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Ebru Magazine |
| Choose a Birthstone or Other Gem to match your favorite color or make a meaningful gift! |
Colored Gems achieved extensive use in fashion jewelry design, as talismans and amulets, future predictors, healing aids and important components to many religious practices worldwide. Beads and charms help add to the story and make a unique personalized gift item. Search out the story and meaning behind the month or the stone and you are on your way! Find a piece of jewelry that includes a charm of a favorite activity and, again, you have now made it meaningful!
Here are some of the semi-precious stones, beads & charms and stories behind them: |
Turquoise |
Turquoise is a blue to blue-green mineral of aluminum and copper, mainly, prized as a gemstone in its polished blue form. It derives its name from Turquie (Turkish in French) as it was transported to Europe through Turkey . It is one of the oldest known gem materials. Ancient manuscripts from Persia , India , Afghanistan , and Arabia report that the health of a person wearing turquoise can be assessed by variations in the color of the stone and was also thought to promote prosperity.
Turquoise is an important ornamental mineral for jewelry and adorned the ceremonial dress of early native Americans. It is believed that the gemstone guards against diseases and assists in tissue regeneration, subtle body alignment and strengthening. It also brings good fortune and attracts healing spirits. Delicate veining, caused by impurities, is desired by some collectors as proof of a natural stone. |
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Agate |
All colors are seen in this wonderful ornamental gem. You will find banded agate, moss agate, a fascinating white or milky agate that looks as though it actually has black, brown, or green moss growing within; eye agate, which has an eyeball effect; or plume agate, etc.
The colors and "scenes" in agate are endless. While agate is usually an inexpensive stone, some varieties or special stones with very unusual scenes or markings can be quite expensive. |
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Pearls |
Pearl is a pathological formation in pearl oyster, formed due to the entrance of a foreign particle into the gap between the body and the shell of the pearl oyster. Natural pearls have a surface appearance - which is lustrous and looks precious. When viewed under magnification it contains discontinuous wavy lines. They are used to make beautiful jewelry items, in decorative items and various other handicrafts. The sparkling beauty of a strand of pearls has held the attention of brides for millennia. The ancient Greeks believed that wearing pearls would promote marital bliss and prevent newlywed women from crying. During the Crusades in the Middle Ages, pearls were the gift of choice for a knight to give to his lady. During the 14th and 15th centuries, royal wedding scenes closely resembled a sea of pearls, with everyone from the bride down to her male guests adorned with impressive arrays of pearl jewelry. |
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Amethyst |
Amethyst is the birthstone for the month of February & the anniversary gemstone for the 6th year of marriage.
Amethyst is a purple color gemstone. The legend of the origin of amethyst comes from Greek myths. Dionysius, the god of intoxication, was angered one day by an insult from a mere mortal and swore revenge on the next mortal that crossed his path, creating fierce tigers
to carry out his wish. Along came unsuspecting Amethyst, a beautiful young maiden on her way to pay tribute to the goddess Diana. Diana turned Amethyst into a statue of pure crystalline quartz to protect her from the brutal claws. Dionysius wept tears of wine in remorse for his action at the sight of the beautiful statue. The god's tears stained the quartz purple, creating the gem we know today. Purple color has long been considered a royal color so it is not surprising that amethyst has been so popular throughout history.
Amethyst is a beautiful gemstone available in a wide variety of cut and uncut stones, calibrated sizes and shapes, including many fancy shapes. Because of the patchyness of the color distribution in the crystals, amethyst is cut as brilliant round cuts to maximize the color. |
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Carnelian |
The wearing of carnelian is recommended to those who have a weak voice or are timid in speech, “for the warm-colored stone will give them the courage they lack, so that they will speak both boldly and well”, reports G. E Kunz, well known gemologist and historian.
Carnelian was admired by Muslims, because Muhammad himself wore a silver ring/seal set with an engraved carnelian. Napoleon I, while on a campaign in Egypt , picked up a fabulous octagonal carnelian, upon which was engraved: "The Slave Abraham Relying Upon The Merciful God."
