Birthsday stones

January Garnet
Garnet is a rainbow of gemstones. With the exception of blue, it is found in every color of the spectrum. It may have the red of fine ruby or the green of rich emerald.Garnet has been dubbed the gem of faith, constancy and truth. Asiatic tribes carved garnet into bullets in the belief that their fiery color would inflict more deadly wounds. They were ground into powder for the treatment of fever or jaundice. If the cure didn't work, the apothecary was accused of using an imitation.

February Amethyst
Bacchus, the god of wine and conviviality, was angry because of some slight against him and swore revenge. He announced that the first mortal to come across his path would be eaten by tigers. Just at that moment along came the lovely maiden Amethyst, on her way to worship at the shrine of the goddess Diana. Diana saw what was happening and transformed Amethyst into stone to rescue her from a violent death. When Bacchus viewed the miracle, he repented and poured wine over the stone, staining it purple. This is the legendary creation of the gemstone amethyst.
The word "amethustos" means "not drunk." The ancient Greeks believed that whoever wore this stone would be protected against the intoxicating effect of wine. Whether or not the Greeks held the key to sobriety is open to question. Roman women, however, claimed the gem could keep their husbands faithful.

March Aquamarine
Picture the azure seas of the Caribbean with their cool greenish-blue color. The water is so clear you can see through it to the lovely light reflections between the surface and the sand below. Gazing into a fine aquamarine, you can almost transport yourself to a Caribbean island, its appearance is so like these crystal blue seas. In fact, aquamarine is Latin for seawater.
Aquamarine is emerald's most famous sister. It is simply a different color variety of the mineral beryl. Greenish-blue to bluish-green beryl is called aquamarine. The advances of modern technology have made it possible, and very common, for aquamarine to beheat-treated to drive the green out of the stone and leave the more pleasing blue. This is a permanent treatment and has become accepted in the jewelry industry.
Aquamarine has been credited with providing courage, curing laziness and quickening the intellect. In the Middle Ages it was believed to give the wearer both insight and foresight, and freedom from insomnia. Among various peoples, it had the reputation of providing happiness and everlasting youth.

April Diamond
Because of its unique brilliance, fire and superior hardness, the diamond has come to symbolize eternal love. It is one of the most beautiful symbols we encounter in our lifetime.
The diamond is the simplest of all gem minerals - pure carbon. The only difference between a diamond and the graphite in your pencil is the bonding atoms.
Diamond is the hardest substance known to man, so only another diamond can scratch it. However, diamond can chip or cleave if given too hard a knock, so it shouldn't be worn during strenuous work or play.
The diamond worn in an engagement, wedding or anniversary ring is an established symbol of marital love. The tradition began in the 15th century when Archduke Maximilian of Austria sealed his engagement to Mary of Burgundy with a diamond ring.

May Emerald
The rich green emerald holds within it the promise of new life in springtime. How appropriate that it should also be considered the May birthstone.
Long ago, the emerald was dedicated to Venus, the goddess of love. Lovers were told that this gemstone could reveal the faithfulness of their beloved. Faithfulness was reflected in a fresh, bright green; a cheating heart was betrayed by a lifeless color.
Emeralds have always been highly prized by royalty. Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, wore emeralds from her mine in Upper Egypt. Emeralds are heavily represented in the Russian Crown Jewels from the time of the czars. The Emperor Nero is said to have gazed through a large emerald to soothe his eyes as he watched the gladiator games in the Coliseum.
The ancients prized the emerald highly and believed it held many powers. They felt it could endow the wearer with the ability to think clearly in the past, present and future. It was supposed to improve one's memory, promote eloquent speech, quicken intelligence and endow one with the ability to foretell the future. It was also believed to promote honesty and frugality.

June Pearl
The pearl was the favored gem of the wealthy during the time of the Roman Empire. This intriguing gift from the sea had been brought back from the Orient by the Crusaders. Roman women wore pearls to bed so they could be reminded of their wealth immediately upon awakening.
Pearls were once considered an exclusive privilege for royalty. A law of 1612 drawn up by the Duke of Saxony prohibited the wearing of pearls by nobility, professors, doctors or their wives.
On the other side of the world, pearls were being worn for adornment by the American Indians. The freshwater pearls of the Mississippi River were strung into necklaces, sewn onto headdresses and set into copper ornaments.
An old Arab legend tells us that pearls were formed when dew drops, filled with moonlight, fell into the ocean and were swallowed by oysters.

