Category Archives: Birthstones

The rare gemstone alexandrite is named after the Russian tsar Alexander. The first crystals were discovered in 1834 in the emerald mines of the Ural Mountains, at the same time as the new tsar came of age. Showing nuances of … Continue reading →

Amongst the rubies noted historically is a huge stone handed to England’s King William III in 1697 by young Peter the Great of Russia, while he was learning ship-building in England. In the coronation ring of English kings is a … Continue reading →

Peridot has a characteristic ‘double refraction’ in cut stones, especially those of significant weight, which enables the unaided eye to see a double image through the table. This feature is helpful in identifying peridot. The finest stones are of a … Continue reading →

Ruby is the magnificent red variety of the multi-colored ‘corundum’ family, of which sapphire is also a member. Pure corundum is colorless, but elements such as iron, chrome, titanium or vanadium produce the mineral’s intriguing colors. Ruby is composed of … Continue reading →

Historically, rubies were mounted above a peacock feather, specifically the blue quills. This ancient mounting method and a precursor to foil-backing, was done to give a shimmering brilliance to this sought-after gem, color-derived from the iridescent feathers. Early ‘foil-backing’ was … Continue reading →

Ancient Egyptians called peridot the ‘gem of the sun’ although they believed its seekers might not find it in sunlight. Because of their brightness in the desert sun, the stones were supposedly invisible by daylight. In darkness, however, they were … Continue reading →

Experts refer to the ‘silk’ of a ruby when describing the wonderful silky shine of the red corundum. This phenomenon is due to extremely fine needles of rutile, a mineral which forms a star-shaped deposit within the ruby and causes … Continue reading →

It is recorded that many of the green gemstones gracing royal treasuries in the past which were thought to be emeralds were in fact peridots, a confusion rather difficult to comprehend as their colors are decidedly different, but probably attributable … Continue reading →

The largest known faceted peridot weighing 310cts, is displayed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The collections of the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the Chicago Museum of Natural History include beautiful examples of peridot. … Continue reading →

Along with the alternate birthstone tourmaline, opal is the modern birthstone for October and the traditional birthstone for the Zodiac sign of Libra. With its magic play of light and color, a fine opal represents the splendor of Nature; fire, … Continue reading →