August’s Birthstone: Peridot, the Evening Emerald
written for SWCreations by Stephanie Dray

August’s birthstone is peridot, a yellow-green gemstone that glows like a firefly on a hot, lazy night. In color, peridot can range from olive to cat-eye green. And unlike cool emerald, with its pine-forest overtones, peridot calls to mind warmer climes. Reminiscent of lemon wedges, watermelon rinds and pistachio ice cream, peridot seems to capture all the memories of summer as of it fades.

SWCreations Crystal Peridot Glass Beaded EarringsThough peridot is one of the more obscure birthstone gems and hasn’t recently been in favor with fashionistas and gem connoisseurs, it was once one of the most prized gemstones in the world. A very old gemstone, peridot is one of the twelve on the breastplate of Aaron in the Bible. But somewhere along the way, peridot became so rare and unfamiliar that it was confused with other gemstones like emerald and green tourmaline. Only since modern science has been applied to gemology have some of the great gemstones in royal collections turned out to be peridot.

In spite of its exile from public consciousness, peridot has a rich history. Isiacs in Egypt believed that they could commune with their goddess by drinking out of peridot cups. The Egyptians also fashioned elaborate peridot beaded jewelry and called peridot the stone of the sun. Hawaiians believed that peridots they found on sandy beaches were the teardrops of their volcano goddess.

In terms of lore, peridot is strongly associated with nighttime, dreams and eloquence. Ancients believed it warded off anxiety and orators wore peridot beaded jewelry to grace their speeches with luck. Ancient mariners wore the stone to ward off nightmares.

Peridot clocks in at a respectable 6.5-7 on the Mohs scale, making it harder than obsidian but not as hard as aquamarine. Still, it doesn’t scratch easily and requires next to no care, which makes it ideal for birthstone jewelry and everyday wear. As for the valuation of peridot, it depends upon the color. The purer and more vibrant the stone, the higher its value. Peridots tinged with brown, however, are considered less valuable.

The actual, as opposed to commercial, rarity of peridot is in some dispute. For many years, peridot was found only on a desolate isle near Egypt, so rare as to make it fall out of fashion. However, lower quality peridot discoveries in Pakistan and even Arizona have flooded the market and put this gemstone into an accessible price range.

During August, at summer’s close, the nights are short and the darkness held at bay. So too did our ancestors believe peridot kept away night terrors with its cheerful glow. As such, August’s birthstone is a sentimental favorite–like catching a lightning bug in a jar and wearing it in remembrance all year.

Links:

International Colored Gem Association on Peridot

Wikipedia on Peridot

October’s Birthstone: Spooky Tales of Pink Tourmaline
Opals and Pink Tourmaline
written for SWCreations by Stephanie Dray

There are two October birthstones: opals and pink tourmaline. But while opals are more famous and certainly have their charm, pink tourmaline’s spooky qualities make it the perfect birthstone for the month in which we revel in ghost stories and the supernatural.

You see, pink tourmaline shares a unique quality with all tourmaline gemstones—it’s pyroelectric and piezoelectric. That means that when heated or put under pressure, tourmaline gemstones take on an electric charge and can actually pull things towards them. If you vigorously rub and warm up your pink tourmaline birthstone jewelry, it can “magically” attract nearby bits of paper and dust. It might even make the hairs on your arm stand on end!

But spooky action at a distance isn’t the only haunting quality of this October birthstone. Tourmaline jewelry can also appear to be different colors when viewed from different angles. The scientific explanation for this is pleochroism, an optical phenomenon in which light wavelengths are absorbed and bent in different degrees as they pass through the crystal. The mundane result, however, is that a set of birthstone jewelry is mystical and ever changing. Is it any wonder that tourmaline gemstones have been considered magical since ancient times?

Amongst gemstones, tourmaline is available in the widest variety of colors. The Egyptians even told a tale that tourmaline passed over a rainbow on its journey to earth and called it the gemstone of the rainbow.

There are even varieties of color in pink tourmaline itself. One of the most popular varieties is called “watermelon tourmaline.” Watermelon tourmaline is green on the outside, giving way to a slight white rind, and then a brilliant pink or red interior. When October’s birthstone displays three colors, as it does with watermelon tourmaline, it’s known as multicolored tourmaline. If it displays only two colors, then it’s known as bicolored tourmaline.

Because tourmaline gemstones come in every color under the sun, special names have been invented to distinguish them. For example, blue tourmaline is known as indigolite and green tourmaline is known as verdelite, so when shopping for your October Birthstone, keep in mind that pink tourmaline also has another name: rubellite. (For jewelers and gemstone enthusiasts, a true rubellite is a variety that does not change colors depending on the light source or viewing angle, but pink tourmaline might be sold as rubellite anyway.)

Tourmaline is the official mineral of Maine. It’s quarried there and in a variety of other locations all around the world, so October’s birthstone is available in almost all price ranges. It can even be irradiated to give it a more intense color.

Tourmaline ranges between 7-7.5 on the Mohs hardness scale; that makes it ideal for birthstone jewelry, which must both be durable and wear well. (October’s other birthstone, opal, is not as hard as tourmaline, and can become brittle and break easily. Also, whereas pink tourmaline can be faceted for more traditional jewelry settings, opals are best polished and smooth.)

Remember too that if transparent rubellite or multicolored watermelon tourmaline is not your style, you can even find October’s birthstone in a cat’s eye pattern. And if that’s not perfect for the month that celebrates Halloween, what is?