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Opal Birthstone
Opal is Australia’s national gemstone and is known world wide for its brilliant play of colour and beauty. The indigenous peoples of Australia believed a rainbow touched the earth and created the colours found in opal. Since the 19th century Australia has become the major source of precious opal. Precious opal ranges in colour from opaque whites with little flashes of colour to the most desired black opal that has a dark background with large patches of intense colours including reds, greens and blues. Other varieties of Australian opal include crystal opal, a transparent gem with strong play of colour and boulder opal consisting of a natural ironstone backing with a...
Read MorePeridot Birthstone
This olive green gemstone probably gets its name from the Arabic word faridat and has been mined and used in jewellery for at least 3500 years. Today peridot is a very popular stone in small and calibrated sizes and while large stones are available their price increases rapidly with size and rarity. Peridot was introduced into Europe in the Middle Ages by the crusaders and was often used in ecclesiastical jewellery and adornment. Main deposits include the original historical mines of Zebirget Egypt, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Burma and China.
Read MoreRuby Birthstone
The name ruby comes from the Latin ruber and refers to the gemstones red colour. Ruby like sapphire is a member of the corundum family and is the next hardest gemstone after diamond making it a very suitable gemstone for all types of jewellery. Large fine quality rubies over 3 carats are rare and can often out price diamonds of the same size. Ruby colours do vary depending on the origin of the stone and stones often show secondary hues of colour including browns, purples, pinks and even blues. These stones are usually heat treated to minimize the secondary hues of colour and enhance the redness in the stone. Rarer but just as beautiful and desirable are star rubies which...
Read MorePearl Birthstone
The Pearl is regarded as one of the 5 precious gemstones of old alongside ruby, diamond, emerald and sapphire. The pearl is treasured for its beautiful lustre and iridescence which are the result of the nacre which has been deposited by the mollusc around an irritant in layers to form a spherical bead (if all goes well). Pearls can be classified into various types, the natural pearl which grows without any human intervention is very rare and only accounts for a tiny fraction of the modern pearl market. Cultured pearls are the result of a small bead being implanted into the soft tissues of the oyster to produce an irritation which ultimately becomes the pearl. These types...
Read MoreMoonstone Birthstone
Moonstone is a member of the feldspar group or family of gemstones. It is best known for its optical effect called schiller, a floating light effect across the top the stone when it is rocked from side to side. This effect can be very subtle with a slight whitish grey sheen to the most valuable with a strong sharp blue schiller in a clean transparent stone. The softer whitish grey forms of the stone are usually relatively inexpensive while large stones with a strong blue schiller are more expensive. Traditional sources for moonstone include India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar (Burma).
Read MoreEmerald Birthstone
Emerald is the best known member of the beryl family of gemstones. It is the modern birthstone for the month of May and commemorates the 20th and 35th wedding anniversaries. Emerald has a vibrant green colour and its name derives from the Greek smaragdos, which means green stone and its colour is a result of chromium. One of the most common characteristics of emeralds is that they are often contain natural inclusions. These are not always seen as a fault but as evidence as to the stones natural origins as compared to synthetic emeralds. These inclusions are often referred to as jardin a French word for garden. Fine transparent specimens of emerald are available but...
Read MoreGot a Question about Jewellery?
Jewellery can seem confusing. What's the difference between this and that? Can you fix this old clasp? I lost an earring like this... can you make a matching one? 