If you weren’t born into a royal family centuries ago, you might never have been fortunate enough to possess a garnet. But get hip with the times, gemstone jewelry is hot — and it will make you feel like royalty everytime you wear it.

February Birthstone
Hey now, you have to share your Amethyst with your Sagittarius friends, because Amethyst isn’t only the birthstone for February, it’s also the birthstone for the Zodiac sign Sagittarius. Amethyst brings peace and tranquility. Who wouldn’t want that? And it dates back to ancient civilizations. In Ancient Greece, amethyst was related to Dionysus, the goddess of wine… so be sure to wear it next time you’re in the mood to party. Wednesday is amethyst day, so even if you’re not lucky enough to be born in February, you can still enjoy it mid-week.

March Birthstone
Ahoy Matey! Aquamarine protects sailors. So be sure to bring your aquamarine when you head out to sea on that luxurious cruise you’ve been looking forward to. Aquamarine also soothes rough relationships, which will be useful for you-know-who. Treat your March baby to this baby blue stone.

April Birthstone
Born in April? Twist my arm. Diamond is your birthstone, and half the women here wish they were born in April too. Celebrate and rock out with your rocks on. You’ll be sparkling so much, you won’t even need a flashlight if the power goes out.

May Birthstone
Emeralds are a magical stone. The best emeralds in the world are found in lush lands, out of a fairytale. That explains why those born in May, may have a 6th sense. For an alternative to Emerald, look at Chrome Diopside, a recently discovered green gemstone from Russia.

June Birthstone
As if bordering spring and summer wasn’t hard enough, those born in June have to decide between Pearl, Moonstone and Alexandrite. Pearls never seem to go out of fashion. If you want to show the world that you’re sophisticated and powerful, put on your strand of pearls and march on.

July Birthstone
Vegas, baby! Vegas! Ruby brings good luck to gamblers, so get ready to light up the town with your smile after a few hours in the casino. Lucky for you, Ruby also symbolizes love and passion. What a knockout combination! Good luck, love and passion — what else could a girl need?

August Birthstone
Peridot, the apple green color gemstone, is the birthstone of August. It was worn in Ancient Greece and Egypt. You can toss your nightlight, because it is supposed to protect against nightmares. Some think it brings power to its owner. Try a peridot pendant for the evening out.

September Birthstone
Sapphire. It’s the most sought after color gemstone in the USA. Sapphire comes in a rainbow variety of colors, with blue being the classic color everyone associates with the name sapphire. Even within the blue family, there are dozens of different shades. The most expensive is actually a padparadcha sapphire, which has colors in it of the sunset (from red to orange to pink).
October Birthstone
Opal or Tourmaline. Take your pick. Both gems can be used as the birthstone of October. We don’t subscribe to the myth that it is bad luck to receive an Opal if you weren’t born in October. Opal comes in a variety of colors, qualities and prices. And tourmaline also comes in the classics of green and pink, red tourmaline is called rubellite, and there are also various shades of blue (including paraiba which is neon blue, and indicolite).
November Birthstone
Citrine. Or is it imperial topaz? Well, citrine has come to be the birthstone for November because it is so readily available compared to imperial topaz. While they may share the same color tones, imperial topaz has a metallic quality that really makes it sparkle more compared to citrine. Either way, you can’t go wrong with a citrine for a November birthday.
December Birthstone
Topaz. Blue topaz? Or blue zircon? Kind of like November, where citrine has taken crown over imperial topaz, irradiated blue topaz has taken over December’s gem at the top of the charts. Blue topaz comes in a variety of shades, from a light blue (called sky blue topaz), to a richer vibrant blue (swiss blue topaz), to a deeper blue (london blue topaz).

Kunzite Folklore
Kunzite is called the evening stone, because it is best worn at night.  Kunzite is strongly fluorescent.  This means that it changes the wavelength of UV light (those nasty sun rays we can’t see but cause skin cancer too).  This energy absorbed by the stone regularly can cause its color to fade.  While we haven’t seen incidences of kunzite fading, we have heard others report it.  And we encourage our customers to wear their kunzite responsibly.

