January-Garnet

Garnet is generally thought of a cheap substitute for ruby, but to encourage that belief does little service to one of the most important genus of gemstones. The colours of garnet span the rainbow, from red to purple, from light to dark green. Ranging in price from a few pence to hundreds of pounds it’s easy to see why this is one of the most misunderstood stones.
      Other members of the family include almandine (purplish red), rhodolite (pinkish to purplish red), tsavorite (bright green), demantoid (yellowish green), hessonite (brownish yellow).
     Garnet inspires love and stimulates blood-flow, or so it’s believed. It is supposed to aid creativity, and enhance passion.

Location - Africa, Southeast Asia, North America, Thailand, India. 

Group - Garnet

R.I. - 1.72-1.87

Hardness - 7.5

March-Aquamarine

Aquamarine is a beryl, the same family as emerald. The most sought after colour is darkish blue, similar to that of a light sapphire. The colour of the stone is due to the presence of iron, whilst the emerald takes its colour from the chromium content of the mineral.
     As a desirable gemstone it has thrown up a number of imitators, the most common of these being blue topaz, although pieces of glass in an aqua colour of at least 2000 years old were found in Israel, and as recently as fifty years ago, glass was the only man-made imitation.
     Aquamarine is supposed to calm coughs, and is a physical, mental and emotional balancer. It is also said to aid learning about the inner self and universal truths.

Location - Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Africa, India, Russia, Sri Lanka.

Group - Beryl

 April-Diamond

The fact that diamond is an extremely beautiful stone, and that it is virtually indestructible makes it one of the most desired of gemstones. No other stone has the awe inspiring reputation of the diamond.
     The diamond is pure carbon and the hardest material known to man and without that quality our lives would be altered for the worse. It is hard to imagine a world without them. Industry relies on them to a remarkable degree. Surgeons use diamond bladed scalpels. In fact there are as many uses for them as there are facets on a brilliant cut stone.
     Gardner Williams, the African mining engineer who became General Manager of DeBeers in the 1890's said, "To win them, temples have been profaned, Princes tortured, women strangled, guests poisoned by their hosts, and slaves disembowelled. Some have fallen on battlefields to be picked up by ignorant freebooters and sold for a few silver coins. Others have been cast into ditches by thieves or swallowed by guards, or sunk in shipwrecks, or broken to powder in moments of frenzy. No strain of fancy in an Arabian tale has out-stripped the marvels of fact in the diamond's history"

Diamond is reputed to promote prosperity, generosity, love and spirituality.

Chemical Composition - C
Crystal System - Cubic
Hardness - 10
R.I. 2.417-2.420
SG - 3.51-3.53

N.B.
Being pure carbon the stone will burn in an atmosphere of oxygen or if heated to a very high temperature. It is unaffected by acids.

Styles:
Diamonds are cut in many different shapes and styles. Rounds being brilliant cut, 8 cut and Swiss cut. Squares as step or princess cut, as well as pears, marquise, baguettes, hearts etc. Also there are old style cuts found in antique jewellery

Prices - Please call for current prices.

June-Pearl

It was not long ago that the pearl was more popular and valuable than diamond. Many changes have occurred in the pearl market in the past 100 years. Natural pearls are rare and expensive. The cultured pearl (a ball of mother of pearl placed in an oyster as an irritant, to be covered by the animal with layers of nacre) has become the standard. Although a recent innovation, it should be noted that while Kokichi Mikimoto originated the process for the "man-made" pearl, the Chinese had been inserting images of Buddha into molluscs to create nacre-covered talismans for seven hundred years.
     Now with the production of the "fresh-water" mussel pearl a new revolution has be sparked, meaning that pearls can now be produced in even greater quantities, and inexpensive strings of medium to good pearls are now finding their way onto the market.
     The pearl trade has come a long way from the days when trade caravans came to Europe via the Persian Gulf, bringing their high quality pearls to the west. While Bahrain is still the centre of diving for natural pearls, the Japanese and, lately, the Chinese control the market.
     The rich white colour of the pearl symbolises a pure heart and makes it especially popular with brides. They are also thought of as an aid to digestion and to ease emotional stress.

Location - Australia, Japan, Mexico, Myanmar, Sri Lanka

July-Ruby

One of the most popular gemstones, Ruby is a crystallized aluminium oxide, and has exactly the same chemical composition as sapphire. Only small amounts of colouring trace elements separates them.
     From a dark, “pigeon-blood” red to a light pink the ruby has proved its popularity in jewellery for hundreds of years. Perhaps the finest stones come from the Mogok region in northern Myanmar (Burma). Until recently all mining was state-run and private mining of these rubies was prohibited and the trade in them illegal.
The ruby wearer is thought to be endowed with health, happiness and wisdom. Rubies are supposed to strengthen the heart emotionally, provide an energy boost and to increase personal courage.
     We carry a large range of Rubies, Sapphires and Emeralds in stock in all sizes from 1mm round, along with ovals, pear shapes, marquise, square, baguette, trillion etc.
     We keep several qualities ranging from the commercial at a few pounds per carat/stone to fine gem qualities at £1000per ct +. Our stock comes from many countries of the world including Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Australia, Madagascar and Africa.
     Please contact us with your requirements, or send a sample for us to match, and we will quote you for that particular quality.

Location - Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Africa.