Birthstones and Black Hills Gold Jewelry

January - Garnet : Most commonly in deep shades of red, garnet also appears in yellow, brown, orange, and the very rare green. The hardness of garnet is between 6 1/2 and 7 1/2 on the MOHS scale of 10. In the Bronze Age, garnet was used primarily as an abrasive and still is to this day.

February - Amethyst : Belonging to the quartz family, amethyst is different shades of purple occasionally found to contain a flash of red or blue. One of its siblings, ametrine, is amethyst that has a band of yellow/orange citrine running through it. Amethyst has a hardness rating of 7 on the MOHS scale. It's greek history shows it was believed to prevent the effects of alcohol and so they often carved goblets from it.

March - Aquamarine : A delicate blue to turquoise colored stone, aquamarine is a transparent beryl gem that is closely related to the emerald. It has a hardness rating of 7 1/2 - 8 on the MOHS scale. In the Middle Ages the aquamarine was worn as an amulet because it was thought to overcome the effects of poison.

April - White Zircon : Zircon is a natural stone found in a wide array of colors. Blue, green, red, rose, and of course, colorless. It displays a 'fire' much as a diamond does and thus its common use as a substitute. Not nearly as hard as a diamond, the zircon has a hardness rating of 6 1/2 - 7 1/2 on the MOHS scale. These are not to be confused with Cubic Zirconia which are a manufactured imitation diamond whereas a white zircon is natural.

May - Emerald & Emerald Obsidianite : Various shades of green, the purest emeralds are a deep, lustrous green. Like the aquamarine, emeralds are a transparent beryl gem with a hardness rating of 7 1/2 - 8. Our family tree jewelry uses emeralds. Our 'stone' jewelry uses emerald obsidianite. Obsidianite was born from the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980. Mud flows which had trapped expensive logging equipment was being salvaged by a crew of workers using acetylene torches. The noticed that the grey ash of the volcano was melting and turning green. Using that information, it was only a matter of time until the first emerald obsidianite stones were created. Since that time they have since created pink and indigo emerald obsidianite by similar methods. Obsidianite's hardness rating is a 6 on the MOHS scale.

June - Smoky Quartz : The 2nd most common mineral found in the Earth's crust, quartz has many forms and colors. Aside from Smoky quartz, some of the more common forms are agate, onyx, tiger's eye, amethyst, and citrine. Quartz is a six-sided prism stone in its natural state and thus its Irish nickname 'Stone of the Sun'. Quartz has a hardness rating of 7.

July - Ruby : Belonging to the mineral family corundum, rubies are said to be the perfect sapphire. Second only to diamonds, rubies have a hardness rating of 9 on the MOHS scale of 10. Ranging from a light pink to a blood red, the ruby has long been associated with the sun and symbolizes passion and love.

August - Peridot : Yellow-Green in its most abundant color, it can be olive or brownish-green as well. Peridot is often found in lava as well as igneous rock. It's hardness rating is between 6 1/2 and 7 on the MOHS scale. The largest cut peridot is a 310 carat specimen that can be seen in the Smithsonian in Washington D.C.

September - Sapphire : Most often associated with the color blue, sapphires come in many colors. Pink, yellow, purple, green, and orange have been found in lesser quantities. The dark red sapphire is the ruby, and as with rubies, sapphires have a hardness rating of 9 on a scale of 10. Only diamonds are harder. Sapphires were largely overlooked until the Romans began dealing in and trading in them.

October - Pink Tourmaline : Tourmaline is a complex silicate mineral. It is the only mineral that presents as a three-sided prism stone. Truly one of a kind. Black is its most common color but is also found in brown, violet, green, and obviously, pink. It's hardness rating is between 7 and 7 1/2 on the MOHS scale. The name tourmaline translates to 'stone attracting ash'. It's thought the name originated due to the stones' penchant for being differently colored at either end.

November - Citrine : Belonging to the quartz family, citrine is amethyst that has been heated until it becomes amber colored. Like the rest of the quartz family, citrine has a hardness rating of 7. In ancient times the citrine was carried as protection against both snake venom and evil thoughts.

December - Blue Zircon/Blue Topaz : We use zircon up to 2.5 mm stones and topaz from 3 mm and up. For a description of blue zircon see April - White Zircon above. Topaz, like zircon, has many naturally occuring colors such as green, pink, reddish-yellow, clear, and of course, blue. It is harder than zircon is, with a rating of 8 on the MOHS scale. The name topaz is derived from a Greek island in the Red Sea where the greeks first mined the stone.

Here are some of the other stones we offer:

Iolite: A transparent blue silicate, Iolite is found in igneous rock. In the light they can appear blue, violet, or a combination of the two. Some can even appear to be colorless when held a certain way. Because they transfer light so well the Vikings used to use thin rods of Iolite on cloudy days to determine the location of the sun to properly navigate, thus Iolite's nickname 'Viking's Compass". It has a hardness rating of 7 1/2 on the MOHS scale.

Mystic Fire: Very fiery and colorful, mystic fire is a topaz that has been enhanced by man. A natural topaz gets treated in a patented process that permanently changes the stone to its new 'fiery' look. It does not change any of the stones other characteristics such as its hardness which remains an 8 on the MOHS scale. We use the red/green Mystic Fire in our 'stone' jewelry items.

Lapis Lazuli: Translated as a whole to 'stone of azure', lapis lazuli truly is a blue stone, not a mineral like these other gems. Lapis is a mixture of many minerals but only when they combine in the right quantities do you get the beautiful blue used in jewelry settings. It is softer than most minerals rating between 5 and 5 1/2 on the hardness scale. Because it was softer and easier to work with the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Assyrians all carved many recovered relics from the material. Crushed into powder it makes a great tempura for painting and it is said that Cleopatra used to use it as eye shadow.

Pearl: Often used as a birthstone for the month of June, the pearl is not actually a stone at all but rather calcium carbonate. Formed inside a living mollusk, pearls occur when an irritant enters the mollusk while it opens to feed. When closed and the intruding irritant begins to annoy, the mollusk excretes the calcium carbonate which coats the intruder layer by layer until no sharp edges remain to damage it. In nature this occurs fairly rarely so most pearls seen today have been 'farmed'. Natural pearls are more highly valued than farmed but you can only tell the difference between the two by examining them by X-ray. You have to be careful with pearls as vinegar can dissolve them.

Onyx: While black is its most commonly associated color, onyx actually is more prevalent in banded colors. Purple, blue, white, tan, brown, and red have all been found. Onyx is a quartz which has a hardness rating of 7 and the word onyx is Assyrian for 'ring' and so could really refer to anything being used for ringmaking. It is said that possessing onyx banishes grief, brings fortune to its possessor, and increases intuition and instinct.

Opal: These mineraloids have a high water content. Usually between 3 and 10 percent but sometimes as high as 20 percent. Opal is amorphous which means it has no structured configuration, it can occur in many different forms. As a result, opal is found in every imaginable color, most of which are not the color-shifting opals we've come to recognize. Only these stones with a 'play of color' are used in jewelry making. The non-shifting colors have been used by many cultures to carve tools, utensils, and art. The hardness rating of between 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 make it a good candidate for both.