Latin word perna, which is a type of shell. Pearls are produced by mollusks, or more specifically, oysters.

The name ruby, the birthstone for July, comes from the Latin word rubeus, which means red. The color of rubies are varying shades of red, the most desired colour being "pigeon's blood," pure red with a hint of blue. Rubies, along with Sapphires, are the hardest gemstones after diamonds on the Mohs' hardness scale--a 9.

August's birthstone is Peridot. The commonly used name for peridot in mineralogy is olivine, due to its green colour, but the meaning of the Greek derivative peridot is uncertain. The colour of peridot varies from olive green, yellow green, to brownish.

The name Sapphire (Greek for blue) is the birthstone for September. It used to be applied to various stones, but today, with the exception of red, all varied coloured corundums, gems with a particular crystal system, are called sapphires. Thus, the colour of sapphires ranges anywhere from yellow to green, but most people recognize them as being a rich blue.

Opal is the birthstone for October, the name derived from an Indian word for "stone." The special characteristic of opals is their opalescence, a rainbow-like iridescence which changes with the angle of observation.

Topaz, November's birthstone, probably derived its name from the name of an island in the Red Sea, now Zebirget, formerly Topazos. The traditional color for topaz are yellow with a red tint, but they also come in a variety of colours including pinky red, red-brown, light blue, and pale green.

There are two birthstones for the month of December--Persian turquoise and blue topaz. Turquoise is the most common birthstone. The name turquoise means "Turkish stone" because the trade route that brought it to Europe used to come via Turkey. The colour of turquoise ranges from sky blue, blue-green to apple green.

Birthstones - gemstones

Month

Gemstones

January

Garnet

Garnet

February

Amethyst

Amethyst

March

Aquamarine

Aqua

April

Diamond

Crystal or Crystal AB

May

Emerald

Emerald

June

Pearl

Crystal Pearl

July

Ruby

Ruby or Siam

August

Peridot

Peridot

September

Sapphire

Sapphire

October

Tourmaline

Rose

November

Topaz

Topaz

December

Blue Zircon

Blue Zircon