I have a confession that still makes me smile when I think about it. The first peridot I ever bought wasn’t for me. It was for my mother, an August baby who had never owned her birthstone. I was young and naive and walked into a gem store with absolutely no idea what I was…
I ruined my first aquamarine. It wasn’t dramatic. No hammer blows, no house fires, no tragic plunges off marble countertops. It was worse than that. It was slow. I wore it every day, this pale blue beryl I’d bought from a seller in Tucson who promised it was “tough enough for anything.” And I believed…
I remember the first time I held a piece of aquamarine. It wasn’t a fine jewel—just a rough, unpolished crystal I’d bought from a vendor at a gem show, drawn by its color. That pale, impossible blue. The color of shallow water over white sand. The color of sky reflected in a calm sea. The…
I have to admit something. When I first started researching this article, I thought I knew exactly what I’d find. A few February-born celebrities wearing their birthstone at premieres. Maybe a purple gown accessorized with matching gems. Nice, tidy, predictable. I was spectacularly wrong. What I actually found was a story about a princess and…
I used to think birthstones were invented by a marketing executive in a skyscraper somewhere. You know the image: a sharp-suited man in 1950s New York, standing before a whiteboard, drawing arrows between “January” and “Garnet,” calculating how to sell more gemstones to anxious husbands. It made sense to me. Birthstones feel modern—neat, commercial, a…
I have a question for you. Close your eyes. Think about the first piece of jewelry you ever received that actually mattered. Not the plastic bead bracelet from a carnival. Not the cheap necklace that turned your skin green. The real one. For me, it was a tiny gold ring with a purple stone so small I…
I have a confession to make. For years, I was the world’s worst January birthday gift giver. My best friend—let’s call her Emilia—has a birthday on January 17th. And for a decade, I bought her… nothing. Or rather, I bought her the same thing I bought everyone else: scarves, candles, generic “happy birthday” clutter that…
I have to be honest with you. When I first started in the jewelry world, I couldn’t tell a garnet from a ruby to save my life. And here’s the kicker—I was selling them. A customer would walk in, point to a deep red ring in the display case, and ask, “Is this a ruby?”…
If you were born in June, you are part of an exclusive club. Not only do you share a birthday month with the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Johnny Depp, but you also have one of the most unique dilemmas in the gemstone world: What actually is your birthstone? While June is officially represented by…
Few decisions in jewelry shopping are as common — and as confusing — as picking between aquamarine and blue topaz. Both stones have that beautiful blue vibe that just makes a piece pop, whether it’s a necklace, a ring, or a bracelet. But these two gems come with their own personalities, histories, price points, and…