Emerald is a green variety of the mineral beryl. One of the rarest members of the beryl family - only the res variety (sometimes calles "red emerald") is rarer - it is one of the most highly prized of all the gems. Aside from being the birthstone for May, it was historically believed to bestow on its wearer faithfulness and unchanging love, and was thought to enable the wearer to forecast events.

The highest-quality emerald has the color of fresh young green grass - an almost pure spectral green, possibly with a faint tint of blue, as in the finest emerald from Colombia, wich is considered be connoisseurs to be the world's finest. Other sources include Brazil, Zambia, Pakistan, Afganistan, Russia, and India. Flawless emeralds are rare, so their "flaws" have come to serve almost as "fingerprints," while flawless emeralds are immediately suspect. Although a hard stone, emerald will chip easily since it tends to be somewhat brittle, so special care should be given in wearing and handling.

Because of emerald's popularity and value, imitations are abundant. Glass, manufactured complete with "flaws," and doublets or triplets, like "aquamarine emeralds" and "Tecla emeralds" are often encountered.

Also, fine synthetic emeralds are being produced with nearly the same color, hardness, and brilliance as genuine emerald. These synthetics are not inexpensive themselves, except by comparison to a genuine emerald of equivalent quality.

Today emeralds are oiled using a vacuum/heat technology. This is a widely accepted trade practice, since it is actually good for the stone in light of its fragile nature. Oiling hides some of the whitish flaws, which are actually cracks, filling the cracks so they become less visible.

Never clean emeralds in an ultrasonic cleaner.

Epoxy resin fillers are a recent newcomer, but this treatment is gaining popularity and is now used on many emeralds mined in many parts of the world, including Colombia and Brazil.

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Prized through the ages, even by kings, as the "gem of gems... surpassing all other precious stones in virtue," ruby is the red variety of the moineral corundum. Historically, it has been the symbol of love and passion, considered to be an aid to firm friendship, and belienved to ensure beauty. Today's birthstone for July, ruby's color ranges from purplish or bluish red to a yellowish red.Ther finest color is a vivid, almost pure spectral red with a very faint undertone of blue, asseen in Burmese rubies, which are considered the finest among ardent collectors. Other sources of the fine ruby are Thailand, Vietnam, Camnodia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Azad Kashmir in Pakistan.

The ruby is very brilliant and very hard, ranking 9 on Moh's scale (an internationally recognized standard that ranges from 1 for very soft to 10 for the very hardest). Ruby is also very durable and wearable, characteristics that make it an unsually fine choice for any piece of jewelry.

Translucent varieties of ruby are also seen, and one variety exhibits a six-ray star effect when cut as a cabochon. This variety is called a star ruby and is one of nature's most beautiful and interesting gifts.

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The "celestial" sapphire, symbol of the heaven, guardian of innocence, bewtower of tryth and good health, preserver of chastity, is in fact the mineral cirundum. While we know it best in its blue variety, which is highly prized, it comes in essentially every color; red corundum is ruby. As with ruby, its sister stone, sapphire is characterized by hardness, billiance, and availability in many beautiful colors, all of which make it probably the most important and most versatile of the gem families.

Blue sapphires can be among the most valuable members of the sapphire family - especially stones from Burma and Kashmir, which are closest to the pure spectral blue. Fine, brilliant, deep blue Burmese sapphires will surely dazzle the eye and the pocketbook, as will the Kashmir, which is a fine velvety-toned deep blue. Many today tend to be too dark, howver, because of the presence of too much black and poor cutting (cutting deepfor additional gem weight), but the deep blue can be treated to lighten the color.

The Ceylon (Sri Lanka) sapphires are a very pleasing blue, but are a less deep shade than the Burmese or Kashmir, instead tending to fall more on the pastel side.

We are also seeing many Australian sapphires, which are often a dark blue, but with a slightly green undertone, as are those from Thailand; both sell for much less per carat. They offer a very affordable alternative to the Burmese, Kashmir, of Ceylon, and can still be very pleasing in their color. Blue sapphires also come from Tanzania, Brazil, Africa, and even the United States. Montana sapphires are very collectible because of their unusual shades of color, and because many are natural color; that is, not subjected to any treatment. for those who want a gem that is truely "natural." Montana sapphire may be the choice for you.

In addition to the blue sapphire, we are now beginning to see the appearance of many other color varieties in the lastest jewelry designs - especially yellow and pink, and in smaller sizes some beautiful shades of green. These are known as fancy sapphires. Compared to the cost of blue sapphire and ruby, these stones offer excellent value and real beauty.

