Year 1
BLUE TOPAZ
Topaz can be found in many colors, including yellow,
blue, rose and brown. The range of yellow and brown are the most commercially
important with the Imperial Topaz having the highest market value.
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Year 2
CORAL
A gift from the sea, Coral is an organic gem. Varied
in color, coral is pale to deep red, all shades of pink and orange,
white and even sometimes black.
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Year 3
PERIDOT
is a transparent olive green magnesium iron silicate,
sometimes called olivine. In some mines it can be found in lemon yellow.
The golden-green and most valuable deep green peridots contain smaller
amounts of iron than the less attractive brownish green-stones.
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Year 4
The AMETHYST,
a purple stone, is composed of quartz, one of the most
common minerals. One of the largest sources for amethyst is Brazil.
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Year 5
The RHODOLITE
is light to dark purplish red through reddish purple
in color and is a member of the garnet group. Rhodolite is Greek meaning "Rose".
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Year 6
LAPIS LAZULI
is named for the Persian "lazhward" meaning
blue, and its uniquely intense color has been a source of delight for
over 6000 years. Lapis Lazuli is a rock composed chiefly of blue silicate
mineral lazurite. The vivid blue is caused by sulfur.
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Year 7
ZIRCON
resembles diamond in its fine luster and fire, so that
colorless stones have been both mistakenly identified as diamonds and
purposely used as diamond simulates. Zircons are found in every color
of the rainbow.
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Year 8
The PEARL
is a wondrous and mysterious creation. They are produced
by some aquatic mollusks, especially oysters and mussels. The high
lustrous sheen in diffused light is unequalled.
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Year 9
ANDALUSITE
is named after a province of Spain where it was first
discovered. It has been called the "poor man's Alexandrite" because
of the color play that is best seen in fancy shapes where the colors
blend together. It isn't a color change stone at all because the colors
are there at the same time. It is especially appropriate for men's
jewelry.
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Year 10
GREEN TOURMALINE
is a borosilicate mineral that varies greatly in its
composition. The name comes from the ancient Singhalese word "turmali" meaning "a
mixed color precious stone." The most popular is the watermelon
tourmaline, which appears as a pink crystal with a green rind rim.
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Year 11
Pure SPINEL
is colorless; reds and pinks are due to small amounts
of chromium, iron causes green and blue colors and zinc spinel is blue.
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Year 12
TSARVORITE,
a magnificent brilliant green grossular garnet, was
first discovered in Tanzania, East Africa in 1968. It has a beautiful
vivid green color, is bright and lively, and has a garnet's durability
and high clarity.
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Year 13
OPALS
have always been one of the most popular and esteemed
gems. The name opal probably derives from upala, the Sanskrit word
for precious stone. Australia is still the principal source of black
and white opal, while Mexico produces fine fire and water opals.
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Year 14
KUNZITE,
the pale pink to lilac gem variety of the mineral spodumene,
is named for George Kuntz. Kuntzite was first found in Connecticut
and the first commercially significant deposit was discovered in 1902
in the Pala region of California. Today most kuntzite is mined in Brazil,
Afghanistan, and Madagascar. It should be protected from heat and continued
exposure to the strong light which can gradually fade its color.
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Year 15
SAPPHIRES
The deep blue "heavenly" Sapphires were and
to some extent still are, deemed holy: popes, cardinals, and bishops
have worn them since the Middle Ages. The sapphire maybe transparent
or translucent and is usually a blue gemstone of high value. It is
a variety of corundum and can be found in large sizes.
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Year 16
TOPAZ
varies from pale blue and colorless to yellow, orange,
brown and pink. Today vivid blue topaz is produced by irradiating and
then heating certain colorless material.
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Year 17
The RUBELITE
is part of the tourmaline family and can be pink to
red in color range.
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Year 18
AQUAMARINE
The color of the sea, iron creates the greenish-blues
of Aquamarine. In the 19th century, sea green varieties were the most
popular, but blues are more valued today.
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Year 19
GOLDEN BERYL
is named for the Greek word for sun "helios" and
gift "doron". The sunny yellow color of this beryl live up
to its name. The Golden beryl or heliodor was discovered in Namibia
in 1910. The largest faceted golden beryl is 2,054 carats.
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Year 20 - 24
EMERALD
The most famous of the beryl family, the Emerald has
minute traces of chromium and venadium creating rich green colors making
it among the most precious of gems. Only the finest quality gemstones
are transparent and flawless, most have tiny fractures or mineral inclusions
known as a "jardin,"from the French for garden. It is common
practice to disguise these flaws and enhance the color.
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Year 25 - 29
JADE
Although not particularly hard, nephrite and jadeite
are tougher than steel. Consequently they have been used for weapons
and tools and the most delicate carvings. The gemstone jade comes in
many colors, white, cream, black, pink and the most common and familiar,
green.
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Year 30 - 34
COLORED SAPPHIRE
are beautiful and rare-or even rarer- than the blue
but they are usually priced less. popular shades are yellows, bright
oranges, lavender and purples, and a bluish green color. The most valuable
colored sapphire is an orange-pink called "padparadscha" after
the lotus blossom.
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Year 35 - 39
CHRYSOBERYL
is a beryllium aluminum oxide, exceeded in hardness
only by diamond. Appearance is transparent to opaque light to medium
yellow to yellowish green. Light blue color is rare.
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Year 40 - 44
The RUBY,
the most valuable of all gemstones, is a variety of
corundum. Consequently it will take a brilliant and lasting polish
that adds a glittering luster to its colors.
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Year 45 - 49
The TANZANITE
is the ultimate prize of gem safari. Discovered in
1967, it is a supremely rare, coming from only one place in the world,
the Merelani Hills in Tanzania. A variety of the mineral zoisite, the
source of its mesmerizing color is trichoric. It displays rich blue,
magenta and yellowish-gray colors when viewed from different angles.
Never clean tanzanite in an ultrasonic cleaner.
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Year 50 - 54
The GOLDEN SAPPHIRE
is a corundum, that is usually heat treated to deepen
the color. It can also be irradiated to enhance color.
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Year 55 - 59
The ALEXANDRITE
was discovered in the Ural Mountains of Russia on the
birthday of Tsar Alexander II in 1830. The alexandrite is famous for
its dramatic color change, from deep green to red.
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Year 60
A DIAMOND
is considered by most of the world to be the king of
gems. Diamond varies from colorless, through a range of yellows and
browns, to green, blue, pink and a very rare red. Truly colorless stones
are rare.
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