Here we are, already in February!

As I looked around at beautiful pieces set in Amethyst, the gemstone of the month, I found this particular jewel inspiring: Bird Motif, necklace from Cartier ~ in pink gold, lapis lazuli, amethyst, sapphire, and diamonds.

…Of a colourful bird that ‘opens the door of its golden cage to take flight into the open skies’.

When I gaze at this jewel, I am reminded of the various cages many of us find ourselves in. We, like birds are born and (more…)

This is a characteristic inclusion in an Amethyst Quartz: wavy bands on a twinning plane known as ‘Zebra stripes’ or ‘Tiger stripes’.

Love, love, love this one!

What you’re looking at is hexagonal flakes of black Hematite and Rutile needles within a colourless Quartz (known as Rock Crystal). Weighing approximately 54.8ct.

Garnet is the gemstone of January.

To honour the Garnet, I picked a jewel for this post, which is a favourite from one of my recent books ‘Jewels by JAR’. Joel Arthur Rosenthal is the creator of jewels that are works of art, each in unusual combinations of gemstones and metal. It really has been a feast for my eyes.

This particular jewel is ~Mughal Flower Bracelet, 1987. There are garnets, rubies, sapphires, amethysts in titanium, silver and gold. Exquisite.

More images of some of his pieces can be seen here: Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Garnet is a name that covers a group of minerals that are related in composition and with a similar crystal structure.They (more…)

The Gems & Jewellery magazine is by The Gemmological Association of Great Britain. This is where I learned all about gems (and still learning as new things pop up…) I have always loved the photo competition and I congratulate all those who won. Stunning images!

I’m delighted to share this article especially because one of the first prize winners is Mr Dayananda Dillimuni who trained my group in preparation for the gemmology practical exam.

(more…)

What do you think of this precious, whimsical beauty?

The moment my eyes fell on these images, I fell so in love with the ring. Just wishing and willing to be in a place (in life) where I can buy it and make it my own and carry with me a bit of fantasy everywhere I go…

It so happens that my daughter, months ago, had her nose buried in the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (more…)

Café Barista at Ghandara, Colombo, Sri Lanka

This is the café where quite a few conversations took place between my husband and I about the making of this blog.

What is an Inclusion?

The fantastic thing about gemstones is their ‘beauty’. Both externally and internally. Their external colour and sparkle which are clearly visible to the unaided eye (with no magnification) which you and your friends can see and admire but also their internal beauty: the image you see on the inside.

To take a peek at the image on the inside, most of the time you need magnification, the most convenient (more…)

It really is a ‘gem’ for the student in gemology when they find a gemstone, any gemstone, even a bashed up, terribly included one… if it contains a bouncing bubble! What a thrill.

Starting out in the study of gems, the two phased inclusion of a gas bubble trapped within a liquid filled cavity… was something of a mystery.

So you can imagine my amazement as I saw for myself, with my own eyes through a small 10x loupe, this (more…)