Author: Greenleafs Jewelry

Amethyst has been a prized gem to man for thousands of years.

These gems have been set in religious and crown jewels and have been worn by bishops and figures of the Christian church for ages. It was even thought that Saint Valentine wore a ring set with an antique amethyst with a carved image of Cupid, which then connects the dots to the gem’s ties with the month of February!  The stone also symbolizes the 6^th anniversary of marriage.

With being such a popular gem used throughout history, there are many legends and folklore that can be found for amethyst. At one time, true amethyst was valued equally with the diamond. However, after large amounts were found in South America and eventually all over the globe, the gem’s rarity and value decreased.

History:

We can thank the Ancient Romans for the most famous folklore legend about amethyst. Because of the gem’s grape-like color, the Romans associated it with the god of wine, Bacchus.  They believed that wearing an amethyst could protect you from drunkenness and instill a sober mind. The name “amethyst”, is actually derived from the Greek word amethustos, meaning sober.

The legend goes:

Long ago, a beautiful woman was on her way to worship at the Temple of Diana. However, she had the misfortune of crossing bath with Bacchus, the god of wine. Bacchus was angered since he’d just been disrespected, he vowed he would take revenge on the next person he met. He spied the woman and unleashed his two guardian tigers on her. As the great beasts bounded towards her, the goddess Diana intervened. To spare her such a terrible fate, she turned her into pure, clear stone.

With immediate remorse, Bacchus wanted to atone for his actions. He poured his tears of wine over the stone, staining her a deep, violet hue. And so, the maiden Amethyst lent her name to the crystal.

Throughout time, many other legends and uses appeared for the amethyst gemstone; but we think we can all agree that the Roman’s legend for the gem is our favorite!

Symbolism:

Like we said earlier, amethyst is the gem that modernly symbolizes the month of February and the 6^th anniversary of marriage. During the Renaissance period, amethyst stood for humility and modesty. Throughout the ages, the gem was also used by rich and powerful monarchs for symbolize royalty. It’s rumored that the gemstone was a personal favorite of Queen Katherine the Great of Russia, who reigned during the late 1700s. Amethyst has always been a symbol of religious classes that have ruled human cultures. In the Chinese philosophy of Feng Sui, amethyst is said to give and receive material wealth. At the highest level of the philosophy, the gem is said to give the spiritual understanding required to reach the state of bliss. Even today, amethyst represents the crown chakra at the top of the head where divine essence enters.

Mystical Properties:

To this day, amethyst is still used for healing remedies and spiritual enlightenment. For over two thousand years, the gems have been saturated with ancient magic. They are just as popular today as were back then!

Amethyst has had a presence in cultures all over the world. Centuries ago, amethyst was actually moistened and rubbed on the skin to prevent pimples and rough skin. In traditional Chinese medicine, it was used for stomach pains and bad dreams; and ancient civilizations believed that if the gem was placed under the pillow while sleeping, it was supposed to banish insomnia and promote pleasant thoughts and often prophetic dreams.

From alleviating headaches and depression, to being valuable for treating the central nervous system & brain, amethyst has hundreds of healing properties. It’s been said for centuries that the gem can bring forth the purest aspirations of human kind: chastity, sobriety, and control over one’s thoughts. The stone encourage calm, bravery, and contemplation.

This post could go on and on if we listed all of the properties and historical value associated with amethyst gemstones!

One thing is for sure- no matter if February is your birth month or not, sporting this stone can give you some serious health benefits and not to mention good graces while enjoying a few adult drinks!

source: jewelsforme.com

 

 

The new year is all about resolutions and high hopes for a fresh start for the year ahead.

What better way to represent that state of mind than with a beautiful garnet gemstone? Known for bringing a sense of goodwill, happiness, and prosperity, whether red is your color or not; having a garnet on you to start out the new year is never a bad idea!

History:

The word garnet is originally derived from the Latin word, ‘garantum’, meaning seed. This name for the gem came to be because of the gem’s resemblance to the bright, beautiful red seeds of the pomegranate. Although the most common garnet range in tones of

red, the rarest garnets are blue and colorless, or color-changing in different lights (extremely rare!). The use of garnets can be traced back all the way to the Bronze Age. Garnets were actually found in a necklace worn by a man whose grave dates back to 3000 B.C.. Other references go back to the Ancient Egyptians, who used the gem in jewelry and artwork. The gem’s popularity didn’t skyrocket until 18^th century in Europe, where is was very popular in Victorian era jewelry.

Symbolism:

The list of symbolic meanings for wearing the garnet goes on and on. Not only is garnet the designated gem for births in the month of January, it also symbolizes the the 2^nd anniversary of marriage. For centuries, garnet’s virtues have been believed to include passion, eternity, and love. One of the stone’s strongest virtues is the ability to help overcome depression. It was believed that the stone could dissolve behavior that is no longer positive, and aids in letting go of useless or old ideas. Supposedly, the garnet gemstone has extreme benefits in the realm of business. It’s said that the stone attracts people to the wearer which aids in business as well as personal success!

