Peridots are especially sentimental to wearers of this gemstone because it’s only found in four known places: Burma, China, Pakistan and America. Besides only the limited locations in which you can discover a peridot, another reason these gems are so special is for all of the fascinating facts that surround it

Take its colouring for example: Its light green colour can often confuse people into thinking it’s a light green emerald; especially when the peridot is often called an evening emerald. These birthstones, however, are nothing alike considering that each gem comes from two entirely different types of elemental compounds!

To help remember the difference, the colour of peridots are usually in reference to foods such as limes, kiwis and olives, whereas, emeralds are very rich in colour and can only be described as an emerald colour. Keep reading to see how these little beauties get their lime colouring!

Origins

Volcanic formation

Every gemstone carries its own story to tell and the peridot birthstone isn’t any different. The peridot carries so much history with it that it can still be found in ancient Egyption jewellery artefacts from the early 2^nd millennium B.C.!

Coming from deep, down under the surface of the earth, peridots are normally found in very small increments so getting one bigger than a 3carat stone is very rare. It takes an extreme amount of heat and pressure from volcanoes that form an igneous rock when the magma cools down.

That’s a pretty typical answer of how many gems are formed but with the ever-fascinating peridot, there’s an even more exciting way that they can also be formed: Meteors. That’s right! These aliens from outer space travel down to earth inside of a stony-iron meteorite called a pallasite.

Now, this explains the rock formation the peridot but doesn’t explain how this birthstone gets its green appearance. To understand the colouring, you have to first understand its transformation process.

Meteor formation

Olivine is the silicate mineral rock that’s formed by volcanoes and meteors and is very rich in magnesium and iron. It’s when this olivine crystallises that it then turns into the peridot gemstone.

Because olivine has an extremely large melting point, it takes a very, very long time to form. The vividness of the colouring that occurs depends entirely on the composition of the olivine magnesium. The higher the amount of magnesium there is, the paler green, almost a yellowish colour is present. Lesser amounts of magnesium equal darker, richer colours.

Mystical Qualities

Going back to the B.C. Egyptian days in the 1500s, Cleopatra famously wore what were thought to be emeralds at that time but are now believed to be peridot. Known for her beauty, she ironically wore the gems for completely different purposes.

Among one of its many names, the peridot was also known as, ‘gem of the sun’ in which it carried highly magical powers that worked the best when set inside of pure gold. A line from a poetic representation of this birthstone says:

Wear a Peridot for thee,

No conjugal fidelity,

The August born without this stone,

Tis said, must live unloved alone.

Peridots were believed to ward off evil and protect those who had nightmares but more importantly, these stones were used as positive preventative measures taken against negativity. Wearing these stones meant relaxation, stress reduction and the alleviation of fear, anger and emotional trauma.

Health wise, drinking from a peridot goblet was thought to increase medicinal potency, heal persons with asthma as well as an all-over body tonic. The uses for this stone were endless and while this carried a lot of believers all of those centuries back, people of today still feel a sense of awe when wearing it.

Gift Ideas

Peridots aren’t one of the harder gemstones like diamonds and emeralds are but they can be just as expensive. It only has a 6.5 – 7 rating on the Moh’s scale of hardness which means that you must take excellent care of your peridot! This means follow your jewellery professional’s instructions and never try to fix it or give it a good, hard cleaning at home.

It might be your favourite gift in the form of a ring, earrings, bracelets or necklaces that you’ll want to wear without taking off for days at a time but this is one gemstone that you should save for special occasions. Household chores, daily errands, cleaning peridots or any type of hard wear will allow a distinctive absorption spectrum to show or worse, break or dent the gemstone which is definitely be something you wouldn’t want to do.

Peridots aren’t necessarily extremely bright stones but they do have a lot of sparkle within their pale colours. Like its birth month, peridots look fantastic during the summertime making it largely popular for favourite summer jewellery.

Lime green may not be the colour that people think will go with any clothes or other coloured gems but it can actually get along quite well with a lot of colours! Thinking about summer colours again, peridots look amazing with white, turquoise, peach and yellow colours so don’t worry about clashing or only wearing it with exact matching exact. Mix it up a little!

