December Birthstone

December Birthstone:
Turquoise, Topaz, Tanzanite.




Turquoise:















The birthstone of the month of December and a mark of wealth and affluence, this is what a turquoise specifies. It is a member of the microcrystalline minerals (along with jade and lapis) that have been used in stone carvings for thousands of years. This mineral occurs as nodules and veins that are either blue or green in color, although the name Turquoise is itself considered the name for a shade of color that is greenish-blue. Turquoise is the birthstone for December and the Sagittarius zodiac sign.
Turquoise is a valuable mineral and is one of the most valuable non-transparent minerals used in the jewelry trade. It has been mined by early Egyptians since at least 6000 BC. Most specimens are cryptocrystalline, meaning that the crystals can only be seen by a microscope. The finest turquoise comes from Iran but is challenged by some southwestern United States specimens.
The name turquoise is apparently related to the fact that is was brought to Europe from the Eastern Mediterranean by Levantine traders, more commonly known as Turks. Its been used as a valuable ornament for ages and was used by the Egyptians thousands of years ago.

Topaz:


















Topaz is the December birthstone. Blue topaz is one of the most popular gemstones due to its stunningly clear blue color. There are different varieties of the blue topaz such as sky blue, swiss blue and london blue. Greeks in ancient times thought topaz had the power to increase strength and make one invisible. Blue topaz was thought to do that as well as cool tempers and restore sanity.Topaz is a common gem and has been used in jewelry for centuries. Gem quality topaz is quite durable with a hardness of 8. It is suitable for every day wear. The London Blue color of blue topaz is not naturally found, but is a blue topaz that has its color enhanced with heat. Blue topaz is the most well known, popular and expensive color of topaz.

Tanzanite








Tanzanite is the gem variety of the mineral Zoisite. Tanzanite is relatively new on the gemstone market, but has left its mark. Its blue-lavender color is rather unique and a wonderful addition to the gemstone palette. Found in Tanzania (hence the name) in 1967, it has since become a well known and widely distributed gemstone. It has become so popular that in October of 2002 the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) announced that zircon and turquoise Tanzanite has had the traditional list of birthstones for the month in December. It has better fire than the Tourmaline or Peridot and elbaite an adequate hardness. Its only one direction of cleavage is somewhat of a problem because it is oriented with the direction of strongest pleochroism. This would be a problem because that is the direction in the most Gemstones would usually select to maximize the gemcutter color. However, with the Tanzanite color is usually strong enough anyway. Is very pronounced and is seen as Tanzanite Pleochroism in three different color shades in the same stone. In the viewing a Tanzanite stone, the colors dark blue, green-yellow and red-purple can be seen, all a result of pleochroism. Due to the Lesser stones may have a brownish color mixing of blue, purple and green. These stones are usually heat treated to a deep blue color. Nearly all heat treated to generate Tanzanite has been the beautiful violet-blue color this stone is known for. When first mined, most stones are a muted green color. The only known source of Tanzanite is a five square mile hilltop at Merelani, ten miles south of the Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania.