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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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.

Also known as the “King of Precious Stones”, the fiery red ruby is more rare and valuable than even top quality diamonds. Of the twelve gemstones represented on the Breastplate of Aaron, the ruby is named as the most precious.

The vivid red hue of the ruby is a universal symbol of love, life and passion. This gem has been thought to attract and maintain love and friendship.

Rubies in History

To many cultures, the ruby represented the sun. Over the centuries it has also signified prosperity, integrity and devotion. Legend has it that warriors implanted the gem underneath their skin to encourage valor in battle. Rubies have also been widely used as talisman. Their healing powers were believed to cure disease when the ruby is ground to a powder and placed on the tongue.
Royalty, including the English monarchy, uses the ruby in coronations and even as wedding rings. The largest known ruby is 250 carats and was ordered by the King of Bohemia, Charles IV of Luxembourg to adorn the shrine of Saint Wenceslas.

Origins and Presentation

Rubies are the rarest of gemstones and therefore the most expensive. It is prized for its color, hardness and brilliance. In fact, the ruby’s most important and most striking characteristic remains its color. The associations of fire and blood with the color red inspire powerful associations of warmth and life. However, rubies can range in color from pink to the blood-red. This variation depends upon the origin of the gemstone.
Rubies found in Burma are especially vivid and rich in color. Rubies from Burma are often top quality. Rubies originating from Vietnam display a purplish tone. Thai rubies, on the other hand, are nearly brown in color. India has long been considered the classic origin of the ruby. The Sanskrit word for ruby “ratnaraj” translates to “King of Gemstones”.

Now you all know I’m a great lover of jewelry and gemstones. In fact, it could be argued that I am one of the greatest lovers….of gemstones.

That said, despite my great love of gemstones, I’ve never actually dreamt about them. Of course, there’s always a first. Last night was my first time dreaming about gemstones.

Dreaming about gemstones is sexy!

As I dreamed I found myself at a fabulous gala engagement with a beautiful unnamed Italian. I was wearing a full-length strapless glimmering with gemstones. There were gemstones adorning my hair, my arms, my neck (it was magnificent!), gemstones embedded in the floor, the walls, the soaring ceiling. The orchestra was playing; their instruments made entirely of gemstones. All the other women looked amazing also, bejeweled head to foot with gemstones.

The unnamed Italian and I floated about the ballroom as servers passed by carrying trays of champagne glasses filled, not with bubbly, but with gemstones: garnet, diamond, emerald, rubies, you name it. Gemstones everywhere!

As the music played, as talk and laughter echoed off gemstone walls, the beautiful Italian took my hand and led me to a hidden atrium where we sat on a dazzling gemstone bench. Suddenly it began to rain gemstones, rain and rain and rain, beautiful, perfect gemstones. There were gemstones in my lap, my hands, everywhere, everywhere gemstones!

The beautiful Italian leaned into me, gemstones raining around us when….

Damn!

I woke up!

You know what though girls, gemstones are sexy!

We girls do love our gemstone jewelry! 

Gemstone jewelry looks great on!  With all the different colors, types and cuts of gemstone jewelry available, it’s hard to decide what to wear.  Whatever you prefer, your gemstone jewelry is certain to be beautiful.  Gemstone jewelry makes a girl feel good!

These days there’s a lot of gemstone jewelry to choose from.  The good news is gemstone jewelry is inexpensive and easy to find.  Building a collection of gemstone jewelry is fun.  I love my gemstone jewelry (and there’s a lot of it)!  I like to buy gemstone jewelry sets for accessorizing. Before long you too can have lots of gemstone jewelry to enjoy!

Gemstone jewelry has been linked to birthdates for centuries!  Even today we usually count our birthday gemstones as our favorites.  I know I do!  I love to give people gemstone jewelry for their birthdays.  Here’s a list of birthstones in case you like that idea too:

• January: Garnet
• February: Amethyst
• March: Aquamarine
• April: Diamond
• May: Emerald
• June: Pearl and Moonstone
• July: Ruby
• August: Peridot
• September: Sapphire
• October: Opal and Tourmaline
• November: Yellow Topaz and Citrine
• December: Blue Topaz and Turquoise

Whether for yourself or for others, you just can’t go wrong with gemstone jewelry!

-Summer