Asking a person what their zodiac birthstone is typically generates an immediate response. How is it that nearly everyone knows the answer? It is because people delight in the mystic qualities connected with birthstones, and think that wearing birth stone jewelry, like birthstone rings, will protect them and bring them good luck. Starting back in the period of  the Assyrians in 1400 BC, people have attached magic attributes to exquisite and special gemstones and held the belief that minerals contained forces or possessed distinct values and powers.

Tradition specifies a gem to each sign of the zodiac birthstone chart based on a color system. Color was considered to unleash the power attributed to the stone. As time moved on, the birthstone became associated with months instead of the zodiac. Eventually, folks started to choose birthstones in colors other than the original.

The birthstones list, which is the one commonly employed nowadays, was adopted by the American National Association of Jewelers back in 1912.

The garnet gem signifies the second year of marriage in addition to being the birthstone for the month of January.

The Amethyst is well-known as the birth stone for February and the approved anniversary gem for the 6th year of wedlock.

Aquamarine is the traditional birth stone for March while additionally being the accredited anniversary gem for the nineteenth year of wedlock.

Besides being the most popular stone for engagement rings, the diamond is the birth stone for the month of April while additionally being the approved anniversary gemstone for the tenth and 60th years of marriage.

If you have made it to 20 years of marriage or possibly 35 years, your particular anniversary gemstone is the emerald, which is in addition your birthstone if you were born during May.

The Pearl is the birth stone for the calendar month of June. It is in addition the anniversary gemstone for the 3rd and thirtieth years of matrimony.

The Ruby is the traditional birthstone for July. It is also the approved anniversary stone for the 15th and fortieth year of matrimony.

The Peridot is the August birthstone. Additionally, it is the anniversary gemstone for the sixteenth year of matrimony.

The anniversary gemstone for 5 and 45 years or matrimony is the sapphire which in addition happens to be the birthstone for September.

Once you accomplish 14 years of marriage, your anniversary gemstone is the opal which also happens to be the birth stone for the month of October.

The Topaz is the November birthstone. Blue topaz is the anniversary gem for the 4th year and the imperial topaz is for the 23rd year of marriage.

If you have been married for eleven years, your anniversary gem is turquoise, which is also the December birthstone.

The fables and myths surrounding birthstones have been around hundreds of years. They were prescribed per the birth zodiac and in recent times, are assigned according to a birthstone chart. A person’s birthstone was thought to hold mystical properties that would help and protect them. Even now, many folks still delight in the myths and stories behind jewellery birthstones.

We’d be broke if we were to require a seasonal shopping trip to stay abreast of fashion. Costume jewelry is what most women rely on to augment costumes in such a way as to appear to be the essence of current fashionable dress.

Trendy jewelry is a niche we should all exploit. In the world of fashion, trendy means the latest innovation, almost certainly a fad, but nonetheless something which places you in the land of the living instead of some sad has-been.

The very definition of trendy jewelry conveys a couple of messages to the world at large. First, the fact that you’re wearing trendy costume jewelry makes you hip, cool and imbues you with all sorts of other positive connotations in the fashion world. The second message is that you’re aware of these trends. You pay attention. This degree of observation is more than enough to keep you out of the old lady or otherwise uncool basket.

This is not to say that trendy jewelry is without merit. Costume jewelry, of the trendy variety, is a fun indulgence that livens up your wardrobe and is ever changing. If you can’t afford to update your closet with the latest fashions, or choose not to due to considerations of age and dignity, trendy jewelry is just a fun way to add some spice to your looks.

Surprisingly, a closet filled with classically popular clothing is the perfect foil for trendy jewelry. Classic cuts are typically simple and elegant, but they do stand the test of time and happily coexist with any number of jewelry styles. You can pair a string of pearls, bohemian styled beads, ornate Renaissance rings or trendy jewelry in the form of wild enameled Italian earrings with any of your outfits, to good effect.

You don’t have to be a fashion dud, just take costume jewelry as your fashion friend.

So what must you have in your clothing repertoire to mimic a fashionista? Recommended inclusions are simple garments of the timeless variety. Turtlenecks, flowing skirts, wrap dresses and harem style silk pants are a good beginning. Trendy jewelry is the perfect complement to such a wardrobe.

So where do you find trendy jewelry? Pick up an issue of one of the big fashion magazines, like Vogue or Elle, and take your cues from their pages. Then embark on a shopping trip. All of the department stores will have an abundance of choices. Choose pieces you really like. Trendsetting jewelry must be worn with confidence if you want to pull it off righteously.

You do have another option. Be a trendsetter. Take a jewelry making class. Shop the retro and antique shops. Spot that unusual piece of costume jewelry at the crafts fair. You can set a trend that could set the heartbeat of Hollywood celebrities on fire. Why not?

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Buying an engagement ring is something that most people only want to do once in a lifetime. However, buying an engagement ring is a bit more complicated than buying a new pair of shoes or even a new car. Potential ring buyers have to get an understanding not only the qualities and intricacies of a diamond, but the style and tastes of the recipient. The buyer must then figure out how to make those two things meet at a cost which is within the buyer’s budget. Honestly, there are a lot of things to consider when buying an engagement ring.

Fortunately, many people are able to trust the knowledge of their jeweler, helping to mitigate potential unforeseen circumstances when shopping for an engagement ring. But, there is one thing for which neither the jeweler nor guesswork should be used for: the all important ring size.

This is a detail which seems too important to overlook, and yet many people do. One of the most common justifications given for simply estimating a future-fiancés ring size is the need for surprise and the willingness to “just have the ring resized later.” This logic has one rather significant problem with it - not all rings can be resized.