After reading up on all the amazing qualities peridots have to offer, who doesn’t wish their birthday was in August?

Click to enlarge

There probably isn’t much of Prince William’s and his new bride, Kate Middleton’s wedding left that hasn’t been viewed or talked about all over the world. This ‘It’ event of the year (or century) has people are talking about a Cinderella-ish wedding that girl’s only ever get to dream of!

While people are still buzzing about the wedding dresses (yes, that’s plural!) Kate wore during her big day, let’s talk about the royal wedding rings that are just as lavish and worth much, much more.

Engagement and Wedding Ring

In an era where coloured gemstones and diamonds are the new white diamond, the engagement ring that Prince William proposed to Kate with extravagantly fits right into that category. Previously, Princess Diana’s own engagement ring, this 18 carat oval blue sapphire surrounded by 14 small diamonds originally cost $45,000 USD.

The sapphire, alone, is now valued $300,000 USD. With the total price of the ring equalling a little over half a million USD, what many people may not know is that Princess Di’s sapphire engagement ring was originally given to Prince Harry while Prince William received her Cartier watch. When the older Prince became engaged, Prince Harry gave the ring to him for Kate Middleton. How’s that for brotherly love?

As for the wedding ring itself, the Prince has chosen not to wear a wedding ring but that doesn’t mean he skimped out on Kate’s ring! Going to their family jeweller at Wartski, a jewellery company founded in Bangor, the ring was made from a single, large nugget of Clogau gold only found in Wales.

What makes this gold even more valuable is the fact that this type of gold is extremely rare making this wedding ring, very possibly, the last piece of jewellery to ever be crafted from this particular type of Welsh gold.

Earrings

Princess Diana’s engagement ring wasn’t the only family heirloom passed on down to Kate. During their honeymoon, Prince William also gifted his mother’s diamond and sapphire earrings to his new bride.

Using the great advantage of custom jewellery, Kate took Princess Diana’s favourite earrings and had them the remodelled to include a more modern look that suited her own personality. These exquisite earrings were originally designed as large, jewelled studs but are now a gorgeous pair of single tear drop earrings.

On her wedding day, Kate was given a pair of new diamond encrusted drop earrings designed by Robinson Pelham as a wedding gift from her parents. While these earrings were certainly jaw dropping in price, the simple yet elegant style suited Middleton perfectly

Tiara

Now, not many girls get the option to choose which historical, jewelled filled tiaras they’ll be wearing, Kate Middleton certainly did – and choose she did!

The talk was that Middleton would perhaps wear the famous tiara that Queen Elizabeth wore on her wedding day but instead, she chose the 1936 diamond Cartier tiara that was originally purchased by the Duke of York who later became known as King George VI.

Set in platinum, the tiara is made from old, baguette-cut diamond with the upper part forming a range of lotus flowers and the lower ‘zig-zag’ part forming a removable piece that can be used as a bandeau. This royal tiara was given to Queen Elizabeth when she was still just a princess and has now been passed on to Kate Middleton.

A statement hasn’t been released yet as to whether or not Kate will keep this tiara as her own but for now, all clothing and jewellery is up on display at Buckingham palace.

So there you have it! Something old, something new, something borrowed and a lot of things blue!

While the total value of all these jewels can only be found in a royal bank account, the style and sentiment behind them are entirely priceless!

*If you’re having a hard time viewing the picture, click it to zoom in closer.

Origins

Much like their bold colouring, how rubies are formed is also extremely interesting! Coming from the Latin word ‘ruber’, which means large, high-quality natural rubies are extremely rare making it no surprise that these beauts come with a steep price. Most rubies found in stores are synthetically made but if you ever come across a deep, red-coloured ruby, you can bet it will be worth more than a diamond!

The main element used in forming rubies is called corundum which is the elemental mineral consisting of densely packed aluminium and oxygen atoms. As an interesting side-note, corundums without the red or white colour are a very common gemstone that most are familiar with: Sapphires.

Corundums are typically colourless; however, depending on the small amounts of chromium that lay inside of a corundum give off the red colouring that is associated with rubies.

