Sassy Citrine! November's Golden Birthstone

Howdy everyone!

I have been so amazingly busy as of late.  This past weekend I had my book signing in Stillwater, Ok.  It went pretty well.  I also did a reading while I was there.  Once my personal website is up and running I'll be sure to get pictures up on there.  Until then you can check it out on the website for the series.  Anyway, on with today's post.  It won't be very long since there is not much to tell about November's birthstone.  I will tell you what you need to know about them though.

November's birthstone is the Citrine.  What is a Citrine?  Citrine is a variety of Quartz.  Most Citrines that are purchased are heat treated Amethysts. What?  Why Amethysts?  The reason behind this is because amethysts are also a variety of Quartz.  A great number of stones are.  This is because Quartz is number two in terms of minerals found in the Earth's crust.  The good thing about this is that since Quartz is such a common stone it is more practical to use the genuine stone rather than to use a synthetic or created stone.  If it looks like a citrine, it most likely is.

Citrine only refers to the colour of the Quartz.  Citrines can be found in varying shades of yellow and can have a greenish or a reddish tint to them as well.  However, the most common ones sold are a golden yellow.  Sometimes a light yellow-green Quartz is also referred to as a Lemon Quartz. Here is a comparison of two shades of colours.  The cut stone is a light almost Lemon Quartz colour while the raw stone is a dark almost red brown colouring.











Where is Citrine found?  Since Quartz is such a common stone it can pretty much be found anywhere.  However,  the most common places that it is found is from Brazil and other South American countries.  It is sometimes found with Amethysts and stones that contain both the Citrine and Amethyst colouring are called Ametrine.  Here is a picture of raw Ametrine.

Citrine, when used in jewellery, can be set in pretty much any colour of gold or silver and look good.  When used in yellow gold though it does not really stand out especially if the stone is more gold in colour.  White metals like white gold and silver seem to be the preference when setting this gem unless it is surrounded by other stones.

Well, I hope that this has been informative for you.  There really isn't much to tell about Citrine since it is a variety of Quartz.  It is very pretty though!  It really depends on the setting of the stone.  You can find a good number of Citrines pieces that are not very appealing to the eye.  It just takes the right setting.

Until next time everyone!

Stay wonderful and lovely!

October's Opal Birthstone!

Shalom!

I hope everyone is doing well.  It has been crazy busy where I live.  However, I have been working hard on keeping you all informed on various things.  So, it is October.  This month is full of various holidays!  We have: All Hallows Eve, Samhain, Winter Nights, Thanksgiving (for Canada), Columbus Day, Nanomonestose, and a whole bunch of made up holidays like Mole Day and Sweetest Day.  For me, I have family with birthdays this month.  What is the birthstone of October?  The Opal is the traditional birthstone of October.  However, with Opal being a fragile stone, the alternative is Tourmaline.  Today I will be talking about the Opal, since it is the traditional stone.  So, on with the post!

Opal is a type of silica that contains about 6% to 21% water.  It is commonly found with sandstone, basalt, and rhyolite stones in Australia.  In fact, 97% of Opals in the world come from Australia where it is considered the national gemstone!  Some Opals come from Mexico or Oregon.  Fun fact, Opal is the only stone that can throw off every colour with minimal cuts to it. 

Speaking of Opal colours, it comes in many different colours.  The most desirable Opals are the ones that throw off the beautiful plays of colour.  Sometimes if the stone is clear and has a great amount of colour play it is called a Jelly Opal.  However, you can also find more that are a milky white, bluish green, yellow, brown, and colourless.  Many of these opals are not very desirable.  However, there are the beautiful Mexican Fire Opals and the Mexican Water Opals.  While they do not give off a great amount of colour play, they do throw off green flashes.  Fire Opals are a red to a yellow colour while Water Opals are clear with a blue green colour inside.  Black Opals are extremely hard to find and are considered to be some of the rarest Opal one can find.  However, Boulder Opal is even more rare and is very beautiful as well.  Boulder Opal is Opal that is found in small streaks within other the surrounding stones.  People will often polish the whole stone into a cabochon and make it into jewellery.

