January:
Garnet is the birthstone for this month. It is found in all colours except blue, but the red one is most popular for its rich pomegranate hue. It symbolises fidelity, loyalty, sincerity, grace & faith. It protects its wearer from haemorrhage, inflammatory disease & anger issues.

February:
If you are a February baby then amethyst is the birthstone for you! This deep purple gemstone symbolises peace & tranquility. It is said that amethyst can guard against drunkenness, keeps the wearer sharp & clear headed during business & battle.

March:
Aquamarine is for March borns. This sea coloured stone brings a sense of calm , makes the wearer great at communication, good mediator and decision maker. It also symbolises beauty, love & affection.

April:
Diamond is the birthstone of April. This coveted gemstone is known for its brilliant sparkle ! Diamond symbolises eternal love. The wearer is known to have better relationships, abundance & courage.

May:
Emerald, the May birthstone, symbolises rebirth and growth. It is known to grant its owner foresight, youth, good fortune, love & fertility.

June:
The June borns are spoilt for choice! They have three gemstones- Pearl, Alexandrite & Moonstone. Pearls symbolise nobility & prestige. Alexandrite has colour changing abilities. It is known to make the wearer observant & problem solver. Moonstone is found in various colours. It symbolises powerful intuition.

July:
July has the most beautiful birthstone, Ruby! This gemstone symbolises love, passion, good luck, nobility, power & wealth. It is known to protect its wearer from evil eye & threats.

August:
August babies have peridot as their birthstone. Mostly found in Arizona, it is also known to be found in meteorites. It symbolises fame, dignity, success & good fortune.

September:
September birthstone is blue sapphire which protects its wearer from envy & harm. Earlier it was believed that this gemstone could bring spiritual enlightenment & reveal the secrets of oracle.

October:
October borns can choose from two birthstones- opal & pink tourmaline. Opal gemstone has kaleidoscope effect with different colours playing on surface. It is the symbol of hope, truth & purity & is known to protect its wearer from diseases. Pink Tourmaline symbolises strong intuition.

November:
November borns too have two birthstones – Topaz & Citrine. Topaz is known to attract gold, wealth, esteem, good luck. It makes the wearer the centre of attention wherever they go! Citrine is known to guard against overindulgence, scandal, treachery, snake bites & evil thoughts.

December:
People born in December have three birthstones – blue zircon, tanzanite & blue turquoise. Blues zircon symbolises spiritual growth, wisdom & love. Tanzanite symbolises love for knowledge. This gemstone is beautiful with deep blue & purple tones. Blue Turquoise attracts money, love & success. It provides healing, protection, courage, friendship, mental relief & luck.

All these birthstones are beautiful to be worn as jewellery. Since now you know your birthstone, it’s time to wear one & feel special..

Hence it is extremely important for a buyer to know about the various simulants of emerald that are flooding the market in order to avoid getting cheated.

The most commonly found simulants are – Synthetic Emerald, Green glass, Green / Dyed Quartz, Apatite, Green Beryl without chromium, Tourmaline, Green Garnet, Composite- soude Emerald & Fluorite.

All these simulants look very similar to emerald but can be identified when put under a microscope. They are a lot cheaper than emeralds.

For a good quality emerald, a purchaser should look for a rich green colour, the quality of its cut & minimal inclusions.

Hope this article will help the readers to be aware of the fake counterparts & cheaper substitutes of this beautiful gemstone.

In the world of fine jewellery, the two most commonly used words are Karat and Carat !

Let us understand what they stand for:

KARAT (K) – Karat signifies the proportion of gold in an alloy that is used to make jewellery. Fine gold is too soft to be used, hence it is mixed with other metals to form an alloy. This alloy is divided into 24 parts and the purity of gold in this alloy is denoted by karat. For example 14K gold means 14 parts of gold out of 24 parts of alloy. The same stands for 18K, 22K and so on. Fine gold means 24 K gold. The more the purity of gold in jewellery, the higher the price.

CARAT (Ct.) – Carat is the standard unit of weight for diamonds and other gemstones. 1 carat equals to 0.20 grams. A carat is divided into points where 1 carat is equal to 100 points. For example, half carat diamond means 50 point diamond or 0.50 ct. diamond.

Large diamonds are rarer and so the price increases along with the increase in carat weight. Small diamonds set in a piece of jewellery are weighed collectively together. This is called total carat weight. A single 2 carat diamond is way more costly than 2 carat total weight of smaller diamonds. Carat weight does not necessarily denote size of diamond. Diamonds of same carat weight may differ in size due to their cutting. If one is cut deeper than the other, then both will differ in size. That is why you can find two 1 carat diamonds having different sizes.

In the UK and some other parts of world , the spelling carat is used for both gemstone weight and gold purity, but in the US and other parts, carat and karat are used as per their meanings stated above. Hence it is always good to know the difference between the two.

Hope you enjoyed reading this article. Stay tuned for more!

Solitaire rings are the most popular form of engagement & anniversary rings. This is because of the brilliant sparkle that these rings have. I often get questions like, why do some solitaire rings sparkle more than others? Well, there are some factors that determine the intensity with which a diamond sparkles.

Diamond Cut
Out of the 4Cs of diamond (Cut, Clarity, Colour & Carat weight), the cut determines the sparkle of the diamond. A well cut diamond with 58 facets will have more reflection when the light passes through it creating a scintillation of spectral light & white light alternatively. This scintillation is called sparkle in layman’s terms.

Diamond Colour
The colour of the diamond helps too. A well cut diamond of superior colour will have better sparkle. Here we must understand that a well cut diamond with inferior colour will still sparkle better than a good colour diamond with poor cut.

Jewellery Setting
Another factor to look into is the type of setting the ring has. There are many types of jewellery setting like, Bezel, Pressure, Illusion, Prong etc. Prong setting is the most popular one in solitaire rings as it allows maximum light to pass through the diamond. The height of prongs can be customised according to the wearer’s comfort & style.

So the next time when you think of purchasing a solitaire ring, you know how to pick a good one!