gemstones

Even if you’ve never heard of beryllium aluminum cyclosilicate (Be3Al2Si6O18), you’ve definitely seen it before. It is the mineral form of emerald, aquamarine, and many other colorful gemstones.

Traditionally, each of the twelve months was assigned one birthstone, but some months have multiples. December babies have the fortune of three separate birthstones - Turquoise, Tanzanite, and Blue Zircon - all of which take on a unique shade of blue.

As the snow melts and the trees sprout leaves in May, we start to see the soothing, rich green of emerald all around us. If you feel the same sense of relaxation looking at an emerald that you do sitting in a green field in the springtime, it’s not just your imagination. Emeralds are said to relieve exhaustion and bring a sense of tranquility to the wearer, and like many of the properties often attributed to gemstones, this idea has some scientific basis.

Many readers may be familiar with tourmaline from hair dryer ads that talk about “negative ionization” and “infra-red heat.”