Because of their rarity, geoscience professional deem rubies as a minor geological miracle since the entire process of how a ruby is formed from start to finish still remains unknown, although the ‘glow’ of a ruby can be explained quite easily.

The dazzling glow factor that occurs inside of rubies is simply when the chromium element meets ultraviolet lights. This is one of the main factors that have given rubies their mystical qualities that still run strong today.

Mystical Qualities

Rubies are one of the most revered gems in all of history as well as currently. Centuries ago, Burmese warriors were known to actually embed rubies under their skin to make them invincible in battle while warding off enemies. Probably not the healthiest of tactics but it does portray the strong amount of faith people have put into rubies.

In today’s era, rubies are most notably worshipped by Hindus. Those of Hinduism belief follow a very distinct ritual, each and every time, before ever wearing a new ruby on their body. This is based on the person’s birth month, date and year, followed by varied numbers of chants while letting the ruby sit in unboiled milk.

Believed to be a representation of the sun, here is how the entire process typically plays out:

• Rubies must be without flaws, transparent and dark red in colour
• Rubies should be set in gold at the minimum of 14 carats
• If the jewellery is a ruby ring, it must be worn on the left ring finger for males and right ring finger for females
• It can only be placed on the body after being bathed in unboiled milk and gangajal AFTER sunrise and BEFORE 10am on Sunday
• The ruby must touch the stone on the feet of any favourite God after chanting the appropriate mantra – for 10 continuous Sundays
• There are a couple mantras of Sun. After picking the suitable mantra, it must be chanted 108 times after the Ganesh mantra

*Please note that this is only one of many methods, mantras and beliefs of the ruby.

More generalised beliefs of rubies revolve around symbolisms of everlasting love, good fortune and was/is worn as a talisman to ward off evil spirits and natural disasters.

Gift Ideas

With birthstones and coloured diamonds being the new ‘It’ trend for engagement rings, rubies are no exception. The difference between a ruby and another coloured gemstone is both the value and the colour which should both be kept in mind when considering the purchase.

Because of the value that rubies hold, chances are that a ruby engagement ring will be the proposal gift of the year but that also means insurance is a must. Knowing how to care for a ruby is also extremely important.

While rubies are extremely hard, depending on how many inclusions or if it has any internal fractures, it will crack over time if not monitored. Most jewellery professionals offer ring rejuvenation services to polish and clean your engagement ring while checking for any problems it may have.

Rubies are a much bolder jewel than most other gemstones which means that wearing a ruby makes a bold statement in itself. The colour of a ruby speaks for itself meaning that you won’t need to deck yourself up too much with other jewellery since it will either get outshone by the ruby or worse, clashing and turning a magnificent statement into a fashion faux-pas!

The same rules apply to all ruby jewellery, whether it’s a necklace, bracelet, earrings or rings. Value and colour! Keep those two things in mind and you’ll be wearing your ruby like royalty!!

5. Dream Shoe Designer: Stuart Weitzmann, assisted by Oscar Heyman Bros.

Fully understanding what women want out of a shoe, Stuart Weitzmann has created some of the finest, artistic and most expensive shoes of our time. Designing, perhaps, a coveted shoe during the times of The Wizard of Oz, these sparkly red slippers are fully studded with 642 oval Burma rubies that come in with a total weight of 123-33 carats and are set in a half pound of platinum.

When the stilettos were first created, they were the most expensive shoe of their time and designed to be worn only by the famous. Currently ranking in at #5 on the list of Most Expensive Dream Shoes, they still cost an arm and a leg of $1.6 million USD.

4. Dream Shoe Designer: Stuart Weitzmann

Deemed the ‘Cinderella slippers’, these elegant heels are heavy with 565 platinum-set Kwiat diamonds that total up to 55 carats of clear diamonds and one enormous 5 carat amaretto diamond, worth one million USD on its own, on each shoe.

These fairytale 4 ½ inch stiletto shoes are every girl’s dream and with their steep cost, may just remain that! While they’ve been worn once by Allison Kraus at the 2004 Oscar ceremony, these shoes now sit on display in Beverly Hills, California and are worth $2 million USD.