To understand why, it helps to know how rings are actually resized. First, it’s important to know whether the band is being made larger or smaller. For a minor enlargement, a jeweler can sometimes just stretch a ring. However, for major adjustments in size, a jeweler must actually cut the ring. To make a wedding ring or any ring smaller, the ring is cut and a piece is removed. To make a ring bigger, the ring is cut and more metal is placed into the ring. The ring is then welded back into one piece, massaged back into a circle, polished to hide the cuts, and finally buffed to a shine.

In an ideal world, the process is quick and the results are not noticeable. But, this obviously cannot be applied to all rings. Why not? Well, there are two critical flaws which can prevent a ring from being resized.

The first such mistake is related to metal of the ring. In order for a jeweler to insert new material to make the ring bigger, the professional jeweler must know what type of metal, or metal blends, that the ring is made of. For this reason, many antique rings, family heirlooms especially, cannot be resized. However, this can extend to white gold rings if the composition of the alloy isn’t known. Mismatching metals can result in spotted or stained rings. Even if metal isn’t being added to a ring, not knowing the composition can cause spotting or staining when the jeweler attempts to melt and buff the ring back to the correct shape.

Another reason why many rings can’t be resized is because of the process of reshaping and buffing. Rings which have detail lines or contain stones around the band would cause design inconsistencies if metal was to be taken away or added. Stones could be damaged, lost, or destroyed, decorative lines and details smudged, blurred, or even smooshed beyond recognition, and the ring essentially ruined.

Of course, there are many other options to resizing. A jeweler might be convinced to swap out a ring, if the ring had purchased new. Ring guards, a metal piece inserted into a ring to make it smaller by taking up space, can be used for rings that are too large. However, these are missing one very important fact - when you’re kneeling and gazing up at the one who just became your partner for life, you want her to wear the ring right away. And believe me, you want it to fit.

The ultimate lesson is that ring size isn’t something you should guess at, nor is it something that you should consider fixable at a later date. Finding a ring size discretely might not be easiest task, but seconds after you propose marriage, it will certainly be worth it.

Pink has become one of the most popular colors in gemstones. But many pink gems, such as sapphire and spinel, can only be found in small sizes, typically under 2 carats. You can often find pink tourmaline in sizes between 5 and 10 carats, but if you’re looking for a very large pink gemstone for a cocktail ring or a pendant, your best choice is kunzite.

Kunzite is still unknown to many gemstone buyers. But the gemstone world began to pay attention to kunzite when they learned of a 47 carat kunzite ring that President John F. Kennedy had purchased for his wife, Jacqueline. He never had the chance to give her the ring before his tragic death in 1963. The kunzite ring sold for more than $410,000 at a Sotheby’s auction of the Estate of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in 1996.

Kunzite is the pale pink-violet to light violet species of the mineral spodumene. It is a good hard stone (6.5 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale) with a vitreous luster and good transparency, so it suitable for all kinds of jewelry. It is typically a very light pink or lilac, though we occasionally see some more saturated pinks. We’ve also found some interesting pieces in an unusual golden pink.

Though most of the fine kunzite in today’s market comes from Pakistan and Afghanistan, the gemstone was first discovered in the USA. It was named as a tribute to George F. Kunz, the legendary American mineralogist and buyer for Tiffany & Co, who first described the gem in 1902. Interestingly, the green form of spodumene was also first discovered in the USA, and was named after another American, W.E. Hidden.

Kunzite is strongly pleochroic, meaning there is a color intensity variation when a crystal of it is viewed from different directions. The top and bottom of the crystal reveal the deepest colors. Kunzite is challenging to cut to ensure that the light passes through the gem and accents the desired color.

Kunzite can often be found in sizes over 20 carats, and we occasionally see pieces as large as 50 carats. These days it often receives a portuguese cut, since the extra facets of this cut enhances its brilliance. Most of the kunzite we find is quite clean, and it is not unusual to find large pieces that have no visible inclusions at all, even under magnification.

GemSelect is a leading online dealer in fine gemstones, specializing in sapphire, spinel, tourmaline, tanzanite, topaz and zircon. Pink Tourmaline

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When shopping for loose pearls, one might encounter the term beads instead of pearls. Fret not because the two are synonymous. It was actually in some European languages that the word bead is synonymous with pearl and the practice of interchanging these two words have been continued until now. Most pearl beads are strung and one can buy them in strands where they are graduated or having a uniform bead measurement. Loose pearls are available for your specific need for fashion and jewelry. They could be half-drilled, dark to classic colors and small to medium-sized. Although the round pearls are more valuable for jewelry, other shapes of pearls are a welcome commodity for their uniqueness especially when used in fashion. Recently, more shapes have been added to the basic shapes of pearls.

There are loose pearls that actually have a leaf shape. A square pearl, a rectangle and even a cross-shaped pearl are also sold in pearl stores. Loose pearls that are sold in stores these days are mostly cultured freshwater pearls although the saltwater cultured Akoya pearls are also available at a much higher price than these freshwater pearls. Be wary of imitation pearls which could look exactly the same as cultured or natural pearls. The quality of a pearl can only be measured through an X-ray examination but a simple technique of testing the authenticity of a pearl can be used. Imitation pearls are smooth all through out when rubbed against the surface of one’s front tooth while genuine pearls would tend to feel a little coarse.

The article is contributed by a professional content writer, having experiences of working in different industries. For further information on loose pearls please visit http://www.alohapearls.com/

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