Gemstone FactsGarnet
 | Garnets are well known by their deep red, warm colour often found in antique jewellery. Although this colour is the most common in garnets, few people are aware that there is a spectrum of colours available, coming mostly from Africa. The variety of hues and reliable supply, combine to keep the garnet at the forefront of style and fashion trends. | Amethyst
 | With a seductive, stunning violet hue, the amethyst is said to protect the wearer against seduction. For thousands of years, this member of the quartz family has been highly prized by royalty and ecclesiastical dignitaries. It was described by Moses in the Bible as a symbol of the Spirit of God, found in the official robes of the High Priest, and Catherine the Great, the Russian empress, gave orders for thousands of miners to search the Urals for amethysts. In folklore, the amethyst gives protection against drunkenness. This is probably because the Greek word 'amethystos' translates 'not intoxicated'. | Aquamarine
 | The beautiful aquamarine has a range of mainly light blue colours which reflect the light blue of the sky to the deep blue of the sea. Gemstone designers are inspired by this stone and women the world over love it for its ability to complement practically any skin or eye colour. | Diamond
 | As far back as ancient Greece, diamonds have been the traditional symbol of love, and as well as being the birthstone for April, they are also the anniversary gemstone for the tenth and sixtieth years of marriage. The ancient people believed that they were hardened dew drops, or sometimes splinters from the stars. Another belief was that diamonds were crystallised lightening. Diamonds are the purest of all gemstones as they are composed of a single element – crystallised carbon, and are renowned for unique powers of light reflection. They are also the hardest substance known to humanity. | Emerald
 | In the highest league of quality, fine emeralds can be even more valuable than diamonds. The intense and radiant green hue has given its name to a colour 'emerald green', and unlike some gemstones, inclusions are tolerated. | Pearl
 | A pearl is created when an oyster lays down beautiful layers of nacre around a foreign object, so it is an organic gem. Created by chance, they were a rarity in times past, so became important financial assets comparable with land and property today. Thousands of oysters would have had to be searched to find just one pearl. | Ruby
 | Red is the colour associated with vivacity, love and passion, and the ruby embodies all of those characteristics. It radiates warmth and vitality, and is the king of the gemstones. | Peridot
 | The gemstone for the month of August, the peridot radiates the summer colours of green with a hint of gold. It is the ideal gemstone to go with that light summer wardrobe. | Sapphire
 | It was believed in ancient times that the heavens were an enormous blue sapphire, and the earth was embedded in the centre. This wonderful image comes from seeing the huge variety of blue shades of sapphires, from the shining blue of the sea on a clear day, to the deep blue of the evening sky. However, this beautiful gemstone is also found in many other colours – in yellow, pink, orange and purple. | Opal
 | Almost ninety-five per cent of opals come from the remote outback deserts of Australia. The opal seems to reflect all of nature's splendour – fire, lightening, all the colours of the rainbow and the soft glimmer of far seas. | Citrine
 | This stone is popularly known as gold topaz, or Spanish or Madeira topaz, but in reality there is little in common with the finer quality topaz, apart from a few hints of colour. The citrine is part of the quartz family and offers affordability alongside creative design, and shares the mythological miraculous powers with the topaz. | Blue Topaz
 | Blue topaz can be a popular alternative gemstone to aquamarine, and has a variety of colour depths. Different names are given in the gem trade to the various depths, such as Sky Blue Topaz, London Blue Topaz, and Swiss Blue Topaz. The lightest shade is Sky Blue and the darkest is London Blue. These beautiful gemstones are found in Brazil, Sri Lanka, Russia, Australia, Africa, Mexico and Pakistan. |
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