3. Dream Shoe Designer: Stuart Weitzmann and Jeweller, Le Vian

Tying 3^rd and 4^th place with himself on the most expensive shoes list, Stuart Weitzmann, in collaboration with Le Vian, have created another $2 million USD pair of evening shoes.

Rightfully so, these million dollar stilettos rank in the top 5 of the world’s most expensive shoes due to the 185 carats of museum quality tanzanite, 28 carats of diamonds and another huge 16 carat tanzanite that dangles on the front of the heel from the ankle strap. All of these rare and precious stones are placed on the silver leather embellished shoe making it one of the daintiest and rarest high-heeled stilettos ever made.

2. Dream Shoe Designer: Ronald Winston from the House of Harry Winston

Not to be outdone by Stuart Weitzman, Ronald Winston carries on The Wizard of Oz theme by celebrating its 50^th anniversary with these Harry Winston Ruby Slippers. Tying in at first place with Stuart Weitzmann on the #1 spot, not only are they eye-blindingly glittery with very possibly, more rubies that any person has seen at once, they also carry more weight than any shoe designed to date! Completely covered in 4,600 valuable rubies, these low-heeled pumps have a total weight of 1,350 carats or pure ruby.

To coincide with this one-of-a-kind pair of treasures, it also carries a one-of-a-kind price tag of $3 million USD!

1. Dream Shoe Designer: Stuart Weitzmann

The factor that determined whether the Harry Winston Ruby Slippers or the Stuart Weitzmann Rita Hayworth Heels took the number one spot was which shoe was more current.

Labelled as the most recent, over-the-top creation in designer shoes, these shoes were inspired by earrings worn by the late Rita Hayworth and worn only once by singer/songwriter, Kathleen Bird York, at the 2006 Oscars. Now owned by Rita Haworth’s daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, they’re off the market although their beauty can still be admired from afar.

These open-toed heels were designed using a rust-coloured satin and decorated with rubies, sapphires and diamonds, all nested in the satin ruffle at the toe of the shoe. Unsurprisingly, the Rita Hayworth shoes hold their value at $300 million USD.

Everyone wants to own the nicest and latest fashioned, name branded shoes but what about shoes that girls can only dream about? Believe it or not, they do exist! All you have to do is add the most exquisite diamonds, jewels and precious metals to these coveted shoes.

Still don’t believe it? Well, go ahead and take a look at the first half of the world’s most amazing and expensive dream shoes!

10. Dream Shoe Designer: Unnamed Italian Designer in Wuhu

Although the designer has remained vague about his creation, his masterpiece is anything but! These sparkling, gold pumps used 680 grams of pure gold to mould them into perfection under the invitation of the World Gold Council.

While the price is has also not been released, if you calculate the going rate for 1 gram of gold ($44 USD), then the price for the gold alone comes in $29, 920 USD.

9. Dream Shoe Designer: Bruno Frisoni for Roger Vivier

Named, The Dovima, these taxidermy bird shoes (yes, they’re actually real birds!) were dyed a rose pink colour and attached to the toe of these heels by their crystal encrusted head. Frisoni really knew how to set himself apart in the designer world since this is the type of shoe that will never be forgotten once you’ve seen it!

Each bird’s crystallised head is surrounded by 24 carat gold-coated mesh, silk, ribbons and crocodile-skin rosettes with the added bonus of protective crocodile or snakeskin that are attachable to keep the shoes, themselves, from ever touching the ground.

These oddly creative, animal-esque shoes can be ordered for $30,000 (USD).

8. Dream Shoe Designer: Giuseppe Zanotti

This Italian shoe designer created the design for these extremely pink shoes with the help of the fine jewellery company, Chopard, who gave the jewellery needed for this fascinating footwear.

Unlike the previous shoe Shellis designed using one specific type of stone, Zanotti incorporated pink diamonds, pink sapphires, tourmalines and russellites to create this one-of-a-kind satin high-heels.

The biggest plus for these shoes is that the jewelled ankle strap of the shoe is removable so that the owner can have not one, but TWO valuable bracelets!

Totalling 22 carats of diamonds, 134 carats of rubellites and 199 carats of pink sapphires, Giuseppe Zanotti also designed a matching set of rose gold, pink sapphire and diamond hoop earrings.