Opal

Boulder Opal

Fire Opal

 

Opal is almost always polished into a cabochon.  Because of the nature of the stone it makes it near to impossible to cut the stone.   The nature of the stone also makes it incredibly fragile!  You would not believe how many people come in to the jewellery store with broken Opals.  We have even gone to put a new Opal into a ring with an already broken stone and broke the stone we had to put in there.  It can be quite frustrating.  This is the reason why most jewellers will dread selling or even seeing Opal rings or bracelets.  If you are going to buy an Opal your best luck is going to be buying pendants and earrings.  Because of their fragility, imitation Opals are very common.  Thankfully, they are also incredibly easy to identify if you know what you are looking for.  Chances are, if it looks like thin little triangles or squares put together and sealed under something, chances are, they are imitation.  Very rarely are they real and a jeweller will let you know if what you are looking at is imitation.  If you come across a piece when you are out and about and you are not sure if it is genuine, there is a simple test that you can do at home!  If you hold the Opal in question under a UV light and it fluoresces then it is genuine.  If the Opal does not fluoresce under the UV light it is NOT genuine!  However, if in doubt just take it to your jeweller and they will be able to tell you if it is genuine or not.

Before I close, there is a common superstition that if you wear an Opal and it is not your birthstone it will break or you will lose it.  This is not true at all.  I have a PANDORA Pink Opal ring that I wear all the time at work and it has never cracked, never been lost, and I have never had any problems with it.  It is just a fragile gem and you have just as much chance of cracking it as someone born in the middle of October.

So, I hope you learned something new today about this beautiful stone.  If you have any questions feel free to ask! 

Until next time!  Stay beautiful and lovely everyone!

September's Beautiful Blue Birthstone! Sapphires!

Greetings everyone!

Today I will be talking about September’s birthstone: Sapphire.  Sapphire is one of the four precious gems with the others being Diamond, Ruby, and Emerald.  Like the Ruby it is a form of corundum.  As such, if it feels like you have heard some of this before from a previous post you might have.  Anyways, on with the post!

The actual word Sapphire comes from the Greek word sappheiros.  Sappheiros means blue stone.  That is not to say that all Sapphires are blue.  On the contrary.  Sapphires come in a variety of colours some of which are: yellow, purple, orange, greenish blue, white, black, pink, and varying shades of blue.  Corundum can also come in a variety of red shades.  However, if it is red it is usually classified as a Ruby.  At times Pink Sapphires are called Pink Rubies.  Just know that they are the same thing just a different name.   The colour of the stone depends on what elements are found within the crystal structure as it is forming.  For example, Pink Sapphires and Rubies are corundum that contain chromium.  Vandadium causes the stone to be purple.  White Sapphires contain titanium.  Yellow and Green Sapphires have Iron insides of them.  The Blue Sapphires are created when both Iron and Titanium are present in the crystal as it is forming. 

So, where do Sapphires come from?  Many of the same places that Rubies do!  However, the most famous Sapphire mines in the world are in Kashmir, India.  India has many of the Sapphire and Ruby mines, but they are also found elsewhere.  These include various places in the Indo-China region,  Malawi, Nigeria, Australia, and the United States.  Montana has most of the United States’ Sapphire mines.

Well, now that you know about the colour of Sapphires and where they come from it is time to move on to some more important things.  Like all gems Sapphires have inclusions.  If they do not have these you may be looking at a synthetic Sapphire. Unlike Rubies though, most Sapphires do not have lead glass filling, fracture filling, or any other form of inclusion filling treatment.  Why is this?  Because by heating the Sapphire not only does it increase the blue colour of the stone, it also loses what jewellers call the silk of the stone.  What is the silk?  The silk is what is causes the inclusions to be visible.  When heated it vanishes and the stone becomes clear.  The practice of heating Sapphires is so common that if it is NOT heat treated it will sometimes come with a certificate saying that it was not heat treated rather than the other way around.  Sapphires have been heat treated has been going on since the time of the Roman Empire.  As such, it does not reduce the price of the stone.  If any treatment that the Sapphire receives has an effect on the stone, be it a negative or a positive, it must be disclosed in accordance to the USFTC.

Well, that is all for now.  I hope you all enjoyed this and found it interesting!  Until next time!

Love you all!

Peridot: August Pretty Olive Green Birthstone

Hello everyone!

I have exciting news.  In addition to having my book published, I might be moving to London!  I have been super busy trying to get everything all situated.  I have been applying to jobs over there in management positions, some of them I was asked to apply for.  For those of you who do not know, some of my cousins live in England and some of my ancestors are from that area.  I would dearly love to be able to go visit family and see the places were my family once lived.  My family is a close knit family even though we live pretty much all over the globe.  I just got a package from my cousins in Canada the other day.  Where I live we cannot get the commemorative Royal Baby Carriage PANDORA charm.  My super amazing cousins were able to snag me one and shipped it to me.  I also went to visit my aunt last weekend and got my Miss Hedgehog charm.  This is another reason for my posts being delayed.  My aunt has not been in good health recently and we’ve been worried about her.  Also, I have had some dental work done and that has been a not so welcome treat.  I hope to be getting back on my posting schedule though.  Fingers crossed.

