The birthstones for November are Citrine and Topaz. They are fairly abundant and easily available in large sizes. Citrine is the golden variety of quartz. Most citrines are produced by heating Amethysts - the purple variety of quartz. Of course natural citrine exists but these are far more rare. Major sources of natural citrine include Bolivia, Spain, Madagascar, Uraguay and Mexico, whilst Brazil produces most of the heat treated citrine. Topaz comes in several colours, inclu

JANUARY - GARNET If you, like me, are lucky to be born in January, then Garnet is our birthstone. This beautiful stone can be found in a wide range of colours, from greens (for example, Tsavorite), to oranges and most commonly, red. You might notice that the name “Garnet” sounds like the last two syllables of the fruit “pomegranate”. This is because the word “Garnet” is derived from “pomegranate” – given that the deep red colours of some varieties of garnets remind one of the

Happy February everyone! The birthstone of February is the super popular Amethyst, which is a purple coloured quartz. It can be found in abundance and spotted in almost any jewellery store in the world. Apparently, it was once believed that the Amethyst gemstone could protect people from getting drunk! As mentioned, Amethyst is a quartz and its colour is smetimes obtained through treatments. Although it is most often seen as a purple quartz, this gemstone also ranges from lig