I am really excited to announce that we have the most stunning seed pearls available (so hard to come by these days). All of them have great lustre, are close to perfect round and range in size from about 1.5 to 3mm. Soon there will also be some finished necklaces and bracelets.

 Stay tuned!

Yet again it seems daunting to identify the correct stone for December. There is quite a variety to choose from:

Tanzanite became an official December birthstone on October 30, 2002, in the first revision to the birthstone list since 1912.

More commonly accepted seems to be Turquoise as a December birthstone and also is the gem for the fifth and eleventh wedding anniversaries.  Representing happiness, usually seen as a holy stone associated with happiness and luck.

Historically there are Lapis Lazuli and Zircon (not to mix with the synthetic Zirconia – Zircon is a beautiful brown tone gem, mainly sourced in Sri Lanka)

Mystical Birthstone - Onyx (Black) - The Mystical Birthstone list was obtained from a Tibetan book said to be over a thousand years old. Legend has it that these birthstones really help one overcome the obstacles of their birth month.

Ayurvedic Birthstone - Ruby (Red) - The Ayurvedic Birthstone list is from Ayurvedic Indian Medicine - an ancient type of medicine used for thousands of years. If you want a healing gemstone, you may wish to consider  these.

that keep us going:

We are truly excited to announce that our boutique at the Cape Quarter, Cape Town is up and running.

For those who were born in the month of November the Topaz is the traditional birthstone. Topaz is associated with - constancy, loyalty, faithfulness and friendship. The Traditional Metaphysical Properties for the November Birthstone Topaz are strength, releasing tension and balancing emotions. The healing properties of the November birthstone are reputed to be effective for health problems relating to asthma, gout, blood disorders, tuberculosis and insomnia. The Topaz is also used to enhance spiritual rejuvenation and feelings of happiness.

Hi Andreas
 
The courier delivered this morning before 09h00
 
Thank you so much for arranging this for me.
 
The ring is absolutely fantastic and you truly are a credit to your trade, thank you for putting up with the numerous changes and providing the much needed advice.
 
When the time comes I will most definitely be bringing my business your way again and will do my utmost to recommend yourself and your company to as many people as I know.
 
Best regards and thank you
 
IXXXXXX

The birthstone determination is not at all straight forward. In Hebrew & Roman traditions October’s birthstone used to be aquamarine, according to the Hindu religion it is coral and in modern times we refer to opal and tourmaline.

Being a contemporary jewellery design company in South Africa, I settle for tourmaline and give you some more info on this beautiful Southern African gem:

Tourmaline has a special place in the hearts of mineral collectors as well as in that of gem and gemstone enthusiasts. Its nearly universal popularity is based upon two very important facts:
 

It is a bright and beautiful gemstone that can be found in just about any color;
Materials that are of acceptable quality are affordable to most purchasers.
The word “rainbow” is used figuratively to describe tourmaline. In reality, it is a well recognized fact that tourmaline’s diversity in color is not limited to the seven colors of the rainbow.
Tourmaline can be colorless to just about any color, hue, or tone known to man. And if range of colors among different tourmalines is not enough, individual crystals can vary in color along their length or in cross-section.
The variations in color along a crystal’s length give rise to the bicolor and tricolor tourmalines which have multitudes of color combinations.

ANPA stocks a selection of different tourmalines and tourmaline jewellery …