Happy June Birthday! – Pearl, Alexandrite & Moonstone

Wow! June babies get their pick of three birthstones:

Pearl

Pearl jewelry often invokes thoughts of vintage glamour and classic beauty. Since pearls became easy to culture by man, the value of modern pearls is often low, making pearl jewelry affordable for the modern person. Pearls are formed by oysters and are the only “gem” to be made by living creatures and to require no additional cutting or shaping once harvested.

Types of pearls:

image from https://www.pearlparadise.com/

 

South Sea Pearls

  • Takes 2-6 years to mature
  • Primarily cultures in Australia, the Philippines, and Indonesia
  • The most prized type of pearls
  • Comes in a variety of shades

Akoya Pearls

  • Takes up to 6 weeks to mature
  • The most popular type of pearl due to luster and shine
  • Cultured in Japan and China
  • Hanadama Pearls (“Spherical Flower”) is the finest quality Akoya pearl and often comes with certification of superior quality.

Tahitian Pearls

  • Cultured in the lagoons of the South Pacific
  • Color ranges from silver and green to dark charcoal
  • Usually holds iridescent
  • Can take up to 3 months to mature

 

Alexandrite

image from chemistry-blog.com
image from chemistry-blog.come

First discovered in Russia, the Alexandrite is a rare color changing gem. In daylight and florescent light it is green and in incandescent light it appears purple. These gems are produced in much less quantity than in the past 200 years and are now very rare.

  • Alexandrites have been found in Sri Lanka but the colors are less desirable
  • Alexandrite usually has very few inclusions
  • Certain gems feature long inclusions which create a “Cat’s-eye” effect, increasing its value
  • Because of the color changing properties, the cut of this gem is very important to showing the colors through the face

 

 

Moonstone

image from gemstonesadvisor.com
image from gemstonesadvisor.com

The lesser known of June’s birthstones is the moonstone. The moonstone was believed to change with the phases of the moon.

  • A sacred stone in India believed to bring good luck
  • Comes in a variety of colors from green to champagne
  • The particular shimmer of moonstone is referred to as “adularisation”
  • Sources include Sri Lanka, India, Australia, the United States, Mayanmar, and Madagascar

 

Read more about June birthstones here: gemstone.org winterson.co.uk wixonjewelers american gem society GIA

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