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  Looking for the latest news and updates from Gemstone Jewelers? Well you have come to the right place! This is also a great place to get tips and advice. Check back often, as we will be posting information, special sales, and tips!

Aquamarine

Aquamarine thought to enhance the happiness of marriages.

Emerald cut Aquamarine & Natural Diamond Halo

The name “Aquamarine” is derived from two Latin words: aqua, meaning “water” and marina, meaning “of the sea.” It has been said that the mineral beryl gives the wearer protection against foes in battle or litigation. It makes the wearer unconquerable and amiable, and also quickens the intellect. Today, the gemstone’s hardness, transparency and availability of large stones make it popular with designers, artists and carvers.

Clarity

Aquamarine may occur as large well-formed crystals that are relatively clean, making them particularly valuable to collectors of mineral specimens. Some crystals might contain liquid inclusions, but clarity characteristics are few or absent in most finished gems.

Care and cleaning

Cleaning by ultrasonic and steam cleaners is usually safe unless the stone has a liquid inclusions or fractures. Rarely, aquamarine might be fracture filled. These stones should only be cleaned with warm, soapy water.

Oval Aquamarine with Natural Diamond Halo

Aquamarines major sources are Brazil, Pakistan, Uruguay, Zambia, and The United States. They have a Mohs hardness of 7.5 to 8. And the color is greenish blue to blue. The Mohs scale of mineral hardness (/ moʊz /) is a qualitative ordinal scale, from 1 to 10, characterizing scratch resistance of minerals through the ability of harder material to scratch softer material.

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The stone of purity

Pearls have been known and loved for thousands of years. The oldest mention of natural pearls, was written by a Chinese historian in 2206 BCE (before the common era). This precious stone can be found inside mollusks in large bodies of water, around the United States, China, Australia, and more. There are different types of mollusks that form pearls; the size and colors of pearls depend on which type of mollusk they are formed in. The most common type of pearls are called Akoya pearls and have various colors, white, cream, light grey, and more. Akoya pearls are found in a type of oyster called Pincada fucata. These oysters are native to shallow saltwater in the Indo-Pacific region. Japan and Australia are the largest producers of cultured pearls.

The pearl symbolizes purity and innocence, this is the main reason why it is a tradition for brides to wear pearls on their wedding day. Not only is it June’s popular birthstone, but it is also common to gift your partner pearls on the 3rd and 30th wedding anniversaries. In ancient China, pearls were believed to protect the wearer from fire-breathing dragons. The spherical shape and the brilliance of this gem, led many cultures to associate pearls with the moon.

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June Birthstone

June is one of the three lucky months to have three birthstones the other two months are August and December. June’s three birthstones are pearls, alexandrite, and moonstone. These three precious gemstones are such beautiful and interesting stones.

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Pearls are simple yet elegant and they come in many different colors and sizes. This stone can be found inside different types of mollusks in large bodies of water around the world. In Europe pearls are a symbol of modesty chastity and purity; and in ancient China, this stone was believed to guarantee protection from fire and fire-breathing dragons.

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Alexandrite is a rare variety of the mineral chrysoberyl. It changes colors in different lighting, and symbolizes prosperity and longevity. In the daylight alexandrite is a bluish green to yellowish green, and in incandescent light it turns to a purplish red to a purplish brown. The color change of this beautiful stone created the phrase “emerald by day, ruby by night.” Alexandrite was discovered in 1830 in the Ural Mountains of Russia, and the two colors resembled the colors of Imperial Russia’s national military. This stone was named after the Emperor Alexander II.

The Hindu legend says that moonstone was moonlight that had been solidified, due the glow of the stone, also known as sheen or billowy effect. Just like pearls moonstone comes in several different colors. In Arabic countries women would sew moonstone inside their garments because in their cultures, moonstone is a symbol of fertility. Moonstone can be found in many countries around the world, including North America, but was originally discovered in Sri Lanka.

