Tuesday, November 27, 2012

December Birthstones

December has 2 birthstones: turquoise and blue zircon, and blue topaz is a recent addition.

Turquoise is a relatively soft gemstone, and can be easily scratched and broken. This porous opaque stone is easily discolored by oil and pigments, and changes color when it loses some of its water content. A sky blue shade in turquoise is due to the presence of copper, while iron gives it a greener tone. Ochre and brown-black veins in the stone occur during the formation of turquoise, caused by inclusions from nearby rock fragments or from oxide staining. The most valued variety of turquoise is an intense sky blue color, like the color of a robin’s egg.

Turquoise Aqua Jewelry Pendant


















Turquoise Handmade Christmas Gift Card


Big Turquoise Teardop Wire Wrapped Necklace





This stone can be found in Armenia, Kazakhstan, China, Australia, Tibet, China, Mexico, Brazil, and Egypt. In Iran, where some of the best stones are found, turquoise is the national gem. The American southwest-Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and California-are primary producers of turquoise.

Healing characteristics: Turquoise gives insight and aids travel (a strong characteristic of most Sagittarians is a love of travel). Turquoise will help you to find purpose and capture the passion and vision to see it through.

Zircon
The alternate birthstone for December is the zircon.
Zircon, in its unchanged natural form appears colorless to pale yellow, or green.A new blue color for zircon, called “starlight blue,” was created by heating golden brown or yellow zircon in the 1920s.


Blue Zircon Ring


Major sources of zircon are the Chanthaburi area of Thailand, the Palin area of Cambodia and the southern part of Vietnam near the Cambodian border, where gemstones are found in alluvial deposits. Bangkok is well-known as a major center for processing zircons, where everything from heat treatment, cutting and marketing is carried out. Another important source is Sri Lanka, well known for a colorless variety of zircon called the ‘Matura diamond’. The gemstones are also found in Burma, France, Norway, Australia and Canada.

Healing characteristics: Zircon was regarded as the amulet for travelers in the Eleventh century, protecting them from disease, injury, and insomnia, as well as assuring a cordial welcome wherever their travels would take them. The stone was believed to possess healing powers. It was prescribed to insomniacs to induce sleep, used as an antidote against poison, and as an aid to digestion.

This post was written by Linda B for the PFT Team.

24 comments:

  1. Very informative! I love turquoise! My first engagement ring was an antique silver and turquoise ring, but unfortunately it couldn't be resized without damaging the stone. I still wear it on my middle finger :)

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  2. Great Article. I love Turquoise. Thank you so much for including my pendant in your article. All the information on the zircon was new to me though I did know that lots of stones are heat treated to augment color. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. As a Decemeber Baby I LOVE LOVE LOVE THESE COLORS!!!

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  4. Love turquoise. Great items on show!

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  5. December is a great month...a little bias here...lol.. It is my birth month ! Also love the color of the stones...Great article, Linda!

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  6. December's birthstone makes me wish I was born in December. I LOVE the simplicity & complexity of the color. It can be dark & mysterious, light& flirty, or mystically intriguing all at the same time. Awesome stone!

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  7. Thanks to you all for letting me write these fun articles and show your pretty items.

    I love turquoise too!

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  8. I love turquoise! Thanks for the great article! *Ü*

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  9. wonderful, what lovely colors for a birthstone !

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  10. Linda, your birthstone posts are always so informative! Thank you!

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  11. Very interesting. The colors of these gemstones remind me of the beautiful ocean...

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  12. I love this birthstone :)

    Almost as much as my own (September)

    Thank you Linda for posting this lovely article.

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  13. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  14. Great colors for December. I love Turquoise.

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