January's birthstone is the garnet. It is often mistakenly thought that all garnet stones are red. Red garnets are the most common, but in fact, garnet comes in a wide variety of colours ranging from black, green, clear and numerous shades of red. The variety of colours is due to metal impurities such as iron, aluminum and manganese.
Color is noted next to birth stone name.
Modern Birthstone - Garnet (Red)
Traditional Birthstone - Garnet (Red)
Mystical Birthstone - Emerald (Green)
Ayurvedic Birthstone - Garnet (Red)
Other Birthstone - Rose Quartz (Pink)
Green garnets are the most rare and therefore highly prized. Emerald green and colorless garnet are next rarest, followed by pure red garnets. The name garnet is derived from the Latin "granatum" meaning pomegranate" because the crystals resemble the red color and seed-like form of this fruit. They can be found in many places around the world including the US, South America, Australia, India, Asia and Spain. Most often garnet can be found in small rocks in streams where the surrounding rock has been eroded away.
Garnets were once believed to hold medicinal powers. In Medieval times, it protected its wearer against poisons, wounds and bad dreams, and cured depression. The Garnet was considered to be a gem of faith & truth. Garnets were used medicinally as a remedy for hemorrhage and inflammatory diseases. Asiatic warriors believed that glowing garnets, used as bullets, inflicted more severe wounds.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
January Birthstone
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Champagne Diamonds
Champagne diamonds are naturally coloured diamonds that are produced in a wide range of colours from light straw to rich cognac. With flashes of gold and pink, copper and peach, champagne diamonds captivate and enthrall to earn their fare share of the diamond market.The shades and hues of brown diamonds, usually grouped under the category of champagne diamonds.
Natural fancy coloured diamonds are very rare and expensive. These jewels are the most accessible natural-colored diamonds for consumers. As more and more celebrities have been spotted sporting all shades of brown diamonds on the red carpet, the popularity of these natural beauties has been taking off.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
White Diamonds
White diamonds are produced by mines all over the world in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. A white diamond is considered to be totally colorless. There are so many jewelry possibilities that include the use of white diamonds. There are necklaces, bracelets, anklets, earrings, rings, and even toe rings and belly button rings.
Color grading scales used by the internationally recognized laboratories GIA, ranges from D which is totally colorless to Z which is a pale yellow or brown color. Diamonds with more depth of color than Z color fall into the fancy color diamond range. One thing that will remain a constant and that is that white diamonds are classic and most popular, the usual color we can see.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Pink Diamond
The pink diamond is the world's most rare and valuable diamond. Most treasured colors commanding some of the highest prices per carat ever paid. A pink diamond is graded according to the intensity of color in each individual stone. Argyle Diamonds uses a scale from 1 to 8 one being the most intense color and eight the lightest color.
Pink Diamond Grading scale:
1. Very Intense
2. Intense
3. Strong
4. Medium
5. Medium Light
6. Light
7. Very Light
8. Blush
Size and clarity are less important than color when it comes to pink diamond pricing. Words like Fancy, Intense, Vivid, Deep preceding the word pink, all tend to mean higher price range. Light, Very Light and Faint adjectives put the prices on the lower end of the scale.