Amethyst is the official birthstone for February. It is also the birth stone for the Zodiac sign of Pisces. Amethyst is suggested as a gem to give on the 4th, 6th and 17th wedding annSiversaries. Amethyst is the purple variety of quartz and the most valued member of the quartz family. It must be purple to be amethyst, but it can display a range of shades including deep purple, light lilac, lavender and mauve. Top quality amethyst is a deep medium purple with rose-colored flashes. Its purple color made it a stone of royalty for many thousands of years.
The gemstone Citrine is the official birthstone for the month of November. It is also the Planetary stone for the Sun Sign of Virgo and the accepted gem for the 13th and 17th wedding anniversary. Citrine is a variety of quartz ranging in colors of yellow, yellow-brown, orange, dark orange-brown, reddish-brown. Almost all citrine that is available on the market today is heat-treated amethyst. Natural citrine is pale yellow to pale orange, much lighter than the heat-treated material which is dark orange-brown to reddish-brown. All of the heat-treated material has a red tint, while natural citrine does not.
Peridot is the official birthstone for the month of August. It is also the stone for the Zodiac sign of Libra. Peridot may be given as a gem on the 16th wedding anniversary. Peridot is the gem variety of olivine. Gem quality peridot comes from Arizona, Burma, Norway, islands in the Red Sea, Hawaii and is sometimes found in meteorites. It's been mined as a gemstone for thousands of years, and is mentioned in the Bible under the name of Chrysolite. Legend says that peridot was one of the favorite gemstones of Cleopatra.
Topaz is the birthstone of November (yellow topaz) and December (blue topaz), it is a talisman for the sign of Sagittarius and the suggested anniversary gemstone for the 4th, 19th or 23rd year of marriage. The name topaz comes from the Sanskrit and means fire.Topaz occurs in a wide range of colors including red, orange, peach, pink, gold, yellow, brown and clear. The most famous topaz is actually a colorless topaz that was originally thought to be a diamond.
The gemstone Garnet is the official birthstone for January. It is also the stone for the Zodiac sign Aquarius.Garnet may be given as a gem on the 2nd and 6th wedding anniversary.Garnet occurs in every color except blue and most varieties are named for their color. Rhodolite is a purplish red, hessonite is the name for an orange variety, Tsavorite is a dark green and Uvarovite and demantoid are also green varieties. Pyrope garnets are a red variety. Spessartite garnets range from yellow and orange through red.
The gemstone Tourmaline is the official birthstone for October. It also is the traditional birthstone for October, the stone for the Zodiac sign of Leo, and the accepted gem for the 8th wedding anniversary. The name Tourmaline comes from the Sinhalese (Sri Lanka) word tura mali which means the stone of mixed colors. Tourmaline is available in a wide variety of colors and colorless.Bi-colored and multicolored tourmaline may be green at one end and pink at the other. Some stones appear to change color when viewed from different angles. Cat's Eye Tourmaline exhibits a "cat;s eye" effect similar to what is commonly seen in tiger's eye cabochons.
Moonstone is one of the modern June birthstones and an accepted gem for the 13th wedding anniversary. Moonstone belongs to the large mineral family of feldspars and the most valuable. It is an opalescent stone which can range from colorless to blue, peach, green, pink, yellow, brown or gray with a silvery sheen. Rainbow moonstone is milky white with a rainbow colored sheen. Clarity ranges from transparent to translucent. It is believed to bring good fortune, to enhance passion, and is said to protect women and children. Moonstone's healing properties are said to promote digestion, to protect against epilepsy, to calm emotions, cure headaches and nose bleeds, and protect against sun stroke.
The gemstone Aquamarine is the modern March birthstone as. It is also the birth stone for the Zodiac sign of Scorpio. See Aquamarine is suggested as a gem to give on the 16th and 19th wedding anniversaries. Aquamarine is a member of the beryl family and ranges in color from an almost colorless pale blue to blue-green or teal. The most prized color is a deep-blue aqua color. It gets its name from Latin words meaning water and sea.Aquamarines on the market today are usually faceted, but when cut as a cabochon, they may display a cat's eye effect known as asterism.