A beautiful and rare variety called padparadsha (a type of lotus flower) is also in demand. The true padparadscha should exhibit a pink and orange color simultaneously. Depending upon the richness of color, brilliance, and size, these can be very expensive. A lovely but more common and more affordable variety is available today which is really a rich orange color. It is often sold as padparadscha but the rarer and more costly gem will always exhibit a stong pink with the orange.

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Alexandrite is a fascinating transparent gem that appears grass green in daylight and raspberry red under artificial light. Is is a variety of chrysoberyl reputedly discovered in russia in 1931 on the day Alexander II reached his majority; hence the name. In Russia, where the national colors also happen to be green and red, it is considered a stone of very good omen. It is considered Friday's stone or the stone of "Friday's child."

Unlike other stones, which mankind has known about and admired for thousands of years, Alexandrite is a relatively recent gem discovery. Nontheless, it has definitely come into its own and is presently commanding both high appeal and high prices. While fairly common in small sizes, it has become relatively scarce in sizes to two carats or more. A fine three-carat stone can cost $45,000 today. If you see an alexandrite that measures more than half inch in width, be suspicious of a fake. Alexandrite is normally cut in a faceted style, but some cat's-eye type alexandrites, found in Brazil, would be cut as a cabochon to display the eye effect. These are usually small; the largest we've seen was approximately three-carats.

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Amber is not a stone, but rather an amorphous, fossilized tree sap. It was one of the earliest substances used for personal adornment. Modestly decorated pieces of rough amber have been found in Stone Age excavations and are assumed to have been used as amulets and talismans - a use definitely recorded throughout history before, during, and since the ancient Greeks. Because of its beautiful color and ease with which it could be fashioned, amber quickly became a favorite object of trade and barter and personal adornment. Amber varies from transparent to semitransparent, and from yellow to dark brown in colr; occasionally it's seen in reddish and greenish brown tones. In additiona,, amber can be dyed many colors. Occasionally, one can find "foreign" fragments or insects that were trapped in the amber, which usually increases its value because of the added curiosity factor.

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Amethyst, a transparent purple variety of quartz, is one of the most popular of the colored stones. Once believed to bring peace of mind to the wearer, it was also thought to prevent the wearer from getting drunk, and if the circle of the sun or moon was engraved thereon, amethyst was believed to prevent death from poison.

Available in shades from light to dark purple, this February birthstone is relatively hard, fairly brilliant, and overall a good, versatile, wearable stone, available in plentiful supply even in very large sizes (although large sizes with deep color are now becoming scarce). Amethyst is probably one of the most beautiful stones available at a moderate price.

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"Poor Man's Alexandrite" Andalusite is now offering interesting new possibilities fro jewelry. Brazil is the primary source of these fascinating, fairly hard, and fairly durable stones. Andalusite is very interesting because it may exhibit several colors - an olive green in one direction, a rich reddish brown from another direction, and grayish green from yet another direction. In an emerald cut it may look primarily green while exhibiting an orange color at the ends of the emerald shape. In a round cut you may see the green body color with simultaneous flashes of another color. One benefit andalusite has over alexandrite is that you don't have to change the light in which it is bing seen to experience it's colors; merely changing the perspective does the trick. A rare and sometimes expensive emerald green variety may exhibit a bright yellow simultaneously, or when viewed from a different angles. A pink andalusite does not exhibit this kind of color phenomenon. While andalusite is not readily available yet, it is finding a market, especially among men.

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To dream of aquamarine signifies the making of new friends; to wear aquamaring earrings brings love and affection. Aquamarine, a universal symbol of youth, hope, and health, blesses those born in March. (Prior to the fifteenth century it was considered to be the birthstone for those born in October.

Aquamarine is a member of the important beryl family, which includes emeral, but aquamarine is less brittle and more durable than its green counterpart. Aquamarine ranges in color from light-blue to bluish green to deep blue, the latter being the most valuableand desirable. It iws a very wearable gem, clear and brilliant, and unlike emerald, is available with excellent clarity even in very large sizes, although these are becoming scarce today. Aquamarines are still widely available in sizes up to 15 carats, but 10-carat sizes with fine color and clarity are becoming scarce and are more expensive. Long considered a beautiful and moderately priced gem, it is now entering the "expensive" classification for stones in larger sizes with a good deep blue color.

A word of caution for those interested in this lovely gem. You may want to think twice before buying a pale or shallow-cut stone, since the color will become paler as dirt accumulates on the back. these stones need constant cleaning to keep them beautiful.

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