A dark colored flaw in a beautiful Emerald is called a “Garden”, and is to be expected in most Emeralds. The Gardens enhance the beauty of the capturing green glade. An Emerald ring of any carat is enchanting. Columbia is the major home of the Emerald. When Mel Fischer’s divers finally found the remains of the Atocha, a sunken Spanish ship off the Florida Keys; they used a vacuum to pull the sand away from the coins and other treasures. When they put the vacuum over a hidden bed of emeralds, the stones fell back to the sea floor, and the divers described being in an “emerald shower”, there were so many stones falling back.

 

 

An Amethyst is a gorgeous purple, which is clear as cool water. An Amethyst makes a wonderful pair of earrings; a pendant; or a mult-carat ring. Brazil is the home of the Amethyst. They are found in round, almost hollow rocks called Geodes. When these hollow stones are broken or cut open, the Amethyst crystals are growing on the end of Quartz, and are surrounded by different colored Agates.

 

Some people do not like Garnets; but, I find their varied orange colors attractive, simply because they are rarely chosen, and that makes the wearer all the more attractive.

 

The subtle light green of the Peridot, in any cut, will grab the eye of any observer. The Peridot is the gemstone of August. It is also rarely worn, but reminds one of a glistening spring in a rain forest. Many Peridots are found in Arizona. A considerable number of meteorites contain Peridots.

 

 

Citrine is an indescribable yellowish tint. I have had the fortune of holding a ten carat, emerald cut Citrine and they are as captivating as a new-born fawn. They too are found in Geodes, and many are harvested in Brazil.

 

Most colored gemstones are reasonably priced; however, you will find many in combination pieces with diamonds as accents. This, of course, drives up the price. Semi-precious stones in settings of their own are easy to findo, or you can buy a pre-cut stone to suit your desire and buy “findings”, which are Gold or Silver mounts. You must be careful to match the size of your stone with the size of the finding. If you purchase this way, you can get your local jeweler to do it for you, or perhaps you know someone that is handy in this regard. Be careful, though. You don’t want your beautiful stone chipped or damaged in any way. I have bought an Emerald on eBay, and had my own finding from an heirloom ring in which the center stone was lost; however, there was an intact diamond on each side. I had a most accommodating jeweler mount the Emerald for me as the center stone, and this made a wonderful Christmas present for my wife.

 

 

There are many more colored gemstones, such as the Opal. The rainbow effect you see in a good opal is called fire. Opals are harvested in Australia, and are very fragile. They have high water content, and a single stone should be stored in water. Should you have an Opal ring or pendant or whatever; it is wise to wet them occasionally to keep the context of the stone intact.

 

Sapphires are gorgeous and come in many shades and vary in cut and clarity. Sapphires come in virtually every color but red. A red Sapphire is a Ruby. On the hardness scale, Rubys and Sapphires are second in hardness only to the diamond. These stones are plentiful in the Southern Orient.