Birthstones - Brilliant Jewelers


Turquoise is the birthstone of December & anniversary gemstone for the 11th year of marriage.


Description

Turquoise, the robin's egg blue gemstone worn by Pharaohs and Aztec Kings, is probably one of the oldest gemstones known. Yet, only it’s prized blue color, a color so distinctive that its name is used to describe any color that resembles it, results in its being used as a gemstone.

Turquoise has been, since about 200 B.C., extensively used by both southwestern U.S Native Americans and by many of the Indian tribes in Mexico. The Native American Jewelry or "Indian style" jewelry with turquoise mounted in or with silver is relatively new. Some believe this style of Jewelry was unknown prior to about 1880, when a white trader persuaded a Navajo craftsman to make turquoise and silver jewelry using coin silver. Prior to this time, the Native Americans had made solid turquoise beads, carvings, and inlaid mosaics. Recently, turquoise has found wide acceptance among people of all walks of life and from many different ethnic groups.

The name turquoise may have come from the word Turquie, French for Turkey, because of the early belief that the mineral came from that country (the turquoise most likely came from Alimersai Mountain in Persia, now Iran, or the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, two of the world's oldest known turquoise mining areas. Another possibility could be the name came from the French description of the gemstone, "pierre turquin" meaning dark blue stone. The name, which originated in the thirteenth century, reflects the fact that the material probably first arrived in Europe from Turkish sources.

Chemically, a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminum, turquoise is formed by the percolation of meteoric or groundwater through aluminous rock in the presence of copper. For this reason, it is often associated with copper deposits as a secondary mineral, most often in copper deposits in arid, semiarid, or desert environments. For thousands of years the finest intense blue turquoise in the world was found in Persia, and the term "Persian Turquoise" became synonymous with the finest quality.

This changed during the late 1800's and early 1900's when modern miners discovered or rediscovered significant deposits of high-quality turquoise in the western and southwestern United States. Material from many of these deposits was just as fine as the finest "Persian." Today, the term "Persian Turquoise" is more often a definition of quality than a statement of origin, and the majority of the world's finest-quality turquoise comes from the United States, the largest producer of turquoise.

Turquoise is one of the world’s most ancient gems. Archaeological excavations revealed that the rulers of ancient Egypt adorned themselves with turquoise jewelry, and Chinese artisans were carving it more than 3,000 years ago. Turquoise is the national gem of Tibet and has long been considered a stone that guarantees health, good fortune, and protection from evil.

Stone Lore

The color turquoise is associated with meanings of good luck, spiritual grounding, refreshing, calming, sophisticated, feminine, energy, wisdom, serenity, patience, wholeness, creativity, emotional balance, friendship, love, money, joy, tranquility, intuition, and loyalty. It is a stone of protection, strong and opaque, yet soothing to the touch, healing to the eye, as if carved from an azure heaven and slipped to earth. Its unique shade of blue, often one of blueish green, lends it name, Turquoise, to all things of this tranquil hue.

Turquoise is a stone of communication, or the 5th Chakra. New Age healers recommend it for people who have a fear of public speaking. They believe it has the ability to make a speaker more eloquent, loving, creative and honest. A proverb states, “Given by a loving hand it brings with it happiness and good fortune”.

Turquoise was a ceremonial gem and a medium of exchange for Native American tribes in the southwestern US. They also used it in their jewelry and amulets. The Apaches believed that turquoise attached to a bow or firearm increased a hunter’s or warrior’s accuracy.


 January
 Garnet
 February
 Amethyst
 March
 Aquamarine
 Bloodstone*
 April
 Diamond
 White Topaz*
 Quartz*
 Sapphire*
 May
 Emerald
 June
 Pearl
 Moonstone*
 Alexandrite*
 July
 Ruby
 Onyx*
 August
 Peridot
 Carnelian*
 Sardonyx*
 September
 Sapphire
 October
 Opal
 Lapis Lazuli*
 Tourmaline*
 November
 Topaz
 Citrine
 Zircon*
 December
 Turquoise
 Tanzinite*

* alternative birthstones