 

Mystical Properties:

For thousands of years, garnets have been said to bring a plethora of mysticalbenefits to those who wear it, both mental and physical. Throughout history, it has been said that a garnet engraved with a lion will protect and preserve health, cure the wearer of all disease, and could warn the wearer of approaching danger.  For this reason, and because of how durable garnets are making them last throughout the ages, determined the gems were used as a talisman for protection that were worn by warriors during battle. 

In ancient and medieval times, color played an important role in determining the use for different gems. Garnets were thought to relive skin conditions and regulate the heart and blood. The gem had different healing effects for men and women as well. For men, it keeps the reproductive system healthy; for women, it promotes hormonal balance and was thought to reduce swelling.

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There are so many beneficial characteristics of the garnet. From helping you start off the new year with a fresh, positive outlook, to curing you of disease and promoting your reproductive system. We can’t think of a better way to start the new year off with positive vibes than to sport a garnet in our favorite setting!

 

Although the main colors associated with this time of the year are red and green, some are already feeling the winter blues; especially to those of you who aren’t used to the cold like us Montanans. If you spend any time researching how to cure the winter blues, there are three main remedies that are listed in every article: exercise, take vitamin D if the sun isn’t very reliable in your area, and get out of the house. We translate that last one into Shopping!

Those of you born in December are in luck, you have three different birthstones to represent your battle with the winter blues; which are tanzanite, zircon, and turquoise. The three of them each have special qualities that make them stand out among other gems. All are known for their intense shades of blue.

Zircon: one of the oldest gems on earth

Turquoise: one of the most used gems in jewelry

Tanzanite: one of the most recently discovered gem

Zircon

Zircon is one of the oldest minerals on Earth! The mineral has been found in the Earth’s crust for over 4.4 billion years. Gems with this much history are so fun to research and learn about because of the range of legends, mystical properties, and trends the gem has curated over time and throughout different cultures.  During the middle ages, people believed that zircon can induce sleep, promote prosperity, and even ward off evil. The gem was most popular, however, during the Victorian age, in English estate jewelry throughout the late 1800s.

The world Zircon, likely comes from the Persian word zargun, which means “gold-colored” This is because the gem most commonly occurs in a brownish-red, making the stone well known for its Earth tone colors. Not until the stone is heat-treated, do we get that intense, deep shades of blue that tie us back into winter. Today, zircon is thought of as the mother of all gems for increasing confidence and compassions.

Turquoise

Turquoise has been admired since ancient times and across TONS of cultures. The word, turquoise, dates back to the 13^th century. It’s meaning: “Turkish Stone”. The stone was introduced to Europe by travelers from Turkey.  With a powdery blue to robin’s egg green color, it’s an easily recognizable gem to trace back through cultures.

According to Persian legend, turquoise is made of bone of those who died of unhappy love. They also believed that the gem ensured protections, so they heavily adorned their daggers, warrior’s armor and horses’ bridles with the stone. Early Native Americans mine the stone and shamans used them in sacred ceremonies to commune with the spirit of the sky.  Many other legends and artifacts show the gem was used in Aztec cultures, Ancient Egyptians, and kings and warriors throughout history.

The stone has been prized throughout the past for mystical and healing properties. The use of healing crystals is even totally trending in modern-day society. To this day, the gem is still one of the most-used stones in jewelry.  The gem’s properties are said to reconcile all hostile forces, to stop quarrels, establish peace in the family, and to even take away anger. According to legend, those who looked at turquoise in the morning would be care-free and easy-going all day long. Listen to this myth:  In the Medieval age, people believed that if a woman wished to win over the heart of a man, she should secretly sew a piece of turquoise into his clothes! (Does this really work? Asking for a friend….)

Tanzanite

Tanzanite is one of the newest gem that people have discovered. It wasn’t until 1967, when livestock herders came across the blue gem in the country of Tanzania, in Africa. To this day, the gem can still only be found in a few square miles in Tanzania, right near Mount Kilimanjaro; and it can’t be found anywhere else in the world! Because of the stone’s deep blue color and its extremely limited supply, this gem is treasured by many.  Almost all tanzanite stones on the market today are heat-treated to minimize brown and earth tone colors that are naturally found in the stone.

Almost immediately after the stone was introduced to the public, the infamous jewelry company based out of New York City

 

known as, Tiffany & Co. recognized the gem’s potential and agreed to become its main distributor. The company is actually who deemed the stone’s names as “Tanzanite” in order to highlight the stones exclusive geographic origin. They introduced the gem to the public with a promotional campaign in 1968.

Whatever your style or budget, at least one of December’s three birthstones will match your true-blue desires. All of them are relatively inexpensive, and they give those December babies a great selection of gems to choose from when shopping for a birthstone!