Although many birthstone gems are affordable, some, such as diamond, emerald, and ruby, can be expensive. Decades ago, many jewelry manufacturers began using lab-grown and imitation gems in some commercial birthstone jewelry. The book begins with descriptions of gemstone identification properties. Moh’s scale of hardness, basic mineral chemistry, specific gravity, cleavage and fracture, refraction and absorption, pleochroism, and fluorescence are described in sections followed by charts of these properties for selected gemstones. Later, these concepts are referenced and quantified in specific descriptions for each gemstone. Short, useful sections on mining, polishing, and faceting follow. Mother's Birthstone Ring: A Mother's Ring displaying a lab-grown birthstone for each of her children. Birthstone Jewelry Popularity Fair to Poor: Gems rated less than good have some defecit that makes them vulnerable to breakage or abrasion. Emerald (May), opal (October), peridot (August), and zircon (December)

A shopper is looking for a gift for a niece and is having difficulty finding "the perfect item". The salesperson asks the birthdate of the niece. Upon learning that the niece was born in February, the salesperson shows the shopper to a nice display of amethyst jewelry. Ruby is the birthstone for the month of July and the world's most popular red gem. Rubies range in color from orangy-red, to red, to slightly purplish-red. The most desirable and valuable colors are pure red and slightly purplish red. Natural rubies have historically been expensive gems, but recent discoveries in Africa bring many attractive natural rubies into the market at affordable prices. Taaffeite is a rare gemstone that most people have never heard of due in large part to how rare it is. The light violet gemstone was discovered in 1945 by Australian gemologist Richard Taaffe. Prior to his discovery, taaffeite was considered spinel. Spinel does not refract light in the same way this gemstone does. Taaffe's observation marks the first gemstone that was discovered as a faceted gemstone and not as gemstone rough.Colorful tourmaline crystals: Tourmaline was added as a birthstone for October in 1952. Tourmaline occurs in many colors, which gives people born in October many color choices for their birthstone. How Today's Birthstone List Evolved urn:lcp:gemstonesofworld0000schu_b3o8:epub:899cfe24-e02a-4f80-aa7a-44aeec62e69d Foldoutcount 0 Identifier gemstonesofworld0000schu_b3o8 Identifier-ark ark:/13960/s2pww0z5kr1 Invoice 1652 Isbn 0806930888 Lccn 77079503 //r83 Ocr tesseract 5.0.0-1-g862e Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Latin Ocr_detected_script_conf 0.9757 Ocr_module_version 0.0.14 Ocr_parameters -l eng+deu Old_pallet IA14624 Openlibrary_edition Wearing and gifting birthstone jewelry is a long-standing custom in many countries. In the United States alone, consumers buy millions of dollars' worth of birthstone jewelry every month.

Ocr tesseract 5.0.0-1-g862e Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Latin Ocr_detected_script_conf 0.9909 Ocr_module_version 0.0.14 Ocr_parameters -l eng Old_pallet IA-NS-1200238 Openlibrary_edition The text begins with a brief mineralogical and gemological study, focusing on such topics as basic crystallography and crystal systems, hardness, refractive index, and other pertinent features of gem materials. Schumann largely focuses on minerals but does give proper descriptions of organic and synthetic materials as well. These first few sections serve as an excellent introduction to, or refresher on, many of the basic concepts that help make identification easier. The text is easily comprehensible to those at least somewhat familiar with the science of gemology, and it does a reasonably good job explaining the concepts for a novice. For someone completely new to the science, the jargon may be difficult, although Schumann attempts to bypass this issue by providing a brief list at the beginning of the book of terminology that may be unfamiliar. A growing trend in bridal jewelry is the "birthstone engagement ring". Many couples are looking for color, or are looking for a stone other than diamond. The birthstone engagement ring can be a logical, affordable, and attractive choice for these couples.Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries: Adoption of Revised Guides, published by the Federal Trade Commission in the Federal Register, August 16, 2018. Excellent: The most durable birthstones are diamond (April), ruby (July), and sapphire (September). All of these gems have hardness of 9 or 10, excellent durability, and are suitable for any use in jewelry. The first jewelry item that many children receive is often a birthstone ring, earrings, or pendant. Three-piece sets that include a birthstone ring, pendant, and pair of earrings are sold in many stores. These sets are popular birthday and graduation gifts. Some students select their birthstone as the center stone of their high school or college class ring.