Kunzite Prices
Kunzite prices have been climbing steadily for the past two years, and have appreciated in the wholesale marketplaces by over 100%. For a simple Kunzite pricing guide, consider this (please keep in mind size, clarity and cut also have an impact on pricing too):

Pale Color / Near Colorless — Less than $10 per carat
Light Pink Color — $10-$20 per carat
Medium Lilac Pink Color — $20-$60 per carat
Very Rich Color — $60-$180 per carat

Please look at these kunzites on the border of the medium lilac pink to very rich color.

A very interesting observation was made, in that “colorless kunzite” is now a commonly searched phrase online.  We hypothesize that the mass-market channels, such as tv shopping online, who are promoting colorless or near colorless kunzite are the reason behind the increased search volume.  Unfortunately, something is getting lost in the translation of this tv shopping phenomenon.  It should be widely known that a rich pink color is more rare and more beautiful, but the tv shopping channels confuse their viewers with the goal of selling the cheap pale colorless kunzite.

Kunzite Mineral Composition
Kunzite is named after the man who discovered it, Tiffany’s gemologist Dr. Kunz. [note: -ite is a common suffix meaning stone] The mineral name is spodumene. The mineral is composed of LiAl(Si₂O₆) - Lithium, Aluminum, Silicon, and Oxygen. The MOHs hardness is 6.5 - 7.

Kunzite Localities
Kunzite can be found in many places throughout the world; however, the largest current source of kunzite is from the mountainous region of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Up until recently, most of that kunzite rough was channeled through Brazil. Brazil had developed special expertise in treating and cutting kunzite. In fact, most people think Kunzite comes from Brazil because of this — but in actuality there are no mines producing kunzite and all of the Brazilians are buying the Afghani/Pakistani rough.  Kunzite is very difficult to cut because the stone has perfect cleavage.  A simple mistake may result in a shattered stone.  Another added layer of difficulty is that the color appears different based on the orientation of the crystal.  This property is called pleochroism.  Recently, some of this cutting and treatment expertise has leaked to Asia.  Some people may know this stone as Kunzita (because this is the name for Kunzite in Portuguese - the language of Brazil).

Because these gems have a coating on the pavilion, they will appear different from the face versus the bottom angles.  The coating is semi-permanent — it can be damaged with harsh chemicals or ultrasonic cleaner.  The catch 22 is, untreated topaz shouldn’t be handled with harsh chemicals or in an ultrasonic cleaner — so it is really about as permanent as any other topaz would be.  Topaz is an affordable gem, and makes a great natural stone alternative to more expensive counterparts.

Chrome Diopside is typically found included and in small crystals. It has twice the refractive index of emerald, which gives it a vibrant diamond-like sparkle. Its color is saturated, and as the stone gets bigger, it can be too saturated that it darkens. That is why you’ll mostly never see a chrome diopside over 5 carats in weight. Most are cut to under 2 carats in weight.

Other names for it include Russian Diopside, Chromium Diopside, and trademarked names like Vertelite(TM).  Some even call it Siberian Emerald (although the stone is not an emerald or part of the beryl group).  A very popular cut for chrome diopside is oval, cushion, emerald cut (octagon), and rounds.  Take a look at our best-selling large chrome diopside stone - a 9×7mm emerald cut chrome diopside.

The Azotic® Designer Enhanced Gemstone should not be exposed to any abrasives, acids, or immersed in an ultrasonic cleaner. Ultrasonic cleaners may contain a pickling solution that would cause damage to the Azotic® enhanced surface of the gemstone.

Abrasive cloths may scratch the Azotic® enhanced surface of the gemstone. This may not remove the treatment, but scratching the optical surface will affect the reflection of light traveling through the gemstone. This influences the color and clarity of the gemstone.

High heat may adversely affect the refractive index and eliminate color intensity. Heat should NOT be applied to the enhanced surface of the gemstone.