Believed to be auctioned off for up to $175,000 dollars USD for amfAR’s fight against AIDS, these gorgeous bejewelled, satin stilettos sold for an even bigger sum of $200,000 (USD) to a private bidder!

7. Dream Shoe Designer: Christopher Michael Shellis for House of Borgezie

Founder and jewellery designer of the House Of Borgezie, Shellis has designed some of the most expensive shoes of all times with his main attributes to them consisting of diamonds, platinum and solid gold.

This shoe was given the title of, The Eternal Borgezie Diamond Stiletto, and rightfully so due to the 30 carats of 2,200 encrusted white diamonds set into this platinum beauty.

Since all of his jewelled and precious metalled shoes are made with such precision and the best raw materials, they’re guaranteed to last much longer than 10 lifetimes – 1,000 years!

Shellis’ reason for creating these expensive shoes is to showcase the jewels and create jewellery rather than making shoes for people to wear. He has begun the pricing at £100,000 UK.

6. Dream Shoe Designer: Christopher Michael Shellis for the House of Borgezie

Designing another shoe on our Top 10 list, Shellis has once again created his own pair of diamond encrusted stilettos that he calls, ‘A treasure of the feet’ – which, they truly are!

These shoes required a team of goldsmiths to work with temperatures of over 1000ºC to create the entire shoe out of gold. After the base was made, over 2,200 white diamonds were again added to both shoes, totalling a humongous 30 carats.

Having gone on sale just 5 months ago, these dream stilettos can be bought for the big price of £140,000 UK or $319,469 USD.

This exquisite, once-in-a-lifetime jewel encrusted tiara was created by renowned jewellers, Chaumet, for Guido Count von Henckel, First Prince von Donnersmark, as a gift for his second wife, Princess Katharina. The emeralds, themselves, are believed to be a part of a collection owned by Napolean III’s wife, Empress Eugenie before the tiara was designed for Princess Katharina.

Not only is this the most rare and valuable emerald and diamond tiaras to come to light, it’s also one of the most historic and prized jewellery pieces to make its debut at Sotheby’s in over 30 years!

Sotheby has recently released this description of the Luxury Emerald and Diamond Tiara:

“The tiara is a crown of foliate and floral inspiration. The base is set with a central row of eleven larger cushion-shaped diamonds, each set between pairs of muguets, above a line of laurel leaf motifs and surmounted by festooned ribbons, pierced and millegrain set throughout with rose and brilliant-cut diamonds, surmount by a row of eleven polished pear-shaped emeralds. The emeralds, totaling approximately 500 carats, graduated in size from the center, each emerald drilled and held in diamond set cusp motifs, the nine largest tipped by rose diamonds, mounted in silver and gold, later detachable tiara fitting”.

Quite the description to match the tiara’s intricate, magnificent historical piece of work!

Understandably so, this amazing and brilliant Luxury Emerald and Diamond Tiara is estimated to sell for $5 to $10 million dollars in Geneva on May 17, 2011.

The pearl birthstone is a favourite of millions and is the only precious stone to be created by a living organism. Talk about a unique birthstone!

Origins

There are two types of pearls: Natural (non-nacreous) and Cultured (nacreous). Natural pearls happen accidentally, naturally and can occur in just about any salt or fresh-water mollusc. Coming in three basic forms, they can be shaped as whole-round pearls, blister pearls and blisters.

Nacreous pearls are formed by irritants, such as a single grain of sand that’s added by people. To create a the best and most valuable cultured pearl, the irritant should only be stimulated inside of the mollusc and nothing more, allowing nature to then take its course.

Cultured pearls come many different colours with two specific factors that determine its overall colour: Body Colour and Overtone. The Body Colour is the base of the pearl’s colouring, such as white, cream, black or gold whereas, the Overtone is considered to be the secondary colour or tint. This is the most visual colour, i.e. pink, rose, peacock or blue.

Unlike most other gemstones, pearls are extremely fragile and soft which makes a lot of room for marring and other small imperfections. Usually, the bigger a pearl is, the more imperfections it will contain which is why large, minimally marked natural pearls found in the wild are extremely rare and very seldom found for an affordable price.

