January’s Birthstone is Garnet February’s Birthstone is Amethyst March’s Birthstone is Aquamarine

Birthstones are usually given as birthday gifts or Christmas presents and can be presented loose or as gemstone jewellery. Particular stones are given to a person depending on the month in which they were born, and the stones are believed to inherit the qualities related to that month. The following pages detail some brief information relating to the gemstones themselves.

Birthstone for January - Garnet

Garnet is the gem birthstone of January. The Garnet, with its deep reds of burning fiery embers, was known as the ‘Carbuncle’ and the ancients of the Israelite Exodus called it ‘Nophak.’ The English word for January’s red gem is possibly derived from the word ‘Pomegranate’ and subsequently its Latin word; ‘Granatus.’ Garnets are principally known as being red, but the family is huge with more than forty variants and in all colours from as many destinations: Mozambique red garnet, Rhodolite raspberry garnet, Tsavorite apple green garnet, Demantoid grass green garnet, Spessartite orange garnet, Mandarin orange garnet, Topazolite yellow garnet and even blue garnets from Madagascar. There are six species of garnet: Pyrope, Almandine, Spessartine, Grossular , Uvarovite and Andradite. There are many varieties of Garnet, and based on the variance of chemical composition, the internal structure can differ so that some Garnets are tougher than others. Garnet ranges in toughness between 6.5 and 7.5 on the Moh’s scale of hardness, with Almandine Garnet being particularly tough, which was used in Neolithic times as an abrasive.

Birthstone for February - Amethyst

Amethyst is the gem birthstone of February. Amethyst is the jewel of Saint Valentines, and has a history that harks all the way back to the First Temple’s breastplate, where it was known as ‘Ahlamah’ in the ancient Hebrew of the Exodus passages of the Bible. Amethyst is now regarded as semi-precious, but Egyptian Pharaohs referred to it as ‘Hemag,’ and held it in the same esteem we hold Diamond, Sapphire, Emerald or Ruby. In fact, the famous five ‘Cardinal’ gems were held so highly, that they got the name of the 'Cardinal Gems,' after the association made to the Roman Catholic Church. Amethyst gets its distinctive coloration from ferric iron impurities and colour centres created by the Earth’s radiation. Amethyst ranges from pale lilac to intense purple which demands the biggest premiums. A member of the quartz family, Amethyst has a hardness of 7 on the Moh’s scale. Although widespread throughout the world, amethyst of gem quality is restricted to only a few locations: Brazil, Zambia and Sri Lanka.

Birthstone for March - Aquamarine

Aquamarine is the gem birthstone of March. Related to Emerald, Aquamarine falls within the Beryl mineral variety of gems. For this reason, it can be associated with the gems of the breastplate as ‘Shoham’ in Aramaic and ‘Mafek’ in ancient Egyptian. As its English name suggests, Aquamarine with its changing varying from light green to a greenish blue gets its moniker from its resemblance to sea-water. Good quality Aquamarine is difficult to come by and very sought after, but it is also more widely available that its sister the emerald. Unlike the green Emerald, Aquamarine is eye-clean, containing no inclusions visible to the naked eye. The lack of inclusions is due to Iron, the same mineral that gives Blue Sapphire its colour and is also another eye clean gem of good aspect. Aquamarine has a hardness of 7.5 on the Mohs’ scale, putting it just after Corundum; this strength of Aquamarine makes it a very good centre gem in a cocktail or signet ring and perfect for frequent wearing.

Birthstones of April May June