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December birthstone

Blue topaz - The purity of icy blue

Icy blue topaz has a fire and sparkle that no other stone can imitate. It combines the clarity of topaz with the colors of the sky and the sea, ranging from velvety deep turquoise to pale robins egg with a multitude of shades in between. The name topaz is said to be derived from the Sanskrit word for fire, but the fire in blue topaz is muted and cool, more akin to the glimmering heart of fire in solid ice. In fact, most blue topaz resembles a blue sky more than it does the fiery sun for which the stone is named.

Regardless, blue topaz shares the qualities of all topaz. It represents loyalty and righteousness, and the ancient Greeks believed that it carried the power to protect its wearer from misfortune and sudden death. Like its sisters, the yellow and white topaz, blue topaz confers clear sight on its wearer, giving them the ability to see through illusions and spells to the heart of the matter. A true blue stone, indeed, the blue topaz is an aid to keeping a cool head, no matter the situation, and inspires compassion and warmth in those who see it. The blue topaz is associated with true love, which is clear-sighted, trust, relationships and communication. It is said to loosen the throat, allowing the emotions to be expressed in evocative and moving ways, making the blue topaz the stone for poets, actors, politicians and writers.

Topaz is found in a veritable rainbow that runs the gamut from crystal clear to deep, russet orange. Natural blue topaz, though, is extremely rare in nature. When blue topaz does occur naturally, it is nearly always so pale that it is almost colorless. Most blue topaz available today is helped along by man with the application of irradiation and heat. The application of radiation and heat allow precise control of the color achieved by the stone, making blue topaz extremely popular in jewelry collections that depend on uniformity of color. Among the trade names for the various shades of blue are sky blue, Swiss blue and London blue. The lightest of these shades is sky blue topaz, which resembles a watery summer sky, and darkest is the velvety blue of London blue which is dark enough to be mistaken for sapphire.

Between the two, Swiss blue topaz offers a shimmering shade of blue that is close the purest aquamarine. Transparent and pure, its heart glows with a hint of shimmer that brings to mind the incomparable sky of bright summer day. The blue has just enough of a hint of green to warm it, making it a true, clear blue that is treasured for its crystal jewel tone.

Topaz is an alumina silicate with a hardness of 8 on the Mohs scale, making it one of the harder gems - but it shares the quality of cleavage with its cousin the diamond. A single hard blow from the right direction can cleave the stone cleanly in two, thus is should always be protected from hard knocks. Topaz is mined throughout the world, though the highest quality clear and blue topaz is mined in Brazil, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and China. Clarity, truth, loyalty and prosperity - the blue topaz is a gemstone that carries with it all that is good in life. If you were born in December, the blue topaz is your lucky stone - lucky you!

Turquoise is synonymous with beautiful Southwestern jewelry. Often paired with silver or copper, it's a favorite stone for collectors the world over. More than almost any other gem, turquoise has personality. Each stone has clear and unique markings and shapes that make turquoise stones more than just a gem. Those who are passionate about turquoise will tell you that the stone becomes a part of you as you wear it.

December's traditional birthstone, the turquoise has been mined for centuries in the Americas and Asia. Native American mined turquoise in the Southwest with wooden mallets, and still create some of the most stunning pieces of silver and turquoise jewelry found anywhere. Today's turquoise is as likely to come from China, where modern mining methods are making it possible to import tons of medium quality stone - which is what most turquoise is. According to experts, high quality turquoise is rarer than diamonds and other precious gems. Most of the turquoise on the market is actually medium grade, fortified with acrylic or plastic to stabilize it.

Turquoise has a long and colorful history. There's evidence that turquoise was used for decoration in China as early as 1700 BC, and the Aztecs mined turquoise in the area we now call New Mexico thousands of years ago. The sky and earth mingling of color in natural turquoise made the stone sacred to many Native American cultures who often carved it into animal totem shapes. These gems were worn to attract the notice of the good spirits, or included in graves of warriors and others for protection from evil.

Turquoise traditionally is said to attract wealth and well-being, and support luck and love, and to protect its wearers from falls when riding a horse - a potent reason for many to wear turquoise in the Old West. Many miners in the old Southwest also carried or wore turquoise stones for protection and to attract more turquoise - like attracts like, after all! Those miners were the source of much of the folklore attached to turquoise, especially Southwestern turquoise, and many varieties of turquoise are named for the mines from which it is mined.

Turquoise varies in color from a deep sky blue to aqua, with clear hints of green. The markings in turquoise, called the matrix, are created by deposits of iron pyrite (black), iron oxide (gold) and rhyolite (yellow-brown). When the matrix forms an even pattern over the stone, it's called a 'spiderweb matrix', and enhances the value of the gem.

Natural turquoise is soft and chalky, and is therefore often treated before being cut and sold. It may be hardened, dyed or 'reconstituted'. The less alteration to the stone, the more valuable it is.

Turquoise has a hardness of 5-6 on the Mohs scale, making it one of the softer stones used in jewelry. The unique markings of the matrices make turquoise one of the most lovely and unusual stones in existence - truly fitting the December personality that ranges from enthusiastic and impulsive Sagittarius to stolid, dependable Capricorn.

December is the lucky month with three official birthstones - turquoise, blue topaz and tanzanite, one of the newest natural gems to be discovered. According to its history, tanzanite was discovered in Tanzania in 1967 when Masai cattle herders noticed the sparkling blue gems in an area of forest that had burned after a lightning strike. As such, tanzanite has little of the long history and folklore attached to it that older gems have.

Even without the long history, though, tanzanite has made a name for itself. Its rich, deep color is seldom a pure blue - rather the crystal has undertones of rich, deep purple and lavender, giving it the color of a glowering winter sky. Its color falls on the spectrum somewhere between azure and amethyst - somehow cool and warm at the same time, and complementing any skin tone or clothing choices. Tanzanite was officially added to the American Gem Trade Association's birthstone list in October 2002, joining other blue stones to give December babies a full range of blue colors to choose from for their own birthstones.

Tanzania is the primary source of tanzanite, though there have been small deposits of the stone found in neighboring Kenya. Tanzanite is actually a form of zoisite, a brownish green crystal found in those areas. When exposed to temperatures of 600 degrees Celsius, the dull brownish crystal shifts color to the deep, rich blues and purples that have made the gemstone so popular so quickly. While the violet/blue tanzanite is the most prized and valuable, green tanzanite is also available. Among the loveliest of the tanzanite varieties is a color change tanzanite that exploits one of the stone's properties - the difference in color under different lighting conditions. Natural daylight tends to bring out the blue tones in tanzanite, while incandescent light brings out the violet. In most stones, the change is subtle, but rarely a stone shows a marked change in color under different lighting conditions, adding value rather than detracting from it.

Tanzanite rates 6-7 on the Mohs scale, relatively soft. In addition, it's a brittle stone, so setting and care are important. In earlier years, tanzanite was only available in small stones, but more sizable deposits have yielded larger stones, and flawless tanzanite is not uncommon.

Rare as a perfect summer day in December, tanzanite is an exotic newcomer that is making itself known on the world-wide gem market. It's a perfect birthstone for December babies, or to give as a gift to December brides.