Anyways, today I will be talking about August’s birthstone: Peridot.  This word is mispronounced nine times out of the ten.  The “t” on the end is silent.  DON’T PRONOUNCE THE “T” AT THE END!!!  This is just one of those things that annoys the ever living daylights out of me and every jeweller that I have met.  It is pronounced like this: Pear-eh-doe.  See, it is really easy to say it correctly.  Please do so.  On with the post.

Peridot is a light green olivine mineral.  While most of the time it is a yellow-green or lime green in colour it can also be found in greenish brown and dark olive green.  However, to be a Peridot it must be an olive green.  The green colour is caused by iron in the crystal as it forms.  How much iron is in the crystal determines the colour of the stone.  The darker the olive green, the more expensive it will be since finding dark olive green Peridot is difficult.  The lighter shades of Peridot are fairly easy to find in terms of gemstones and as such it is deemed a semi-precious gem.

So, where dose Peridot come from?  Olivine stones are very abundant and can be found from the Earth all the way to far off asteroids.  Apollo 15 even brought back an Olivine stone from the moon!  On Earth though, it is fairly common and is usually found in Mafic and Igneous rocks.  This basically means that Olivine is found in volcanic areas.  In fact, Papakolea Beach in Hawai’i, Talofofo Beach in Guam, Punta Cormorant Beach in the Galapagos Islands, and Hornindalsvatnet in Norway are all green sand beaches.  The green sand is actually small olivine stones that have been eroded from nearby lava flows or Mafic rocks.

For some strange reason, many people do not find the colour of Peridot appealing.  This has always confused me as there are so many different shades of olive green it can come in.  Even though the dark green Peridot is the most desired, I find that the light almost lime green shade is very pretty.  Dark stones, if you are willing to pay for them, are sometimes mistaken for the more expensive Emerald.  As with the Emerald, it may be that many people prefer a white metal jewelry which does not suit the colour of the stone well.  Green gems look better in a yellow gold mounting as the yellow can enhance the colour.  Here is a picture of several different cuts and shades of Peridot for comparison.

 

So, now that you know about the Peridot what about buying them?  Since Peridot is not a horribly rare stone, it is not the most expensive of gems.  In fact, buying a Peridot ring in 14K gold can cost you as little as $100!  Most of that price is in the mounting itself and not the stone.  As such, the chances of getting a fake Peridot are not that high.  You can go to your local jeweller and buy loose Peridot stones starting at $6 for a small one.  If you have any questions a quick trip to your local jeweller will let you know.  However, I will tell you this much, if you are paying over $2,000 for a Peridot ring you might want to ask why.  If it has diamonds in it, that might bump the price up.  If it is in 18K gold, that can also bump the price up.  However, you can find Peridot rings with about a quarter of a carat of diamonds set in 14K gold for about $1,500 plus taxes.  So, if in doubt always ask.  You do not want to end up over paying for Peridot! 

I hope that this has been helpful to you all and that you learned something!  For those of you who would like to see it, below is a picture of the Royal Baby Carriage charm as well as the Miss Hedgehog charm!  Also is a link to my book if you all would like to purchase it.  For some reason when the book was formatted it caused some strange errors that were not there in the finished manuscript.  I apologize for that.  Hopefully when the second book in the series comes out and the new edition of this first one is released it will resolve itself.  You can also go purchase it at your local bookstore.  Anyways, enjoy!

 

Stay lovely everyone!

Fractured Bottles
Fractured Bottles for Kindle

Rubies! July's Beautiful Red Birthstone!

Hello everyone!

So, it’s July. Lots of things happen in July so I am making my post as early as I can. The 4^th of July is tomorrow, my tribe has our encampment later this month, I have lots of family members with birthdays this month, and for those of you who do not know, my birthday is in July. That means that my birthstone is the Ruby. Today I will be talking about Rubies. So, since I have a lot of stuff to get done in a short amount of time, let’s get this going!

