Amethyst (Birthstone: February).

Amethyst is a beautiful vivid purple or violet gemstone available in a wide variety of faceted and cabochon styles. Its wonderful variety of colours makes it the most popular of the quartz family to be used in jewellery production.

Amethyst can differ in colour depending upon the region in which it has been mined and generally varies from a pale lilac to a deep purple.

It is mined in Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia, Argentina, Zambia and several other African countries. A darker variety of amethyst is also found in Australia. Back to top

Onyx (Black) is a chalcedony that occurs in bands of different colours. It is also found in brown, gray and white.

Onyx is composed of relatively straight, parallel layers of different colours. When the dark layers are brown or brownish red, it is often called sardonyx. Onyx is usually cut into cabochon or beads. Some onyx is natural but much is produced by the staining of agate.

It is available in the regions of the USA, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, India, and Africa. Back to top

Blue Topaz (Birthstone: November).

Topaz is a blue, yellow, brown, pink or colourless aluminium silicate mineral, often found located within granite rocks and valued as a gemstone. Under suitable conditions, topaz grows into enormous crystals. It derives its name from the Sanskrit word tapas, meaning 'fire'.

Being a transparent stone with a vitreous lustre, its pure crystals look beautiful in exclusive jewellery items. Although red and pink are the most rare and most desirable colours for topaz, blue topaz is extremely popular. Topaz is a very hard gemstone but it can be split with a heavy blow - a trait it shares with diamond.

It is said that topaz balances emotions and gives feelings of joy and is referred to as the spiritual rejuvenation gemstone.

Deposits of topaz are found in the regions of Russia, Siberia, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Africa, China, Japan, Pakistan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Australia, Mexico, and the USA. Back to top

Citrine is a pale yellow variety of crystalline quartz resembling topaz. It is considered an alternative to topaz but is a separate mineral altogether.

Being one of the most affordable gemstones, citrine is durable, slightly softer and has less brilliance than precious topaz.

Citrine derives its name from the French word citron meaning lemon. The different shades range from yellow, gold, orange and brown.

Most citrine is mined in Brazil, although some is reproduced through heat treating amethyst. Back to top

Garnet (Birthstone: January).

Garnet is an aluminium or calcium silicate mineral found embedded within igneous and metamorphic rocks.

The colour of garnet ranges from shades of red, pink, purple, orange, yellow, violet, green, colourless and occasionally black.

Garnet derives its name from ancient Greeks, as its colour reminded them of the pomegranate seed or granatum. It is a renowned ancient gem, treasured for thousands of years.

Garnet is said to stimulate the bloodstream and help to combat depression and lethargy. It symbolizes fire, faith, courage, truth, grace, compassion, constancy and fidelity.

It is found in the regions of Kenya, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Brazil, India, Madagascar, Canada, Czech Republic, Spain and the USA. Back to top

Labradorite is one of a series in the family of plagioclase feldspars (complex silicates with varying amounts of sodium and calcium). This family also includes the moonstone and sunstone.

The mineral property 'labradorescence' gets its name from this mineral and refers to the luminous blue, green, gold and red sheen given off when turned under light.

Thought to have excellent healing properties for eyesight, stress and mental agitation. It is found in Madagascar, Finland, Oregon and Mexico. Back to top

Pearl (Birthstone: June).

Pearls are not classed as gemstones. They are created by oysters (and a small group of other shellfish) when a small irritant such as a grain of sand gets trapped under their shells. To avoid further irritation, the oyster will start producing nacre and coat the intruder to sooth its discomfort. Over years of treatment, a pearl is produced.

Nearly all marketed pearls are cultured, where a relatively large bead or piece of tissue from a mussel is placed inside the body of the host oyster. This stimulates the formation of a cultured pearl. These pearls generally come from Japan, Tahiti and other South Sea waters including Australia.

Pearls vary in colour from black, pink, cream, silver-gray, blue, yellow, lavender and green. Back to top

Rainbow Moonstone

A significant portion of the Earth's crust is composed of minerals from the feldspar group such as moonstone, amazonite, oligoslase and labradorite.

In India, moonstone is considered to be a sacred stone and has a floating light effect and sheen called adularescence, similar to the light of the moon.

It is usually set as a cabochon and rarely faceted.

Moonstone specimens commonly exhibit chatoyancy and sometimes display a strong cat's eye. Colours vary from typically white, colourless or light grayish blue.

The rainbow moonstone often produces a full spectrum of colours when turned under a light, hence its name. Back to top

Rhodochrosite is a marbled stone containing various shades of pink, ranging from very light to a deep raspberry.

Rhodochrosite is a manganese ore, appearing in a banded pattern with various white minerals (often calcite) that give it the look of bacon.

Its name derives from the Greek words rhodon ('pink') and chros ('color'). Though it has certain similarities to another pink gemstone, rhodonite, the latter is harder.

During the rule of Inca Ripac (or 'Viracocha'), the beautiful red stone was discovered in the Inca empire, but when the empire started its downfall, the mine was abandoned. In 1938, a German named Franz Mansfeld rediscovered the mine, and in the process also unearthed an Inca tomb, holding funerary jewellery inside it. This led to the popular rebaptism of rhodochrosite as Inca Rose or Rosinca.

Rhodochrosite is said to be helpful in moments of extreme physical stress, arouses passion, courage, fortitude and bestows enthusiasm and dynamism to the mind. It is believed to make life busy, full of ideas and to encourage eroticism and spontaneous expression of feelings.

This gemstone is quite common and found in Argentina, Mexico, the U.S.A., Namibia, South Africa, Spain and Romania. Back to top

Tiger's Eye is known as a pseudomorph (the result of one mineral replacing another), which contains oriented fibers of Crocidolite that have been replaced by silica.

Tiger’s Eye displays chatoyancy (a vertical luminescent band like that of a cat's eye). It typically has lustrous alternating yellow or brown bands.

Cutting is crucial with Tiger’s Eye because the rough crystals reveal little or nothing of the exciting chatoyancy of the finished gem.

Coveted since antiquity, Roman soldiers wore Tiger’s Eye for protection in battle. Due to its appearance, in the ancient world Tiger’s Eye was thought to be all seeing, offering protection during travel, strengthening of convictions and confidence.

It also is reputed to relieve such physical conditions as high blood pressure, bronchial asthma, heart disease and psoriasis.

Tiger's Eye is found mainly in South Africa, but also in Australia, Burma, Namibia and California in the USA. Back to top

Tourmaline is a complex crystalline silicate containing aluminium, boron and other elements. Its name has been derived from the Singhalese expression tura mali meaning 'stone of mixed colours'. The name refers to the unique spectrum of colours displayed by this gemstone.

Tourmalines are red, pink or green, but they can also range from blue to yellow.

It is found in Africa, Brazil, Madagascar, Mexico, Myanmar, Namibia, Sri Lanka and the USA. Back to top