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Facts about Emeralds

  1. Emerald is the birthstone of May and is the traditional gift for the 20th, 35th and 55th wedding anniversary in the US. 
  2. Emerald is made from beryl just like the gemstone aquamarine.
  3. Emerald measures between 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness. Though they are durable stones, emeralds are susceptible to chipping and cracking.
  4. Colombia yields the largest amount of emeralds, contributing to more than 50 percent of all emerald production worldwide.
  5. The oldest emeralds are about 2.97 billion years old.
  6. The first known emeralds were mined in Egypt around 1500 BC.
  7. Emeralds were first discovered in North America in the Yukon Territory in 1997, though large emerald deposits in the United States and further north are very rare. 
  8. Emeralds were thought to guard against memory loss and enhance intuition.
  9. The soft, calming color of the emerald helped early lapidaries rest their eyes after an extended period of concentration.
  10. Top-quality emeralds can be worth more than diamonds on a per-carat basis.
  11. Most emeralds have some type of inclusion or imperfection, and emeralds without imperfections or inclusions are very rare.
  12. The best color is vivid green or blueish-green with even saturation and no color zoning. 
  13. An emerald pendant necklace owned by Elizabeth Taylor sold for $6.5 million in 2011, breaking down to about $280,000 paid per carat.
  14. Clean gently by hand using warm water. 
  15.  You can coat emeralds with baby oil as an extra care precaution to help the stone from becoming overly brittle. 

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Facts about Diamonds

1. The term “diamond” comes from the Greek word “Adamas”, which means invincible or indestructible.

2. Since the diamonds are pretty hard, the only thing that can scratch a diamond is another diamond.

3. The ancient Greeks and Romans believed that diamonds came from the tears of the gods

4. Most diamonds have ages between 1 billion and 3.5 billion years. Furthermore, the youngest diamond is around 900 million years old.

5. Diamonds form about 160 km below ground. With this in mind, the diamonds and have been carried to the earth’s surface by deep volcanic eruptions.

6. Diamonds are formed through extreme heat and pressure.

7. Most common way diamonds are formed is through volcano pipe eruptions shooting upward from the mantle.

8. India is the only source of diamonds during ancient times. This is why India was the world’s leading source of diamonds, from ancient times until the year 1726. 

9.  Russia, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Australia, Canada, Zimbabwe, Angola, South Africa, and Lesotho are the leading countries that produce diamonds.

10. Not all diamonds are colorless.

11. Rare diamonds come in different shades of red, green, orange, yellow, brown, black, pink and blue.

12. Diamonds can lose up to 50% of its weight in the process of polishing and cutting.

13. Lab-grown diamonds are considered by some sources a real diamond.

14. Around 250 tons of the earth’s land is mined just to produced 1 carat of diamond.

15.Scientists spotted that there are white dwarf stars that contain diamonds.

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The Softer Side of Blue

Aquamarine

The Softer Side of Blue for Aquamarine, the Birthstone for March. Aquamarine holds its place securely among the world’s most desirable gems. Ranging in tones from a very light to medium blue, many aquamarine will exhibit a slight tint of green in their body color. Generally the darker shades are more valued, but many people prefer the lively brightness of lighter hues. Aquamarine is readily available in larger sizes over 5 carats. In fact, gem quality Aquamarine crystals weighing several hundred pounds have been discovered.

The Greeks proclaimed this highly prized, light blue gem aquamarine, because it sparkles like the sea touched by the sun. Found in an array of pastel tones from very light to medium blue, aquamarine  is often tinted by a splash of green.  The delicate greenish blue of a fine aquamarine conjures up images of dancing light on the purest of tropical waters.

Brazil has been the main source of gem-quality aquamarine since 1811. Most aquamarine mines are located in northeast Minas Gerais Brazil. The largest aquamarine found in that region was discovered in 1910 and it weighed 244 pounds. Another significant producer of aquamarine is Pakistan.

