CAMEO

CITRINE

     Citrine is often substituted for Yellow Topaz, which has been traditionally recognized as Novembers birthstone.  Citrine is a yellow quartz which is a different gem family altogether than the Topaz family.  The primary source of Citrine is Brazil.  Citrine is found in every shade of yellow imaginable.  Most Citrine is heat treated Amethyst or Smokey Quartz.

DIAMOND

EMERALD

     The birthstone for the month of May, Emerald  is composed of Beryl.  The best known source of Emerald is Columbia, but it is also found in Brazil, Zambia, India, Rhodesia, Tanzania and South Africa. Good quality Emeralds over several carats are extremely rare.  Emerald typically has many inclusions, therefore a clean, fine colored specimen will command prices equal to or even greater than a Diamond.

FIRE OPAL

GARNET

     The birthstone for the month of January, Garnet, is composed of a group of similar minerals known as the "Garnet Group."  Most people think of Garnet as a maroon red color, but Garnet actually occurs in orange, yellow, brown, light green, dark green, violet, purple and it can even be colorless.

OPAL

     The birthstone for the month of October, Opal, is found in four major varieties.  White Opal is opaque with color that appears as flashes or speckles.  Black Opal has a dark gray or black body color and contains substantial fire.  Black Opal is rare and expensive.  Water Opal is transparent and contains brilliant flashes of color.  Fire Opal is transparent or translucent, with an orange or red body color.  Most Opals come from Australia but Fire Opals are found in Mexico.  The photo on the right is a slice of  rough vein of Opal with the mother rock.

IOLITE

     Iolite is known as Canadian Sapphire, Water Sapphire, Corierite, and Dichroite.  Iolite is found in India, Sri Lanka and Connecticut within the U.S.  The name Iolite is derived from this gems magnificent violet color.  Recently Iolite has been becoming more popular as a substitute for Tanzanite, because while it can be similar in color, Iolite is much less expensive.

JADE

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