Welcome to the second half of our Birthstones blog where we will discuss a little about the birthstones which represent the months July through to December.
July - Ruby
The Ruby Red colour denotes love and brings forth a feeling of warmth. Know often as the King of all Gemstones, it is indeed a precious stone. It is a hard stone measuring 9 on the Mohs scale and thus produces a hard wearing item of jewellery. As a member of the corrundrum family it is very closely related to the Sapphire, in fact every other colour of this particular stone family is known as a Sapphire. A ring bearing a ruby is said to symbolise a passionate relationship that bears unbridled love.
August - Peridot
The perfect colour for Summer! Peridot is an ancient stone dating back even to the 2nd Millenium BC Egyptian times. The Romans called it the "emerald of the evening" as the colour does not appear to fade even in artificial light. The cut of this stone can vary dramatically due to the fact its cystal formation makes it hard to cut. Also only a 6.5 - 7 on Mohs hardness scale, it is not a hard stone and often the inclusions of this stone can be hidden within a cabouchon shape.
September - Sapphire
The Sapphire is commonly only thought of as being a blue stone. As you can see from the above picture it is in fact available in a wide range of colours, in fact every colour besides red as this is indeed the ruby. Again the Mohs scale of hardness gives this stone a 9 and so it is perfect to be worn daily in any item of jewellery. Gemologists are fascinated with the "star Spphire" where a star can actually be seen with a naked eye over the top of a cabouchon cut stone. The rarest coloured sapphire is the "Padparadscha". Even given a seperate name it is a light peach/pink colour often likened to a lotus blossom.
October - Opal
A fabulous array of colour can be seen in an Opal stone. It is said to help lift depression as well as find the wearer true love. Opals should be worn as often as possible as they need water to keep their colour and fire and the humidity in the air aids their life. Saying this they are quite soft in fact only a 5.5 - 6 on Mohs scale so the setting must be as protective as possible. They are more commonly found as a cabouchon cut or in fact backed as a doublet or triplet.
November - Topaz
Topaz is considered to be one of the Apocolyptic stones and can be found in a variety of colours most popularly Blue Topaz. In the mythological world it has been said to make men more handsome and sterile women fertile but, is also said to protect the wearer against harm.
December - Turquoise
The Turquoise colour is said to help with depression due to its light colour but also is seen to be the stone of friendship. It has been around for centuries and can be seen both inlaid in objects as well as worn in jewellery. It is normally worn as a cabouchon cut as it is particularly soft and can also change colour over time. The light blue makes us feel happy and cheerful in the depths of a cold Winter.
We hope you have enjoyed reading a small snippet about a few of the many Gemstones available. Please feel free to leave a comment or email us for more information.