For years now my grandmother and I have met every week for a visit: dinner and scrabble. It’s our tradition. I always stop for fried chicken along the way. It’s wonderful.

This week, after a very close game of scrabble, grandmother suggested we look at her “old” jewelry (she knows I love jewelry). She left the kitchen, returning with a small, marvelously embroidered jewelry box. Delicate, the small jewelry box looked like it held little jewelry.

What a surprise! Grandma’s jewelry box overflowed with gems: amethyst jewelry, CZ, peridot and ruby jewelry, sapphire and turquoise jewelry, pearl, garnet and quartz jewelry. I could go on and on.

It was a jewelry treasure trove! A magic pit of jewelry! Blackbeard’s jewelry booty! Every time I thought the jewelry box empty, grandmother lifted another gemstone, another dazzling specimen.

Grandmother had a story for every brooch and necklace, every bracelet, every set of earrings. We retraced her life through that jewelry. It was beautiful.

We spent hours over that jewelry box, talking and laughing. As I was leaving, I kissed my grandmother’s a cheek as I always do. Before I turned around, she grabbed my hand. From behind her back emerged the jewelry box. ‘I want you to have the jewelry box dear, and don’t say no,’ she pushed the jewelry box into my hands, ‘just remember.’

I was weepy all the way home. I’ve put grandma’s story, her jewelry box, on my mantle where I see it everyday…..remembering.

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A gemstone variety of quartz, the amethyst is the birthstone of February. It is known as the gemstone of spirituality and contentment. The Amethyst is also known to endow its wearer with stability, strength and peace.

The gemstone’s purple color is associated with royalty and has been used around the world to adorn regal crowns and jewels. Since amethyst is considered to symbolize piety and encourage celibacy as well as to represent humility, it is often worn by clergy of the Catholic Church.

Amethysts in History

The earliest recognition of amethyst comes from Ancient Greece – where the gemstone gets its name. Derived from the Greek,”amethystos” meaning “not drunken”, the name reflects the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness.

This legend is drawn from a Greek myth about the god of wine, Bacchus. The myth tells that Amethyst, a beautiful woman, was condemned to death by the hands of Bacchus.

When the goddess Diana turned Amethyst to crystal to protect her, Bacchus was remorseful and wept tears of wine onto the crystal. This stained Amethyst purple. In Ancient Greece, drinking from a cup fashioned from amethyst was thought to prevent drunkenness.

Historically, this gemstone has been used by royalty and is included in the British Crown Jewels. They were also a favorite of Catherine the Great as well as the royalty of Egypt.

Origins and Presentation

Mined primarily in Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia and Argentina, amethysts are also found in African countries. Amethysts mined from South American countries are available in larger stones. Yet, African amethyst enjoys a reputation for deeper colors.

The gemstone ranges in color from pale, lilac-purple to a rich, deep color. The deeper, vibrant purple shades are considered more valuable. If it were not for the widespread availability of amethyst, the popular gemstone would be quite expensive.

This Amethyst Cross Ring is only $17!

Celebrate each season with its associated gemstones. This is another great way to select a gift or your own gemstone jewelry!

Spring Gems

Known as the gem of eternal spring and youth, the vibrant green emerald is the perfect springtime gemstone. This gem has long been known as a symbol of love and rebirth. Other gorgeous representations of spring include amethyst, pink topaz and peridot.

Summer Gems

Symbolizing passion and heat, the fiery red ruby is an ideal summer gemstone choice. The ruby is the birthstone for the month of July and is known as the “king of precious stones”. Summer’s bounty and heat is also well represented in the garnet, zircon and alexandrite.

Autumn Gems

Autumn is a time of harvest. The blue fall sky and the hope that new harvest brings is embodied in the bright sapphire gemstone. Hyacinth, topaz and tourmaline are also excellent choices for fall gemstone selection.

Winter Gems

Wintertime sparkles with the classic diamond gemstone. Bright and full of light, the diamond symbolizes ice and snow. Other fine choices are the winter gemstones turquoise and pearl.

At some point a couple months ago, I looked around my apartment and felt the world closing in on me.

I hadn’t noticed before, I’d been blind. Everywhere I looked there were pieces of jewelry strewn about: CZ bracelet on TV, pearl earring on nightstand, refrigerator top bedazzled with aquamarine, opal, and amethyst. Garnet glinting off pots and pans, necklaces dangling on nails, hammered into green living room walls. And everywhere I looked there were bowls and vases and small boxes overflowing with gems and jewelry. I was mortified.

‘How long had my place been like this?’ I wondered.
‘Why didn’t anyone say anything?’

Something had to be done!

I remember my first jewelry purchase: a delicate little silver, rose quartz ring. I was 8 years old at the time. I saw it in the mall while shopping with my mother. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I had to have it!

I remember slaving away at my lemonade stand for weeks to buy that damn ring, sweating in the heat of the summer, hands sticky with lemon-sugar, the casualties: lemon juice in eyes, lost sale, bad batch. I counted the booty every night, just waiting until I could afford the ring and turn in my badge; get out of the rat race.

When I finally bought my ring, after hours and hours of hard labor, I kept it in a little bowl (my homemade jewelry box). That was then. That was when I was 8. I was a kid, I was stupid then. At my age now though, well, there’s just no excuse for uncomely jewelry-keeping habits.

It came to my mind that I should get a jewelry box of some sort. It didn’t take long for me to realize that a jewelry box just wasn’t going to cut it. I was going to need a jewelry armoire and I wasn’t going to find the one I was looking for at the mall. I was going to have to go online.

Trudging back home with my mall purchases-of-whimsy, I thought hard about the style of armoire I would like, how many ring slots I would need, hooks to hand things on, drawers. Of course I had to allow for new jewelry as well because, well, there is always new jewelry isn’t there. By the time I got home and online, I knew exactly what to look for and I found it.

So if you find yourself looking about your place one day and realize you got gems and jewelry as far as the eye can see, you can’t find the jewelry you’re looking for when you need it, or you’re just losing those precious gems in the vacuum, sink, or unknown depths of your domicile, do what I did. Accessorizing has become so much easier!