Tag: Birthstones
Aqua Marine is a blue-green semi-precious stone used in jewelry. It is a mineral of the beryl family like emerald. Its name comes from Latin and means sea water.
The stone is mined in several mines around the world such as Brazil, Colombia, Zambia, Madagascar, Tanzania and Kenya.The largest and best quality aqua marine stone was found in Brazil in 1910 and weighted 110 kg.
The ancient Greeks believed that the aqua marina protects against the dangers of the sea and that is why it was considered the lucky stone of sailors.
Aqua Marine is the birthstone of March.
Therapeutic properties:
- Relieves neuropathy, cramps in the neck, neck, jaw and toothache.
- It affects the pituitary gland, the thyroid gland and brings hormonal balance.
- Improves vision and is useful for compensating for myopia or presbyopia.
Spiritual qualities:
- Creates a shield of protection around the aura.
- It acts as a filter, dispelling confusion and facilitating the capture of information.
- Aligns and cleanses the chakras bringing communication from a higher level.
Amethyst is a mineral quartz in purple color and is used for decorative purposes as a semi-precious stone. Its name is due to the fact that the ancient Greeks believed that whoever wears jewelry with amethyst, or drinks his wine in a mug of amethyst, cannot get drunk.
In Greek mythology the amethyst appears when the drunken god Dionysus attacks with a wild disposition a virgin daughter named “the Amethyst”. The girl does not respond, and in order to be saved she asks for the help of the gods. The goddess who answered her prayers is Artemis who, in order to save the girl, transforms her into a colorless stone. Humiliated and angry, Dionysus pours his wine on the crystals of the stone that take on the beautiful purple color. In a variation of the myth, the stone is painted not from wine but from the tears of the repentant Dionysus.
Amethyst exists in many parts of the world. Large quantities are produced in North America and Latin America, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, etc., but also in Russia. Huge amethyst geodes are mined in the vast mines of Minas Gerais in Brazil.
Amethyst is the birthstone of February.
Therapeutic properties:
- Improves memory, helps calm, relaxation and self-control.
- Relieves headaches, relieves insomnia, stress and anxiety.
- Helps detoxify the physical body and stimulates the immune system.
Spiritual qualities:
- One of the most important properties of Amethyst is that it dispels negative energy.
- On a spiritual level it helps us to get information to live our daily life more harmoniously.
- Helps a lot in spiritual work, meditation, self-concentration.
Garnet is a silicate mineral that comes mainly from America, India, Japan and Madagascar. It has a deep red color and got its name from the Latin word “grantum”, which means “pomegranate”, apparently because of the resemblance of its crystals to the seeds of the fruit, both in shape and color.
The best known varieties of garnet are in shades of red, which have the special name almandine but it is also found in other colors. Some of the garnets show the phenomenon of Alexandrite, that is, they change color depending on the type of light they receive.
Garnet is the birthstone of January.
Therapeutic properties:
- Protects the heart, strengthens the reproductive and immune system and brings harmony to the composition of body fluids, especially blood.
- It is believed to stop bleeding and heal kidney, bile and bladder stones.
- Revitalizes, creates, regulates blood pressure and fights its diseases.
Spiritual properties:
- Offers immediate energy, better mood, endurance and physical strength, especially in cases where intense physical and mental effort is required within a short period of time.
- Sharpens perception, helps conceive smart business ideas and brings success to any kind of engagement as it increases creativity.
- Gives courage, optimism, determination, energy, abundance, love for work and luck.
Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral. It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone and ornamental stone for thousands of years owing to its unique hue. Like most other opaque gems, turquoise has been devalued by the introduction onto the market of treatments, imitations and synthetics.
The gemstone has been known by many names. Pliny the Elder referred to the mineral as callais (from Ancient Greek κάλαϊς) and the Aztecs knew it as chalchihuitl. The word turquoise dates to the 17th century and is derived from the French turquoise meaning “Turkish” because the mineral was first brought to Europe through Turkey, from mines in the historical Khorasan of Persia.
Turquoise was among the first gems to be mined, and many historic sites have been depleted, though some are still worked to this day. Iran has been an important source of turquoise for at least 2,000 years. Since at least the First Dynasty (3000 BCE) in ancient Egypt, and possibly before then, turquoise was used by the Egyptians and was mined by them in the Sinai Peninsula. This region was known as the Country of Turquoise by the native Monitu. The two most important of these mines, from a historic perspective, are Serabit el-Khadim and Wadi Maghareh, believed to be among the oldest of known mines.
