Monday, April 13, 2009

Birthstones

Often when we celebrate our birthdays we relate to our sign of the zodiac as well as the type of birthstone related to the month or period pertaining to time our birth.

Traditionally on the birth of a child they would receive a piece of jewellery that incorporated a particular precious material. Now, depending on which list you wish to adhere to depends the actual stone. For instance if you were thinking along traditional lines the stones would not necessarily be the same as if you were considering a mystical slant or modern one.

It is believed that the custom of actually wearing birthstones first gained popularity in Poland in the fifteenth century. It was suggested that everyone wore the birthstone for each month, since the powers of the gemstone were heightened during its month. For the fullest effect, individuals needed to own an entire set of twelve gemstones and rotate them monthly. You can imagine coming to the end of the year and wishing you could remember which stone came next or where it had been ‘safely’ stored! Below I searched under the BBEST Team tag and found these beauties although it was nigh on impossible to find Beryl. I, personally, had never heard of it but did find a seller on Etsy who had, called goldsmithsk who had created a very pretty bracelet. Likewise I could not find anyone within the BBEST team who had worked with bloodstone but did find a seller called gibscot who created a fun bracelet with Scottie dogs!

Aquariusimage
January 21 - February 19
Garnet

Nonnie60 Check out these beautiful, rich coloured earrings!


Pisces
February 20 - March 20
Amethyst

image

katzskreations The rich purple colour of this set will make a lovely addition to any jewellery collection.



Aries
March 21 - April 20

image

Bloodstone

gibscot If you like Scotties then you will love this bracelet!



Taurus
April 21 - May 20 image
Sapphire

Annasjewelry Imagine wearing one of these pairs of earrings!



Gemini image
May 21 - June 21
Agate

rosegardenfae A beautiful moss agate held in place by spirals.



Cancer image
June 22 - July 22
Emerald

MagdaleneJewels Fleur de Lis earrings, each consist of an Antique Faceted Emerald Swarovski Crystal – how elegant!



Leo image
July 23 - August 23
Onyx

NightSkyJewelry Swinging beneath an onyx cylinder is a cute antiqued sterling silver heart.


Virgo image
August 24 - September 23
Carnelian

Figments Carnelian, pewter, sterling silver and wooden beads are strung on 18” of heavy tan cotton cord.


Libra image
September 24 - October 23
Peridot

eversoDear Swarovski Crystal bi-cone in the new Peridot sparkles and reflects colour and light beautifully!


Scorpio image
October 24 - November 22
Beryl

goldsmithsk

This necklace consists of beryl and gold in between making a very pretty and unusual piece.

Sagittarius image
November 23 - December 21
Topaz

DianasStainedGlass With a swiss blue topaz as a center stone, this is a stunner!


Capricorn
December 22 - January 20
Ruby

Interestingly enough the Gregorian calendar has poems matching each month with its birthstone. However, you will note there are some slight discrepancies on which stones belong to a particular month. For instance, I found that the star sign Scorpio (October 24 - November 22) quoted Beryl as a birthstone. But, the Gregorian calendar quotes October should wear the Opal or Topaz and April should wear diamonds and so it goes on – very confusing!

Maybe next time I will incorporate the verses that go with the month and the stone. It’s just an excuse really to show off some more wonderful talent within the BBEST Team and, maybe, a few other sellers as well!

Just watch this space!

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

The sapphire earrings are beautiful!

I'm an Aquarius, and when I was younger, I would demand to receive a piece of jewellery with garnet whenever it was my birthday haha! (my mother and father were both jewellers)

Dayna said...

Great job! I do wear my birthstone often (amethyst)and have many scotie earrings made by gibscot. We have some fine jewelry crafters within the BBEST team!

Nuvofelt said...

Interesting post, Pat. It's surprising what you can learn from the Bbest blog.

Beth said...

Love this feature

Anonymous said...

Great blog Pat. Loved seeing all of the jewelry.

Audrey said...

That's so cool. Thanks for sharing.

Zuda Gay Pease said...

Interesting....Beautiful jewelry!!!

Yankeegirl said...

I always learn something new from these features!! Hmmm....the topaz is my birthstone...tempting!

Pamela Baker said...

What a really nice, interesting, and informative blog! Although I am a Scorpio whose birthstone is Topaz, thanks for including my Emerald earrings for June. Thanks for a great blog!

Chauncey said...

Hey PQ, great post and I love the items you chose to showcase.

Jean Levert Hood said...

Very fun topic, PQ!! and what lovely pieces! Thank you!

Jill said...

Great post, PQ!!! Lovely pieces!

joon said...

I'm a little late to the party, but so glad I arrived! What a pretty post, Pat. Thank you so much.

Your Leo friend who grew up with a peridot stone as the stone for August. I love having two choices - or will we find even more? :)

Pam said...

How very interesting! And what lovely jewelry you found to go with each sign. Marvelous post!

Rose said...

Wonderful post.. I learned a lot from it!