An alternative birthstone for December. This endless necklace is made from natural turquoise beads from Arizona. Large polished chunks of natural turquoise are juxtaposed with a mixture of various shapes and sizes of turquoise beads. The red beads are coconut shell that cleverly keep this magnificent necklace in place.
Tanzanite, another December Birthstone is the blue and violet variety of the mineral zoisite, from Tanzania. It has a hardness of 6.5 on the Mohs scale. Tanzanite is noted for its trichroism, appearing alternately blue, violet and burgundy depending on crystal orientation. Blues appear more evident in fluorescent light and violet hues can be seen under incandescent light. In its rough state tanzanite is colored a reddish-brown to clear, and it requires heat treatment to remove the brownish veil and bring out the blue-violet of the stone.
The gemstone was given the name “tanzanite” by Tiffany & Co. after Tanzanite, the country in which it was discovered. In 2002, the American Gem Trade Association chose tanzanite as a December birthstone.
Zircon is one of December’s birthstones. It is a colorful gem with high refraction and fire that’s unfairly confused with cubic zirconia. It is a completely distinct, natural species, found in Sri Lanka, Burma, Cambodia, and Australia. Zircon comes in blue, white, yellow, purple, green, gray, red, pink, orange, and brown. Its hardness is 7.5 on the Mohs scale.
Shown here is a stunning 12mm pear shape blue zircon with .24ct Diamond set in 18KY.