The Ruby is a red stone and is one of four precious gems that are considered birthstones. The other’s being Diamond, Sapphire, and Emerald. The name for this stone comes from the Latin term ruber which means red. It, like Sapphire, is a form of corundum.  The red colour that it has come from the chromium being found in the stone when it is forming. Rubies are usually mined in Asia and the finest rubies have historically been found in Burma, or Myanmar as it is known now.  So, if you have heard of Burmese Rubies, that is where they come from.

So, why are pink forms of corundum called Pink Sapphires and not Pink Rubies? I have often wondered this myself. The truth is, in the a lot of other countries throughout the world pink corundum is classified as a Ruby and not a Sapphire. In the United States corundum must be a certain shade of red before it can be called a Ruby. All other are considered Sapphires. Speaking of colours in Rubies, the most desirable colour of this stone is called a pigeon’s blood ruby. They are very expensive and usually only can be found in the area around Burma. Most Rubies will have what is called a secondary hue. This means that some Rubies will have a slight purpleish shade to them or an orange shade to them. Most of the time it is not notice able, but it can have an effect on the price of a stone. An interesting thing to note is that Rubies look better when set in yellow gold. The reason for this is that the yellow of the gold will neutralize the blue tones in the stone and make the Ruby look more red than it would if you were to set it in another colour of gold.

Now we come to the part that is important to know. Why is it that some people when they go to the Middle East can buy Rubies really cheap and then come home to find out they are worth next to nothing? The answer is simple. A great number of these Rubies are called Glass Filled Rubies or Lead Filled Rubies. Whichever term is used it means the same thing. What happens is that when a Ruby comes out of the ground it will, like all gemstones, have inclusions and these inclusions are filled. The substance to fill these inclusions and make them look more transparent and desirable is Lead Glass. Many times people will not know that there is Lead Glass in the stone. Many times the only way to tell if the Ruby has been filled is to take it to a jeweller who will run a test on it. While they may look pretty, when it comes to setting filled stones is that many times they will crack when they are being set because if any heat is applied to the piece the Lead Glass will react to the heat and cause the stone to break. Sad, but true. Most people do not know that what they are getting is not so great stone. However, if you buy your stones at your local jeweler they will be able to tell you if the Ruby you are buying from them is filled or not. Most jewellers will NOT sell Lead Glass or treated Rubies. They are not valuable and if they break it falls back to the jeweller and they should pay to replace the stone.

If you come across a Ruby that you have your doubts about, ask the person that you are buying it from if they are willing to have a jeweller take a look at it before you purchase it. If they say they do not want a jeweller to examine it, I would not purchase it. The reason being is that if they know their stones are genuine and not Lead Glass filled they will have no reason to be offended if you are simply wanting to double check. If they know their stones are NOT genuine they will usually act defensive about it and will not even want to do business with you. People that are proud of their products will want you to be as happy with the product as they are and will do whatever it takes to make you happy. So, if in doubt ask. It is always better to be safe than sorry. Especially when it comes to expensive gemstones.

Well, I hope that you all found this informative and interesting! If you have any questions for me about Rubies feel free to ask! Also, if you are wondering what the alternate genuine birthstone is for July it is the Carnelian stone. It comes in colours ranging from orange to dark reddish-brown. It may also be called Sard, or Red Onyx.

Have a wonderful and safe Independence Day to all of my American readers and a big Thank You to all of our troops that are stationed around the world! My father was in the military, as well as numerous cousins and other relations of mine, and I know how hard you all work to keep us back here at home safe. We appreciate all that you have done and continue to do for us!

Emeralds! May's Birthstone

Hello everyone!

I have been getting ready to go on vacation in a couple of weeks, so please bear with me. I am slightly frazzled at the moment. That being said, I have a new, and hopefully informative post for you all. I will be posting these, theoretically, at the first of each month since they are going to be about birthstones. I will possibly continue the posts afterwards with information about other gemstones, but for now, just gemstones. That way you will all get at least one post a month. Hope you all enjoy them! It gives me a way to use the stuff that I have learned in my classes and at work.

So, this year’s big colour is emerald green. Well, the emerald is May’s birthstone. Emeralds are a type of beryl which puts them in the same mineral class as March’s birthstone, Aquamarine, and the beautiful pale pink Morganite stone. It is very pretty and can be found in numerous jewelry settings. You can get find them set in all colours of gold. However, most jewellers will tell you that the most common and beautiful setting for an emerald is in yellow gold. In terms of the cut, most emeralds are cut in what is called and emerald cut. They are available in other cuts, but the emerald cut brings out the beauty of the emerald and is a good stable cut for the stone.

