Citrine, like amethyst, is a quartz. But what few people know is that a citrine gemstone or crystal may very well have been an amethyst earlier in its existence, only to be transformed from a pale purple amethyst to the yellow and orange-brown colour of citrine, by heat treatment. Natural citrine – that is quartz …
The history of tourmaline is slightly vague and somewhat recent. The reason for this is tourmaline has through the ages been mistaken for many other gemstone varieties, and in turn the reason for that is tourmaline comes in such a dazzling array of colours. By all accounts a Spanish conquistador found a vibrant green gemstone …
I fell in love with sapphires in Sri Lanka. In 2015 Jay and I set off to the island of Sri Lanka with one mission in mind: to learn about her sapphires, and bring some home. Well kind of. We were also wont to languish on her tropical beaches, soak in her rich cultural history …
In her book, Buried Treasure – Travels Through The Jewel Box (Hoddon & Stoughton 2006), Victoria Finlay has Julius Caesar standing on the shores of France in 55BC, eyeing out the shores of Britain, ready to invade. According to his biographer, Gaius Suetonius Tranquillis, Caesar had scant intelligence of what awaited him, save that the …
An ancient gemstone, peridots were once upon a time featured in the most sacred objects, adorned royalty and made the two most famous lists of gemstones in the bible. But peridot kind of fell out of favour, yet has made a comeback in modern times. This beautiful green gem has been called all kinds of …
The Sunrise RubyIn the early morning hour,just before dawn, lover and beloved awakeand take a drink of water. She asks, “Do you love me or yourself more?Really, tell the absolute truth.” He says, “There is nothing left of me.I’m like a ruby held up to the sunrise.Is it still a stone, or a worldmade of …
Before we can begin to talk about June’s birthstone, we need to discuss the term adularescence. It is what moonstone is known for, and more or less how it got it’s name. Moonstone is part of the feldspar group of minerals which make up about 60 percent of the earth’s crust. You would have come …
Undoubtedly the most famous person associated with emeralds would be Queen Cleopatra of Egypt. According to Victoria Finlay in her 2006 book Buried Treasures – Travels through the Jewel Box, jewels, and particularly emeralds, were very much part of her artillery of looks, charisma and ruthless determination which she used to influence powerful men. The …
Diamonds get their name from the Greek word Adamao, ‘I tame’ or ‘I subdue’, which as language does became Adamas, ‘hardest steel’ or ‘hardest substance’, one literally true, the other figuratively prescient. But when discussing April’s birthstone I believe it is favourable to start with the scientific facts. Like; the chemical formula for diamond is …
As it’s name suggests, aquamarine is a blue-green gem, the colour of sea water. And as such much of its history, lore and healing powers are tied to the ocean and the blue skies; the loveliest of all that it was part of the mermaid’s jewellery box. Aquamarine was known to give sailors a safe …