In order to create a fine cultured pearl, professionals let pearled oysters sit for a minimum of two to three years. This develops what is called nacre and gives the pearl its layer of protection as well as that beautiful sheen with ridges and swoops.

Mystical Qualities

Also known as the Stone of Sincerity, pearls signify faith, charity and innocence to enhance one’s personal integrity, bring the truth to light and inhibit boisterous behaviour. Other mystical qualities derive from ancient Chinese myths that say pearls fell from the sky where dragons fought, ancient legends that state pearls are the tears of gods and ancient Greek legends that believed pearls were drops of love to be worn and prevent newlywed women from crying.

Besides its legendary qualities, pearls are believed to also hold healing powers. People who believe strongly in a pearl’s healing power, ingest them to cure bloating and biliousness along with stronger powers of increasing chance of childbirth and easing pain from giving birth.

Gift Ideas

In today’s day and time, pearls are used to symbolise June birthdays and 30^th wedding anniversaries. One quality pearls did carry over from ancient legends is the purity and innocence that shows through when worn. There is something so wholesome about pearls, alone, that make it a favourite for office wear, formal occasions and most popularly, bridal jewellery.

Women are coming up with newer, more modern ways of wearing pearls by adding other precious stones, such as diamonds or coloured gemstones to make the pearl pop. Another popular way women are wearing pearl necklaces is by either layering them or wearing long strands of pearls

However you choose to gift a woman with pearls, whether it’s a fancy ring, gorgeous earrings or a magnificent necklace, you can’t ever go wrong because she’ll love them the minute she lays her eyes on her brand new pearls!

And women, don’t forget that pearls can be given to men as birthday and anniversary gifts too! While you won’t see a man with a string of pearls around his neck, men do enjoy tie clips, cufflinks and money clips accented or set by pearl. As long as it keeps a masculine look, don’t be afraid to give a valuable gift of pearl to the guy in your life!

Birthstones are especially extraordinary jewels because there is always a birthstone for everyone! No matter who the person is, when they are gifted with a piece of jewellery that holds their personal birthstone, it’s a very sentimental occasion.

Because of this reason, once a month, we’ll be posting the Birthstone Of The Month to explain its history as well as offer some unique and creative ways to show off your personal gemstone.

Although a year is typically started with January, we’ll begin with the current month, May. Most people have heard the saying of Spring: ‘April showers bring May flowers,’ but do you know what else May brings? Emeralds!

Origins

Emeralds almost always include flaws due to small inclusions of other minerals when growing and yet, they are one of the loveliest birthstones around and sell for higher prices than all other gemstones except for diamonds.

Coming from the beryl family of minerals and a sibling to the aquamarine gemstone, its green hue is given to the emerald when pure, clear beryl contains either chromium or vanadium. One quality that makes emeralds stand out from the other birthstones is the fact that they’re extremely strong with a rating of 7.5 on the Mohs scale (to put it into perspective, diamonds are a 10).

While a diamond’s clarity is what makes it more expensive, an emerald’s richness of its green colour is what demands very high prices. The paler an emerald is, the less it’s worth and if pale enough, the emerald no longer considered an emerald; instead, it’s classed as simply, green beryl.

The catch to this is that there’s no law that states green beryl cannot be sold as an emerald which means that you have to shop wisely and always pick a darker colour green when shopping to get your money’s worth!

Mystical Qualities

Emeralds are often dedicated to the Goddess, Venus, for immortality

Many people are fascinated by reading their astrological signs for the month, week or even daily to pass time, as an

interest or they truly believe in it. Birthstones were often used the same way thousands of years ago and are still used that way for today, so much so, that there is a whole different calendar of birthstones set aside and called ‘Zodiac Birthstones.’

When using this system of birthstones, emeralds are known to have very significant powers since it goes back to Biblical times, with many believing that the first known emerald formed the Holy Grail.

Also associated with Greek mythology, emeralds have long been believed to hold psychic powers, purity and immortality. Also called the Stone of Successful Love, the romantic side of emeralds are thought to enhance domestic bliss and fill couples with loyalty and sensitivity towards each other.