Aquamarine should never be cleaned with a steam cleaner or an ultrasonic cleaning machine. Aquamarine can be cleaned with most any commercial jewelry cleaner or mild soap and lukewarm water using a soft brush. Be sure to rinse and dry your jewelry thoroughly after cleaning.

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Amethyst

Believed to quicken intelligence and dispel evil thoughts.



“Amethystos” means “not junk” in ancient Greek, because of its wine like color, early Greek legends associated amethyst with Bacchus, the god of wine. it was believed that wearing amethyst, a quartz, prevented drunkenness.

A member of the quartz family, amethyst comes in a variety of purple shades of varying intensity, from pale lilac to reddish or bluish violet to deep purple with red highlights. Amethyst is considered the most prized variety of quartz and it very affordable.

Russia was the major amethyst source until the 19th century, when a huge amethyst deposit was found in Brazil. The once scarce purple gem was suddenly in abundance. Today, the two major source for amethyst are South America and Africa. African mines provide most of the fine color amethyst on the market today.

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Garnets

Deep Brilliant Heart-Felt

The gem of plenty, garnets is one of the few gemstone varieties that spans a broad spectrum of color. Named for its likeness to pomegranate seeds, garnets is best known for its shades of red, but most are surprised to learn that garnet is found in multiply hues of pink, purple green, yellow and brown

The name garnet comes from the medieval Latin “grantus,” meaning pomegranate, in reference to the similarity in color. Thousands of years ago, red Garnet necklace’s adorned the necks of Egypt’s pharaohs, and were entombed with their mummies as prized possessions for the afterlife.

With many different garnets species, the sources for this gem vary. Most tsavorite garnets come from East African countries of Tanzania, Kenya and Madagascar. Russia is recognized as the source for high- quality demantoid garnets.

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Gems of Intense Color

A December birthstone is Gems of Intense Color, turquoise is a light to dark blue or a blue-green gemstone. It may contain narrow veins of its host rock known as the matrix sometimes in a web-like pattern. Turquoise was discovered by ancient Egyptians, used in treasures fit for pharaohs. Tibetans revered the gemstone as a talisman of good. Native American Indians used it as a shaman’s stone

Zircon is available in several colors including yellow, orange, and green, with blue and red most sought after and brown is the most available. Among many attributes, Zircon was thought to bring wisdom and wealth and protection to those who wear it. Since Medieval times talisman prized Zircon for they believed it to clarify the mind, improve confidence and inspire the spirt.

Tanzanite is used as an alternate for the traditional December birthstone. Found in the shadows of the majestic Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, is the only known source commercially. This Gem is often described as “velvety” mostly because of its deep and saturated color, which ranges from purplish blue to a pure blue.

Always take you jewelry to a Gemstone Jeweler’s, Inc. at least twice a year for a thorough cleaning and inspection. We love to see you.

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Kissed by the Sun

Durable gemstone with a hardness of 7.0 on the Mohs Hardness scale.

Durable gemstone with a hardness of 7.0 on the Mohs Hardness scale. November birthstone Citrine, is the recommended gift for the 13th Wedding Anniversary signifying faddily and bliss. The gemstone of joy and contentment, citrine illuminates the sunny disposition of those who wear it. Sunny and affordable, citrine is the perfect complement to any jewelry wardrobe blending especially well with pastel colors and bright polished surfaces.

Brazil is one of the main sources for Citrine, and Bolivia has also become a leading producers, also found in African countries such as Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia.

Of all the earth toned gemstone Citrine is known for having good luster and is available in all sizes generally intense orange colors are most valuable. To clean use warm soapy water and a soft brushes. Avoid contact with harsh chemicals. Some Citrine weather treated or not may fade if exposed to sunlight or heat for a long periods of time, because of this you should never ware your citrine jewelry while sunbathing or when using a tanning bed. Ask your jeweler at Gemstone Jewelers for details regarding special enhancements and care.

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