July Ruby
"The price of wisdom is above rubies," says Job in the Bible, implying that rubies were highly prized in his time. Indeed, the respect and appreciation for rubies has always transcended all geographic boundaries and social class.
The gold coronation right of the English kings contains a large, table-cut ruby on which the figure of St. George's cross is engraved. Around the ruby are set 26 diamonds. Rubies are generously represented in crowns and scepters in the royal jewels of many nations.
Ruby has acquired special attributes from its admirers over the centuries. It has been regarded as a symbol of freedom, charity, dignity and divine power. The Burmese believed that gemstones ripened like fruit. The redder the color, the riper the ruby. A flawed ruby was considered over-mature.
Large, gem quality rubies have always been very rare. The huge gems described in medieval romances and oriental literature were most likely exaggerated by the imaginations of ruby admirers and creative authors or were actually garnets or spinels.

August Peridot
Peridot is a French word derived from the Arabic word faridat, which means gem. The stone ranges in color from light yellow-green to the intense bright green of new grass to olive. Because of the way peridot splits and bends the rays of light passing through it, it has a velvety, "sleepy" appearance - a shining rich glow.
According to astrologers, the wearer of peridot will enjoy happiness in marriage, the power of eloquence in speech and enduring freedom from insecurity - both emotional and physical.
Ancient Egyptians called peridot "the gem of the sun," although they believed its seekers might not find it in sunlight. Because of their brightness in the desert sun, the stones were supposedly invisible by daylight. In darkness, however, they were alleged to give off a light of their own. By night, miners were said to mark their locations accordingly and return to recover their treasures by day.
Peridot was believed to have the power to dissolve enchantments. To exert its full potential, the stone was to be set in gold. Then it would drive away night's terrors. If it was to be used to protect the wearer from evil spirits, it had to be pierced, strung on the hair of a donkey, and worn on the left arm.

September Sapphire
The ancient Persians believed that the earth rested on a giant sapphire whose reflection gave the sky its color.
Damigeron, a historian of old, wrote that sapphire was worn by kings to protect them from harm. It was also believed that sapphire would protect the wearer from envy and attract divine favor. The gem was regarded as a symbol of truth, sincerity and constancy.
Legend has it that if a poisonous snake were put into a vessel along with a sapphire, the rays from the gem would kill it. Our ancestors interpreted this to mean that sapphire was an antidote against poison.

October Opal
Legend has it that if a poisonous snake were put into a vessel along with a sapphire, the rays from the gem would kill it. Our ancestors interpreted this to mean that sapphire was an antidote against poison.
The Romans considered opal a symbol of hope, an appropriate attribute for a gem with a rainbow locked within it. The Arabs believed opals fell from heaven in flashes of lightning, thus acquiring their fiery colors.
These romantic notions are inspired by one of the most uniquely beautiful gemstones nature has ever produced - the dramatic, mysterious opal. The phenomenon displayed by opal is called play of color. It is caused by the diffraction of light set up by the layers of silica spheres in its composition. The effect is similar to the rainbow colors displayed on a soap bubble, only much more dramatic.
Opal has long been regarded as an October birthstone, sharing the spotlight with tourmaline. The famous French actress Sarah Bernhardt was born in October and never considered herself well-dressed unless she was wearing opals.

November Citrine
The velvety golden gemstone known as citrine owes its name to its resemblance to a light-filled glass of sherry wine. Its richer sister, sometimes called Imperial citrine, approaches the color of a blazing summer sunset.
Citrine survived a fog of confusion that kept its true identity under cover for centuries. The ancients lacked today's scientific sophistication, so they categorized gems according to appearance. Therefore all yellow stones were called citrine
Why "citrine"? It may be derived from a Sanskrit word meaning either "yellow" or "fire". Another explanation is that it comes from the Greek "Topazios," the name of an island in the Red Sea.
The island Topazios was known for its bright yellow gemstones, but these were difficult to find because the island was usually shrouded by fog. It is now believed that this island is actually Zebargad, and that the gems were peridot.

December Blue Topaz
The ancients believe that topaz worn as an amulet could drive away sadness, strengthen the intellect and bestow courage. Mounted in gold and hung around the neck, it was believed to dispel enchantment. The powdered stone dissolved in wine was used as a cure for asthma, insomnia, burns and hemorrhages. It was claimed to calm angry tempers and prevent bad dreams.
It was the ancient Chaldeans who first established a relationship between the signs of the Zodiac and precious gems.
Much of the topaz we see today is mined and cut in Brazil. It is also found in the far-off island of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) in the Indian Ocean. It comes from the mines of Afghanistan, South Africa and Russia. In North America it is found in Mexico and our own state of Utah.