Gift Ideas

Not only is an emerald significant for the month of birth, it’s also used as a traditional gift for 20^th and 35^th wedding anniversaries! This birthstone looks gorgeous in any way it’s worn but because it has such a bold colour to it, emeralds look the best when worn alone or adorned with clear, white diamonds.

Some may feel that emeralds can only be worn when wearing a matching green outfit but remember that the idea is to bring attention to the emerald, not to camouflage it. The colour of any emerald looks great on top of any colour since it doesn’t have any clashing qualities so go ahead and mix-n-match your wardrobe up!

Many people do prefer to have their emeralds customised since it represents one person in particular and they’ll surely feel a special bond with their birthstone. For example, smaller people will choose a short chain if they wear their emerald in necklace form while others enjoy picking out different styles of cut – such as pear-shaped, round, emerald-cut, trillion, marquise, princess- if they prefer to wear it as a ring.

Because an emerald is so strong, it will require an equally strong setting such as platinum or white gold. Yellow gold is beautiful but when combining this with an emerald, it can change the colour’s appearance dulling it out. Choosing a precious metal like platinum or using both white and yellow gold simultaneously allows the reflection of its own green shade allowing it to shoot sparkly beams of birthstone delight!

Whether you’re the gifter or the giftee, emeralds are fun to admire and even more gorgeous to wear. Others will be green with envy (like the pun?) over your emerald since you can never go wrong when wearing it or choosing this gemstone as a birthday (or anniversary) gift!

Art Deco Jewellery Today

The world has recently seen a stunning return to boldly styled, richly jewelled, statement-making jewellery of the glamorous Art Deco era, in all its shimmering splendour.

Many of the pieces we create here at Eskae Jewellers take inspiration from the decadent Art Deco era, designed with a new, updated interpretation of the “bold and statement-making” Art Deco pieces. It’s extremely fascinating so take a few minutes to read more more about the origins of Art Deco Jewellery by clicking the hyperlink!

Art Deco Jewellery and You

A fashion favourite that’s a must-have for most people, Art Deco jewellery takes a twist on classic styles of jewellery by creating a brand new genre for jewellery lovers alike. Including a combination of materials and geometric designs and shapes, art deco jewellery can be formed by using different techniques to form these timeless, one-of-a-kind masterpieces.

Art Deco jewellery techniques that are commonly used include:

• Glass Art Jewellery
• Machined Art Jewellery
• Jewelled Art Jewellery
• Hammered Metal Jewellery

Whether or not you’re aware, chances are that you’ve purchased a piece of Art Deco jewellery, knowingly or unknowingly. If this purchase was intentional, then you’re familiar with what types of Art Deco jewellery that suit your personality.

If you bought this type of jewellery unintentionally, then here are a few suggestions to fit right into the two most commonly seen personality types!

The Socialite/Partier:

Tending to hit all of the smartest parties or social events, your style is colourful and a bit flamboyant to make a bold impression. Look for larger pieces of Art Deco jewellery with uniquely crafted metal and brightly coloured gems or diamonds.

Rings: Your ring will have to tell a story about you! Since you love fun, your ring needs to reinstate that message.

While almost all women love chunky rings, this style will look especially spectacular with a medium to large colourful stone with a geometrically complimenting frame that’s been customised especially for your personality. Platinum and titanium are amongst the most popular of this look since they compliment all styles with these types of stones.

Earrings: While traditional tear drop earrings would look good on anyone, an Art Deco chandelier style designed in an abstract form with a bold and colourful design pattern would look even better. Earrings are a lot fun without any specific regulations so let your imagination go ahead and get the better of you!

Necklaces and Pendants: Even before other people’s eyes wander off to decorated fingers or ears, they focus on the neck first. This is what draws in people’s attention and lets them decide if they should look further to other pieces of jewellery – the ‘attention grabber’, if you will.

This makes the necklace vitally important to your overall appearance which means that heavy choker necklaces or an extra long, asymmetrical chain with pendants, charms or different coloured precious gems, glass or stones will stop others in their track.

