All about opals

It's October! And I'm sure you all know why I'm writing about October. My birthday is in 6 days, of course!


Just kidding. 


I wanted to write a little about the October birthstone, opal. 


This stone is so unique and has a rich history dating back to the ancient Romans. More on that later... 


Just a few things about opals today. 

There are three types of opals: precious, fire, and common. Precious opals are the kind that most people associate with the word "opal."

Fire opals are named for it's orange color. It may or may not have "fire."

The common opals vary. There are agate opals, wood opals, honey opals, milk opals, and moss opals. 

Common opals: no photo shown.

Just a tip, I wouldn't recommend wearing opals as an "everyday" piece. They are very fragile and require special treatment as they contain as much as 30% water. 

Beautiful they may be, I'd save them for a special occasion...like, I don't know, a birthday!

September Sapphires

"Did you know...Sapphires come in all colors, shapes, and sizes....
Worn by carried by royalty in the Ancient world, this gemstone has been highly sought after by numerous civilizations- empires have grown and fallen over this stone.  The blue sapphire, as most people know of this precious gemstone, is the most highly prized variation, but these others sure are pretty too. As the September birthstone, it’s a favorite of mine!" - Jamie Joseph, jewelry designer

Me too, Jamie.

Here is a photo of her sapphires. 

Deceiving, isn't it?

This is more what Cherche' sapphires will look like:

 

One day...

Want to know about peridot?

Peridot is the birthstone for August babies! My grandmother was born in August and so was my sister, so of course she has my grandmother's large peridot ring. Boo.

I'll try to recover and tell you a little of what I've learned about the gem, peridot.

"An old legend says that the inhabitants of St. John's Island, in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt, mined green stones as early as 1500 B.C. The stones were greatly prized by the Egyptian kings who dominated the island, and the inhabitants were forced to mine them under rather harsh conditions. It was believed that the gems glowed in the dark, so they were hunted at night and the locations of the glowing spots carefully marked for recovery the next day. Actually, today we know topaz is a completely different gem. The material mined is the gem form of the mineral olivine, which we know as peridot...

Many peridots were sent to Europe during the time of the Crusades, labeled as emeralds...

Peridot is a warm, soft olive or yellowish-green gem. It never reaches the intensity or shade green characteristic of emerald...

Customer tip: Peridot is not an expensive gem, except in very large-sized flawless pieces. The best material is green with no tinge of brown or yellow."

-Gems and Jewelry by Joel Arem