Jade

Jade has long been fashioned into statues, weapons, utensils and other ornaments. The Chinese have cherished this green, fine-textured gem for many centuries. In Chinese culture it represents the five cardinal virtues namely; Charity, Modesty, Courage, Justice and Wisdom. You might have seen a Buddha carved from Jade, or heard of Jade daggers. The reason…

Lapis Lazuli / Lazurite

Known to the ancient Egyptians as the ‘Sky Stone’, Lapis Lazuli (or Lazurite) is one of the oldest gemstones – a blue stone mottled with white calcite and brassy pyrite. Lapis Lazuli has been mined in the Kokcha valley in Afghanistan for roughly 7000 years. This gem was considered sacred and thus the mines were…

Emerald

You have all heard of Emeralds. This simply sparkling-green precious stone is sometimes even more valued than diamonds. It truly gives its owner the gift of eloquence. The name comes from the Greek word Smaragdos, which means “green stone”. Many ancient races thought of the Emerald as the stone of the Gods. The Greeks associated this…

Amber

Amber… that wonderful soft, warm-feeling gem that we all know so well to be fossilised tree resin, but did anyone stop and contemplate that it is actually 30 to 60 million old? Not only ancient, Amber is also very interesting. The name Amber is derived from the Greek word for electricity “Elektron”. Amber carries a…

Quartz: Rock Crystal

Primarily made up of silicon dioxide, Quarts encompasses a vast family of stones. The crystals are generally six-sided and occur in all shades and colours, depending on the temperature at the time of their formation. Rock Crystal is formed from clear lustrous Quartz and was first discovered in the Alps, it was then believed to…

Garnet

The gemstone for the month of January, the Garnet has a long and interesting history dating back to 3000BC. This popular and affordable gem is found all over the world in all colours from red (Pyrope) and green (Tzavorite), to pink (Rhodolite), yellow (Andradite), and everything in between. The colour blue was absent until blue pyrope–spessartine garnets…

Moonstone

Moonstone is an opalescent and transparent gem that falls in the Feldspar family – a group of rock-forming tectosilicate minerals that make up about 41% of the Earth’s continental crust by weight. The best way to describe it: a raindrop in the moonlight. Moonstone occurs in fine shades of white, grey, blue, and peach or yellow. Some…

Tanzanite

This beautiful blue-purple stone has a short but rich history. Tanzanite was first discovered in 1967 in the Merelani Hills of Mount Kilimanjaro by Massai cattle herders. After a fire caused by lighting, they noticed that brown Zoisite crystals turned a deep blue-purple colour. When the New York jeweller, Louis Tiffany, was presented with the first…

Ruby

Symbolizing wealth, joy, love and power, the Ruby has always been cherished and desired by people throughout the world. They are offered to Buddha in China, Krishna in India, and are closely associated with dragons in western mythology. Ancient Hindus called the stone the “King of Gems” and believed it radiated a warmth and luminosity from…

Opal

“With the fire of carbuncle, the brilliant purple of amethyst and the sea green colour of the emerald, all shining together in incredible union”; these are the words used by Pliny the Elder (23-79AD) in the world’s first Encyclopaedia, and possibly the best description of this beautiful gem stone. In ancient times this precious gem…