Remember, just because you’re wearing bold statement jewellery, it doesn’t mean lose control and go overboard! If your earrings scream your personality, tone it down with the rings and necklaces – the same goes for necklaces, bracelets and rings.

Conservative and Classy:

You like the finer things in life; you are a person of great taste and take pride in what you do, where you go and who you associate yourself with. It helps to have Art Deco jewellery that portrays your conservative side without overdoing it and yet, still adds that extra ‘oomph’ of class!

Here are a few ideas for different types of jewellery that would look great on you:

Rings: While there are many different types of rings that will fit right into this category, to narrow it down a bit, think about the one place where you find yourself the most. This could be your office, your kid’s school with the other moms or dinner parties.

Some are under the impression that Art Deco jewellery is too casual or fun for this personality but guess what? They’re wrong! While you definitely need to take a more toned down path, you can still add a bit of funkiness to your single studded rings by keeping your ring white and black, i.e. a hammered platinum metal band with an irregularly cut onyx stone in the middle.

Earrings: Perhaps you’re more comfortable with a simple pair of studded diamond earrings but now it’s time to step out of your comfort zone by adding a little pizzazz with an elegant pair of drop earrings.

Pearls are very conservative but instead of wearing single pearl studs, have a funky setting customised specifically for you so that you now have to gorgeous drops of pearls hanging from your ears!

Necklaces and Pendants: Again, not being the type of person who likes to draw tons of attention your way, keep this look simple, yet classy by wearing a thicker chain than you’re used to with a colourful, multifaceted rare stone without a visible setting and voila!

It will give all of your friends something great to talk about while at the same time, keeping it simple!

Remember that Art Deco jewellery doesn’t necessarily have to be funky to be in the Art Deco class. It just means that your typical jewellery will include a slight twist but it’s up to you to decide how far to take it.

So there you have it – Art Deco jewellery can be made to suit all personality types while at the same time, bringing the recognition it AND you deserve!

Just recently, my wife and I were presented with such an occasion in which we were able to donate Eskae Private Jeweller’s personalised artwork to the maternity ward in Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH). Gifting a total of 12 posters with each portrait containing a birthstone and its symbolic meaning for every month of the year to RSNH, was definitely an honour for us!

While we always look forward to participating in community events, this particular event was incredibly special to us because it’s where our daughter was born! Returning to the familiar maternity ward, my amazing wife, Sharisse Kritsotakis, and our gorgeous daughter, Seanna, presented the Birthstone Art Series to RSNH maternity ward nurse unit manager, Mary Cameron.

As new parents, ourselves, we know that new mothers and fathers love any given chance to share their memories with others which is what inspired the great idea to contribute a series dedicated to showcasing birthstones. Every birth is the most precious, memorable event in a parents life and what better place to share this with, than at a maternity ward with other new parents?

Of course, using these precious stones to celebrate the birth of a child isn’t anything new but how it was originated to become the treasured gift it is today is fascinating!

According to Christian religious traditions, it’s believed that birthstones date back to Biblical times and used to signify the 12 Jewish apostles described in Revelations. Ancient Judaism held their own belief about the mysterious powers believed to be held, once upon a time, within these gemstones was to be attributed to the 12 Jewish tribes.

There is some discrepancy amongst the Eastern Biblical writers who claimed that Aristotle stole this philosophy from Solomon’s book and that the 12 birthstones accounted for the coloured gemstones placed within the breastplate of the Mosaic high-priest.

Whatever the case may be, the mystical and legendary powers believed to be held inside of birthstones carried over into the 15^th century. This began the popularity of wearing colourful gems as talismans to ward off evil and good luck charms in accordance with the monthly zodiac. As birthstones continued to evolve for over the last 1000 years, the meaning behind them also evolved to its current representation: The month of birth.

The history and the sentimental value behind birthstones are what make the perfect gift for loved ones that it still does now and will for future generations to come. Birthstones are currently used most popularly for anniversary gifts, Mother’s Day presents or for the birth of a newborn baby.

The special bond that each birthstone represents opens the doors for new parents to recreate great memories and design ideal gifts through custom designed jewellery, trinkets or charms – not to mention the amazing stories to be heard when we’re visited by our neighbours!