Amethyst – Stone of Royalty For those lucky enough to be born in February, your birthstone is the amethyst, a purple quartz, which comes in hues from lilac to deep purple. Its name derives from the Greek amethystos which means “a remedy against drunkenness” because the Greeks associated its wine-like color with Bacchus, the god […]
Valentine’s Day is celebrated around the world on February 14, when friends and lovers share cards, poems, candy and gifts. But what are the origins of Valentine’s Day? It is actually a bit of a mystery. There are three saints recognized as Valentine or Valentinus within the Catholic Church and all three were martyred. The […]
Start the new year off with these fabulous jewelry trends and you’ll look your best all year long! Color, Color and More Color: The minimalistic look is gone, replaced by beautiful bright, eye-catching colorful gems. With a rainbow of colors to choose from, you are bound to find just the right one! From reds to […]
The Taylor-Burton Diamond, so named for the man who purchased it – Richard Burton – and the woman who wore it – Elizabeth Taylor, was the first diamond to exceed the $1M price for a diamond. In fact, the previous record price for a diamond was just $305,000 while Richard Burton paid $1.1M. The rough […]
Those born in January have garnet as their gemstone. The name originates from medieval Latin granatus, meaning pomegranate. Garnets have been popular since the Bronze Age. The Pharaohs of Egypt wore necklaces with red garnets while the ancient Romans used garnet intaglios to stamp wax to secure important documents. In the Middle Ages, garnets were […]
As the holidays wind down and we head into 2022, we wish our customers, family and friends a wonderful, happy and healthy New Year! We thought it would be fun to share some facts about New Years for you to delight those with whom you are celebrating. The first New Year’s celebration dates back to […]
The Winter Solstice is today, December 21. It is the shortest day of the year and marks the beginning of winter. In ancient times, it was called Yule and lasted for 12 days. It was a time of celebration as they knew that, following this time, the days would begin to grow longer. The traditions […]
Every diamond is unique and they come in a variety of sizes, shapes, colors and with differing internal characteristics. Diamond professionals use a grading system, the 4Cs, developed by GIA to describe the quality of a finished diamond. The 4Cs are Clarity, Color, Cut and Carat Weight. Let’s look at each: Color: Diamonds come in […]
The color for December babies is blue – Blue Topaz or Turquoise. They symbolize honor and trust, prosperity as well as kindness and understanding. Blue topaz today is inexpensive and very attractive due to the discovery that clear topaz could be changed to blue by treating it with radiation and heat (note, there is no […]
Have you ever wondered when and why engagement rings came to be? Well, it goes all the way back to the ancient Egyptians who believed circles were symbols of eternity. Couples exchanged braided reed rings which were worn on the left hand ring finger which has a vein that runs directly to the heart (the […]