Carnelian is a reddish variety of quartz, translucent to opaque and moderately hard. In antique jewelry carnelian lends itself to engraving (ring sand cameos). It is a relatively inexpensive stone with great warmth and beauty. |
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Jade |
Jade has been treasured in China as the royal gemstone, "yu" for 5,000 years. The character for jade resembles a capital I with a line across the middle: the top represents the heavens, the bottom the earth, and the center section, mankind. The word "yu" is used in Chinese to call something precious, as in English we use gold. Jade was thought to preserve the body after death and can be found in emperors' tombs from thousands of years ago. One tomb contained an entire suit made out of jade, to assure the physical immortality of its owner. For thousands of years, jade was a symbol of love and virtue as well as a status symbol.
Jade is most often sold by the piece rather than per carat. Although the overall color is the most important value factor, attention is also paid to translucency, texture, and also to pattern. Certain patterns, including moss in snow, are highly valued. |
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Tourmaline |
Tourmaline name has been derived from the Singhalese expression "tura mali " meaning stone of mixed colours. The name refers to the unique spectrum of colors displayed by this gemstone. Tourmalines are red and green, range from blue to yellow. There are Tourmalines, which change the color from daylight to artificial light and others display chattoyance.
Tourmaline has a special place in the hearts of mineral collectors as well as in that of gem and gemstone enthusiasts. The word "rainbow" is used figuratively to describe tourmaline. In reality, it is a well recognized fact that tourmaline's diversity in color is not limited to the seven colors of the rainbow. Tourmaline can be colorless to just about any color, hue, or tone known to man. And if range of colors among different tourmalines is not enough, individual crystals can vary in color along their length or in cross-section. The variations in color along a crystal's length give rise to the bicolor and tricolor tourmalines which have multitudes of color combinations. |
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Garnet |
Garnet is the birthstone for the month of January & the anniversary gemstone for the second year of marriage. It derives its name from ancient Greeks as color reminded them of the pomegranate seed or granatum. It is renowned ancient gem, treasured for thousands years. Garnets are actually one of the largest families of gemstones.
Garnet is used create beautiful garnet beads, bracelets and other jewelry items like: in rings, pendants, necklaces and bracelets. They are also used widely as abrasives. The hardness of garnets and their sharp fracture make them suitable as abrasives for wood, leather, glass, metals, and plastics. Garnet is said to stimulate bloodstream & pituitary gland and combats depression and lethargy. It should be carried close to the body and possesses balancing and peaceful energy. Garnet symbolizes fire, faith, courage, truth, grace, compassion, constancy and fidelity.
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African Trade Beads |
The Venetians produced beads for commercial trade as early as the 1400's; other countries were
involved with bead trade as well. Now many very old beads are available from within, and modern
African trade produces new ones. The variety and novelty of these beads is enormous, as are the
resources and opportunities for study. Whether it be from the attributes of glass or the nature of
people, certain patterns are continued over time and it is provocative to see a design currently produced, which is also cataloged and collected from a time long ago |
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Amber |
A natural product, Amber is old calcified tree sap that is cut, polished and treasured as if a gemstone.because of its rare, fascinating, fossilized and beautiful look. |
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Aurora Borealis |
Aurora Borealis (AB) is a light reflecting finish applied to the exterior of a bead of any shape or size or material. An AB finish on a clear glass bead can indeed appear as a rainbow; on beads of color, it is more subtle but highly reflective. The real Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, is a fabulous color display in the night sky caused by the interaction between the solar wind, the Earth's magnetic field, and the upper atmosphere |
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Briolettes |
Briolettes are usually an oval or pear shape with its entire surface cut in angular
facets for a beautiful sparkle. Briolette cuts are found in almost all gemstones.
Briolette refers to the faceted cut, not a color or size. Like many reflective
beads, a briolette may have enhancements added such as being fire polished or
the addition of an Aurora Borealis finish. Shapes can vary from the traditional
teardrop, as can the precision of the faceting. |
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Cabochon |
Whether you spell it cabochon or cabachon, they are flat-backed and unfaceted. Highly polished with a convex (outwardly rounded) surface, gemstone cabochons have been mounted into jewelry settings for millennia. Slices are cut from the rock rough and polished into smooth and beautiful gems displaying the incredible colors of Earth. |
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Chevrons |
Chevron refers to both a bead type and bead appearance. The 7-layer chevron bead of the
Venetian's African bead trade was layered and carved into a starburst pattern. |
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Christmas Beads |
Striking bright colors of red, blue, green, yellow (more) beads were made in Italy and Spain for African trade at least 100 years ago. Many Christmas beads are newly strung beads (now from) Africa. |
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