With This Ring: March 23, 2018

20 With This Ring
RING IN A
Rainbow
One of the new style trends in engagement rings,
is the return of coloured stones.
Combined with the sparkle and purity of diamonds, multistone
designs can include your favourite shade of gemstone
or your birthstone. While sapphires, rubies and emeralds are
the “big 3” that always spring to mind, there are other stones
representing all the colours of the rainbow that will make
you an engagement ring of value and unusual individuality.
RED - Garnet
The name garnet comes from the old English “gernet”
meaning “dark red”. Garnets have a crystal structure and
range in colour from mid to dark red and from transparent
to opaque. They are less valuable than rubies but an
affordable and popular gemstone as well as being the January
birthstone. Garnets are mined in many parts of the world but
particularly India, USA, Australia and China.
ORANGE - Tourmaline
Tourmaline is a semi-precious hexagonal crystal gem that
can be of various colours including the unusual “chrome
tourmaline” which is orange. Produced in Zambia, India, Sri
Lanka and USA, the stone varies from transparent to opaque.
However, the rarest and most recently discovered variety of
tourmaline is the Paraiba which was found in Brazil in 1989
and has become sought after for its quality and value.
YELLOW - Topaz
Topaz is a rare combination of brilliance, hardness and
colour, with yellow topaz being more unusual and valuable
than blue. Meaning “fire” in the Sanskrit language, the
golden colour of yellow topaz has fascinated people
since ancient times and been associated with the
earth, harvest and fertility. It is mentioned in the
bible as one of the 12 gems worn by High Priests.
In modern times it has been adopted as the
November birthstone.
BLUE - Aquamarine
Known as “the gem of the sea” and chosen as the March
birthstone, aquamarine is derived from the Beryl mineral.
Aquamarine is favoured for its glorious blue-green colours
but the best quality gems combine high clarity with ice blue
colour. Because of the light colour that shows any flaws, it is
important to cut the stone carefully in order to maximise its
brilliance. The best aquamarine is sourced from Brazil, East
Africa, Australia and India.
INDIGO - Tanzanite
This blue-violet toned gemstone is a variety of the mineral
zolsite and changes colour when illuminated, becoming
bright blue under fluorescent light. It was only discovered
in 1967 and has become particularly sought after as it is
only found in a very small area of Tanzania, hence its name.
Renowned international jeweller Tiffany’s uses the rare
tanzanite in a luxury selection of jewellery for wealthy
clients from all over the world.
VIOLET - Amethyst
Amethysts are violet-hued quartz stones named from the
Greek “amethystos” meaning “intoxicate”. The value of an
amethyst is primarily in its colour, ranging from violet to
deep purple – the darker the better. Purple was a colour
associated with royalty, so amethysts have always been
accorded status despite being widely available. The best
quality amethysts are found in Russia, Sri Lanka and Brazil.
GREEN - Peridot
The peridot is a pale green silicote
mineral gemstone. It is the August
birthstone, but was called the “gem
of the sun” by the Egyptians. The
intensity of the peridot’s colour
depends on the level of iron in the
stone and varies from pale leaf
green to olive. Peridots were first
found in ancient times on an
island in the Red Sea, but recent
findings of flawless crystals
Myannmar and Pakistan have
created new interest in the stone.