Spiritual Properties of turquoise:
- It offers calm and relaxation, banishes depression and promotes the feeling of love and friendship. It boosts self-confidence, gives courage, strength and positive energy to the speakers.
- Increases creative thinking, perception, dispels confusion, makes us extroverted and helps us in every new beginning
Healing properties of turquoise:
- Improves the absorption of nutrients and is used to treat diseases of the nose, throat and lungs.
- Strengthens the heart and vision, relieves headaches, fights viruses.
Turquoise is the birthstone of December.
Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine. It is one of the hardest naturally occurring minerals (Mohs hardness of 8) and is the hardest of any silicate mineral. This hardness combined with its usual transparency and variety of colors means that it has acquired wide use in jewellery as a cut gemstone.
It actually has an exceptionally wide color range that, besides brown, includes various tones and saturations of blue, green, yellow, orange, brown, red, pink, and purple.
Topaz can be found in many parts of the world. Its largest and finest specimens have been found in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Also in Pakistan, Mexico, the Ural Mountains in Russia and the states of Colorado, Utah and California USA.
Yellow topaz is the birthstone of November.
Spiritual Properties of topaz:
- Attracts love, good friends and partners. It leads to success and happiness.
- Helps us fight all kinds of phobia and anxiety, thereby improving our lives and giving us courage and confidence.
- It gives a feeling of peace and tranquility, improves mood and helps in artistic creation.
Healing properties of topaz:
- Has excellent effects against any diseases of the circulatory system, protects against thrombosis and cures hemorrhoids and bleeding.
- Regenerates tissues and enhances clarity of vision.
- Regulates metabolism, strengthens us from a period of intense exhaustion and stimulates the immune and nervous systems.
Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica (SiO2·nH2O); its water content may range from 3 to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6 and 10%. The internal structure of precious opal causes it to diffract light, resulting in play-of-color. Play-of-color is defined as “a pseudochromatic optical effect resulting in flashes of colored light from certain minerals, as they are turned in white light”.
The word ‘opal’ is adapted from the Latin term opalus. Opal is considered the birthstone for people born in October.
In the Middle Ages, opal was considered a stone that could provide great luck because it was believed to possess all the virtues of each gemstone whose color was represented in the color spectrum of the opal. It was also said to grant invisibility if wrapped in a fresh bay leaf and held in the hand.
The stone is found in many colors such as blue opal, white, black, fire opal. The main source of opal is Australia, which is often cited as representing 95-97% of world supply. Other mining areas are Ethiopia, Nevada in the US and Mexico.
Spiritual properties of opal
- Opal is believed to attract money, abundance, and succeed in the financial sector.
- Gives fortune, love, power, positive thoughts, endurance, faith and forgiveness.
- Relieves oppressed emotions, sadness and removes melancholy.
Healing properties of opal
- Has the ability to protect the eyes and strengthen the heart.
- Works therapeutically against infections and viruses, facilitates purification of blood and kidneys.
- • Used for the treatment of stomach and intestine.
The sapphire is one of the 4 precious gems (diamond, ruby, sapphire, and emerald). It belongs to the mineral corundum and is regarded as the stone of the month of September. Its name derives from the ancient Greek word “sapphire”. Its blue colour, which is the most common color for sapphire, is mainly due to the presence of iron and titanium, pink colour is due to the presence of some chromium trace elements, while chromium in large quantities gives the sapphire a bright red color, where in this case it is characterized as a ruby. It is the second hardest mineral after the diamond on the Mohs scale (mineral hardness measurement scale) as its value is 9 (with a maximum of 10).
The value of the sapphire is mostly determined by its color. The more intense the color, the more valuable and expensive it is. Sapphires called “Star” have small rutile chips (TiO2) internally and together with elongated pits create asteroids and are considered to be the most impressive and expensive.
The largest sapphire deposits are found in Sri Lanka, Australia (Queensland), South Africa, India, Madagascar, Thailand and the USA. (North Carolina).
