A. Alexandrite
A magical stone due to its origin and the ability to change colour (red and green),  but also a gem that causes a lot of confusion.  It seems that a few naughty gem dealers from the city of Alexandria seized the opportunity to claim the gemstone as their own and sell synthetic alexandrites that are available since the 1920s. The gem actually comes from Russia and  is named after the Russian tsar Alexander II.
Unfortunately, a truth that we have to communicate to a number of people that come to ANPA to have an alexandrite evaluated. As a matter of fact real alexandrite is quite a collectors item by now and if you ask me not at that ‘WOW’ or beautiful, specifically when looking at the price tag it comes with.

B. Pearls
Rather have a look at the second birthstone option for June which is pearls. Not only are they in high fashion at the moment but also available in a multitude of shapes and colours as well as price tags, from inexpensive freshwater pearls to exclusive Tahitian and South Sea pearls.

For centuries  the pearl has been a symbol of perfection and one of the oldest known gems. Pearls are a symbol of the moon and are ascribed magical powers and in ancient time only persons above a certain rank were allowed to wear pearl jewellery. The Latin word for pearl means “unique”, attesting to the fact that no two pearls are identical.

Wearing pearls apparently holds us to be honest, pure and wise. Different colors of pearls bear different meanings, the above relates mostly to white pearls, gold or black pearls symbolize prosperity and riches, rose or pink pearls work well for our emotional state.

The Japanese have a lighter take on pearls and associate them with good luck and from my point of view they are simply stunning and that’s enough to make them my choice, not only as the birthstone for June.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 1st, 2010 at 8:56 am and is filed under birthstones.