Birthstones

Birthstones are something the whole world is aware of. When a child reaches the age when he able to tell things and make friends the second thing he would inquire from a new acquaintance is about his zodiac sign and his birthstone. It seems to come out even if you don't intend to. We seem to find some satisfaction and joys knowing we humans have anything to do with gem stones and that they have some influence on our lives and our personality. These gem stones originated a very long time back when Jews came into existence. The breastplate of Aaron had 12 stones on it. God answered the commanders of the 12 Jewish tribes through these stones. When time passed by these 12 stones where considered as a means of great power and divinity for people. Then gradually these 12 stones became the origin of the 12 months of a year and the 12 stones known as birthstones of the 12 months of a year. These birthstones even have some association with the planets and their movements influence the social and personal lives of people.These birthstones are different for all the months. It has some association with the beliefs of astrologists and historians who have been providing their own definitions and phenomenon about the planet movements, these zodiac signs and birthstones. These gems and their attributes change lives of individuals. Humans have never seized to believe in supernatural powers and different elements of nature.The sequence of birthstones has been fixed by specialists after much observations and thorough study. They have finalized which stone belongs to which month and what attributes does each of these stones carry with itself.For January the birthstone is Garnet, for February we have the stone called Amethyst. These 2 stones have both different olden times belief that they purify things and they prevent bloodshed.The month of March presents Aquamarine blessing the wearer with love and affection. For May; we have Emerald. The possessor of this gem is protected by God. June and July the hot months present Alexandrite and Ruby respectively. These birthstones can give the possessor varied abilities and good luck.The later months of the year have birthstones called Peridot, Sapphire, and Tourmaline for August, September and October. November and lastly December have to offer the birthstones known as Imperial Topaz and Turquoise.These are however merely stones and it is a fact that if a person starts to depend on such elements for courage, strength and abilities he can not become strong, instead he will end up more weak. So it's just better to keep these precious stones as an adornment and beauty only.

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About the Author:Kadence Buchanan writes articles on many topics including Gemstones, Shopping, and Arts
Tags: arts-and-entertainment, gemstones, jewels

Precious Gems & Gemstones

Precious gems are comprised of the traditional four precious stones which are diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds. There is not a system to order the four precious gems because their beauty is a matter of taste. Tastes change with time and what is considered a favorite today may be different a few years or decades from now. The beauty of gems is enhanced by cutting, shaping and polishing. Generally, beauty is considered to be of first importance, followed by durability and rarity. A gem may be rare and durable, but without beauty it would not be as valued. The beauty of a diamond is its brilliance and the absence of color. In contrast the beauty of an emerald or a ruby is their intense color. Wearing gemstone jewelry has been associated with wealth and status. If the gemstone is available in large quantity it is not perceived to be as valuable as a rare gem. The source of color of the gem is it's reflection of light. A fine colored gem should not be so dark that it appears black, and not pale. It should have a good depth of color. A gem's luster is the reflection of light from the gem's surface. It is improved when the gems are polished. Brilliance is the reflection of light from the inside of the faceted gems. Gems are derived from gemstones which are the raw material. Gemstones are primarily minerals. Some are rocks and others are the organic products of formerly living plants or animals. For example, ruby is a mineral, jade is a rock, and amber and pearls are organic. Minerals are often valued as gemstones because they can be made into sparkling gems due to their transparency. They can have interesting optical properties and they can form large gemstones that are transparent. Some are symmetrical with repeating faces, and other minerals have no symmetry at all. When minerals are magnified for identification it is the crystal symmetry which is most helpful. There are seven systems of crystal symmetry. For example diamonds and garnets both have cubic symmetry and tourmaline has trigonal symmetry. Well formed minerals which are perfectly symmetrical are rare. This is due to the fact that they need perfect growing conditions and sufficient space to grow without being constrained. The durability of a gemstone is derived by its toughness, stability and hardness. A gem's toughness is it's resistance to chipping, cracking and breaking. Stability refers to a gem's resistance to structural or chemical changes as a result of exposure to external elements. For example, pearls can be damaged by perfume or alcohol. A pearl necklace should always be worn after applying hairspray or perfume. Some amethyst may fade when exposed to sunlight. However, most gems made into jewelry can withstand normal wear with minimal attention. Hardness is the gem's resistance to scratching. The Mohs scale of hardness ranks 10 minerals in order based upon their ability to scratch one another. The scale is from 1 to 10 with a 1 being the softest mineral. Diamonds are rated a 10 on the Mohs scale, topaz is rated 8 and talc is rated 1. The standard unit of mass for gems is a carat. The abbreviation for carat is ct. One carat (1 ct.) equals 0.2 grams, 5 carats (5 cts.) equals 1.0 grams. Although they sound similar the words carat and karat have different meanings. Karats refers to the unit of measurement of gold purity. Understandably, many people often confuse the two terms.

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