WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE LESSER-KNOWN GEMSTONES

TANZANITE

Found in Tanzania just thirty short years ago, this stone is one of the newest additions to the birthstone calendar. It has been said that this gem was discovered when a strike of lighting caught a field on fire. As the fire died down cattle herders noticed that the zoiscite crystals that were once brown now had a deep blue/purple tone.

AQUAMARINE

In our popular “Sell with a Story” series, Elizabeth writes of aquamarine: “During the 1980s when Russia and Afghanistan were at war, aquamarine prospectors would locate a good site and erect tents over it. The Russians would bomb the site, thereby saving the miners weeks of digging. How’s that for ingenuity at work?”

IOLITE

On our Facebook page this stone was labeled most versatile because of its color-changing capabilities. Legend has it that Vikings used this stone as a mariner tool on their long journeys. Because of its properties they were able to tell by its shifting color exactly where the sun was located.

PERIDOT

Cleopatra conjures up so many images: beauty, royalty, power, promiscuity, but it’s herlove of jewels stands out most. History has led us to believe that among all the jewels the Egyptian ruler loved, she treasured emeralds the most. Knowing this, visitors and suitors to the queen would gift her with what they thought were emeralds, but time has told us that, in fact, the gems were the illustrious green peridot.