Tag: Gemstones
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.
The De Beers Centenary Diamond is, at 273.85 carats (54.770 g), the third-largest diamond to have been produced in the Premier Mine. Among top-color diamonds, only the Cullinan I and II are larger than the Centenary diamond. The Centenary Diamond is rated in color as grade D color by the Gemological Institute of America, which is the highest grade of colourless diamond and is internally and externally flawless. It was named the Centenary Diamond as it was presented in the rough for the Centennial Celebration of De Beers Consolidated Mines on 11 May 1988. The Centenary Diamond was unveiled in final form in May 1991.
The Centenary Diamond was discovered in the Premier Mine on 17 July 1986 using their X-ray imaging system. The original rough was 599 carats (119.8 g). Cutting such an immense and valuable diamond required expertise and a considerable investment. There was a special room designed underground in the De Beers Diamond Research Laboratory in Johannesburg, South Africa for the sole purpose of working on the Centenary Diamond with design specifications including strength and stability so as to preclude mechanical vibration and temperature variation to minimize any factor that might interfere with the cutting of the Centenary Diamond.
The initial efforts were done by hand rather than with a laser so as not to heat or vibrate the diamond. After cutting and removing 50 carats (10 g) of cracked material over 154 days, the team was left with an egg-shaped gem of approximately 500 carats (100 g). Thirteen different designs were presented to the De Beers board, with a strong recommendation for what became the eventual modified heart-shaped design. The shape was described as, “Effectively, the Centenary Diamond is shaped like a heart-shape, but it does not have a groove. The image the team had in mind was a shape which would adorn the crown of an Indian Maharaja.
While the stone has never been publicly appraised for value, it is known to have been insured at over US$100 million at the time of its unveiling in May 1991. The stone was loaned to the Tower of London, where it was displayed for a number of years. It is believed that De Beers no longer owns the Centenary, but the current owner is unknown. De Beers declines to comment, citing its anonymity policy.
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.
The Taylor–Burton Diamond, a diamond weighing 68 carats (13.6 g), became notable in 1969 when it was purchased by actors Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. The original rough diamond was found in 1966 in the Premier Mine in South Africa, weighing 241 carats (48.2 g). Harry Winston cut it into the shape of pear weighing 69.42 carats (13.884 g).
At the time of sale in 1969, the diamond was set in a platinum ring with two smaller diamonds on either side. After its purchase by Taylor and Burton, Taylor found the diamond too heavy to wear as a ring, and commissioned an $80,000 diamond necklace which included a custom setting for the diamond.
After her second divorce from Burton in 1978, Taylor sold the diamond in June 1979 to Henry Lambert, a jeweler from New York for a figure believed to between $3–5 million. Part of the proceeds from the sale funded the construction of a hospital in Botswana. Taylor and Burton’s second marriage had taken place in Botswana in 1975. Lambert sold the Taylor–Burton Diamond in December 1979 to Robert Mouawad, of the jewelers Mouawad.
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