A question that I get asked a lot is where do emeralds come from? Well, that depends on what time period you are living in. If you were to live in ancient times you would most likely get your emeralds from places like Austria, Egypt, and India. However, in today’s world you can find emeralds just about anywhere if you know where and how to look for them. Most emeralds come from Colombia and Zambia though. Colombia has the most emeralds, however those that are mined are softer than those mined in Zambia.

Speaking of emerald softness, all emeralds have inclusions in them. When buying emeralds be wary of buying one that has none. Chances are, if it has no inclusions it is either a synthetic emerald or an emerald green cubic zirconia. A synthetic emerald is grown in a lab. Really, there is nothing wrong with lab grown emeralds apart from they are not brought out of a lab. That being said. If a jeweller tells you that the emerald has no inclusions always ask! I cannot stress this enough. The store that I work for has both kinds and all of us know which is which. If in doubt of it, ask. Most jewellers will have no qualms about telling you anything and everything you want to know about the stone you are interested in. If they do not want to tell you, you may be better off buying somewhere else. Also, do emeralds are one of the stones that you do not want to buy online. Not only do you run the chance of not getting a real emerald, but the shipping may damage the already fragile stone. You have no idea how many people we get coming into the store asking us to replace cracked emeralds.

What colours do emeralds come in exactly? While most emeralds are a beautiful medium green, it is not uncommon to find some that are little more blue or a little more yellow. They are still emerald, but it is the medium green that people want. If you get too blue you end up with different species of beryl such as aquamarine and maxie. If you go to yellow you end up with Golden beryl and heliodor. So, what makes an emerald green as opposed to another colour of beryl? Emeralds contain small amounts of vanadium or chromium. Chromium being the most common. Yes, chromium is the chemical that was causing all those problems if you have seen the film “Erin Brockovich” or know anything about the case that Erin Brockovich worked on in real life. That being said, the type of chromium in that case was hexavalent chromium and that is NOT found in emeralds. Hexavalent chromium is chromium in the sixth state of oxidization. Unless you are going to be ingesting large amounts of emeralds you will be fine wearing it. It will not harm you to wear an emerald.

Emeralds, as mentioned above, have inclusions in them. Most emeralds have a lot of inclusions in them. As such, most emeralds look more opaque than clear. However, you can buy very clear emeralds if you want to dish out that kind of money. The clearer the emerald, the more money it is. The good news is that most lapidarists will oil the emeralds to give it a more clear look to it. The most common type of oil used is cedar oil. You can ask your local jeweller about the oiling of emeralds if you so wish. Most jewellers will be able to tell you if the emerald you are wanting to purchase has been oiled or not. However, not all emeralds are oiled. Some may be treated with synthetic oils. In the US the FTC requires that when an emerald is sold the person buying it must know about it. There is a downside to this though. A company may buy and emerald to set in a piece of jewellery and know that the emerald has been oiled. When that company goes to sell to your local jeweller the salesperson may not  know if that emerald has been oiled when they are selling to your local jeweller. So, if you jeweller tells you that they are not sure if the emerald was oiled during its time at the lapidary they very well may be telling the truth. Nonetheless, most emeralds are in fact oiled and as a good rule of thumb it is safe to assume that the emerald you are interest in and all other emeralds in your local jewellery store are in fact oiled.

Another question that I get asked frequently is how does one take care of an emerald. Since emeralds are so fragile with all of their inclusion it is better to have your emerald set in a piece of jewellery that does not get banged around. Pendants, brooches, earrings, and hair pins are all good choices. Rings and bracelets tend to take more abuse since people use their hands for various things throughout the day. So, if you want a ring or bracelet you may consider purchasing a lab created emerald instead as they hold up better since they do not have very many, if any inclusions and are harder than mined emeralds. Do not put them in harsh chemicals. Always take them off before working with chemicals of any kind just to be on the safe side. If you wish to clean them, use water to gently rinse them off and then dry them with a soft cloth. It is better to take your emeralds to the jeweller to have them cleaned professionally. Most jewellers do not charge for cleaning. If they do it is usually not that much. Also, just because your emerald has been oiled at the lapidary does not mean that it needs to be oiled again. If your jeweller thinks it needs it they will tell you. In which case, if your jeweller is a trained lapidarist they will do it themselves, or they will have a lapidarists come in to do it. On occasion, they will either take it to the lapidarist or send it to them. As with most jewellery care, if in doubt ask your local jeweller.

I hope this has helped you and that you have found it interesting! Until next time!