Spiritual properties of the sapphire
- It enhances intuition and wisdom
- It brings joy, happiness and balance
- It is said that sapphire brings luck and happiness
- It is the gemstone that enhances love and friendship
- Sapphire is the stone of truth and sincerity
Healing properties of sapphire
- Calms the nerves and the mind
- Heals circulatory system malfunctions
- Strengthens memory and relieves depression and mental disorder.
Peridot is a gem-quality Olivine. Its name derives from the Latin word olive because of its oil-green color. Peridot is a transparent green variety which is used as a semiprecious stone.
Peridot is one of the few gemstones that occur in only one color: an olive-green. The intensity and tint of the green, however, depends on the percentage of iron in the crystal structure.
Historically the most important Olivine deposits were located in Egypt, on the Red Sea island of Zabirget, which was mined 3500 years ago. It was later used in ecclesiastical jewelry and objects. Olivine deposits are also found in Burma and Brazil.
Peridot is the birthstone for the month of August.
Properties of Peridot
- The peridot fits the intellectuals
- Is semiprecious stone of lightness and beauty
- It protects against negative emotions and promotes peace and happiness
- It may be useful to find things you have lost
- Increases patience and persistence
- Protects from evil spirits
- It helps heal wounded feelings and increases confidence
- It protects from nightmares and helps to make our dreams reality
- It helps to problems in speech and enhances the power of speech
A ruby is a pink to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapphires. The word ruby comes from ruber, Latin for red. The color of a ruby is due to the element chromium. Rubies are the second harder gemstone on earth after diamond. They have a hardness of 9.0 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness (out of 10.0).
The quality of a ruby is determined by its color, cut, and clarity, which, along with carat weight, affect its value. The brightest and most valuable shade of red called blood-red or pigeon blood, commands a large premium over other rubies of similar quality. After color follows clarity: similar to diamonds, a clear stone will command a premium, but a ruby without any needle-like rutile inclusions may indicate that the stone has been treated. Ruby is the traditional birthstone for July and is usually pinker than garnet, although some rhodolite garnets have a similar pinkish hue to most rubies. The world’s most valuable ruby is the Sunrise Ruby.
The Mogok Valley in Upper Myanmar (Burma) was for centuries the world’s main source for rubies. That region has produced some exceptional rubies, however in recent years few good rubies have been found. In central Myanmar, the area of Mong Hsu began producing rubies during the 1990s and rapidly became the world’s main ruby mining area. The most recently found ruby deposit in Myanmar is in Namya (Namyazeik) located in the northern state of Kachin. Rubies are also mined in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Pakistani Kashmir there are vast proven reserves of millions of rubies, worth up to half a billion dollars. However, as of 2017 there was only one mine (at Chitta Katha) due to lack of investment. In Afghanistan, rubies are mined at Jegdalek. In Sri Lanka, lighter shades of rubies (often “pink sapphires”) are more commonly found.
Ruby is the perfect gift for the 40th wedding anniversary as it symbolizes love, health and wisdom.
Spiritual properties of the ruby
- Encourages passion and appetite for life
- Protects love
- Helps to maintain wealth
- Overwhelms exhaustion and gives strength and vigor
Healing properties of ruby
- Detoxifies the body and blood
- It treats fevers and infectious diseases
- In antiquity it was used as an antidote for poison
- It brings fertility
The first century Jewish historian Josephus believed there was a connection between the twelve stones in Aaron’s breastplate (signifying the tribes of Israel, as described in the Book of Exodus), the twelve months of the year, and the twelve signs of the zodiac.
Translations and interpretations of the passage in Exodus regarding the breastplate have varied widely, with Josephus himself giving two different lists for the twelve stones. St. Jerome, referencing Josephus, said the Foundation Stones of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:19–20) would be appropriate for Christians to use.
In the eighth and ninth century, religious treatises associating a particular stone with an apostle were written, so that “their name would be inscribed on the Foundation Stones, and his virtue. Practice became to keep twelve stones and wear one a month. The custom of wearing a single birthstone is only a few centuries old, though modern authorities differ on dates.
In 1912, in an effort to standardize birthstones, the (American) National Association of Jewelers (now called Jewelers of America) met in Kansas and officially adopted a list.
The Jewelry Industry Council of America updated the list in 1952 by adding Alexandrite for June, citrine for November and pink tourmaline for October. They also replaced December’s lapis with zircon and switched the primary/alternative gems for March. The American Gem Trade Association added tanzanite as a December birthstone in 2002.