Thursday, November 17, 2011

Turquoise Jewellery: The Ideal Gift for a December Birthday

 
The birth stone of December is turquoise, an awe-inspiring azure gemstone that's been capturing eyes and hearts for hundreds of years. Wearing the birthstone associated with your birthday is believed to create good fortune and protection, and what better way to wear it than in an elegant turquoise necklace or bracelet, hand made and finished in Sterling silver or solid 9ct gold.

Turquoise is made of hydrated copper aluminium phosphate and it is found in igneous rocks which are rich in aluminium. Translated literally it means “Turkish”, a nod to its history when Levantine traders shipped the stone into Europe via Turkey. Turquoise is one of the very few opaque gemstones, giving it a unique deep-pigmented colour which can vary from bright green to sky blue depending on its make-up, without or with black veins running throughout the stone known as its matrix. Bright blue is regarded as the desired type of the stone, a popular colour in fashion and jewellery. Turquoise and blue topaz are the birthstones of December, and Turquoise is additionally the traditional gemstone for those celebrating their 6th or 11th wedding anniversaries.

Turquoise was one of the earliest semi-precious gems to be excavated, mainly in the Sinai region of Egypt, Iran, and also the United States and Mexico. Having been mined since as long ago as 3,000 BC, understandably the supply of the mineral is currently low. This has triggered replica gemstones becoming popular in jewellery in the modern day, resulting in a higher worth placed on genuine turquoise.

Turquoise offers a historical past rivalled by no other gem stone. The mummy of Queen Zer, the ancient Eqyptian monarch, was discovered adorned in four vivid turquoise bracelets when she was excavated in nineteen hundred. She had chosen the precious stone to wear for 7,500 years. And consider the iconic gold mask of Tutankhamen: it too is set with valuable turquoise stones.

The reason for its historical significance is that turquoise has been highly respected by a great number of ancient colonies who considered it held strong unearthly properties. Around Asia the gem stone was believed to protect against the evil eye, and the Aztecs reserved the stone for the Gods in ceremonial masks. In the 16th century American Indians thought that turquoise embodied the spirits of the ocean and skies, using it as a form of currency and to bring success and protection to fighters and hunters.

Even these days turquoise is considered to have protective properties. In modern gemstone therapy it is believed to increase confidence and minimize depressive disorders, stomach problems, viral infections and rheumatism. If given as a gift turquoise is considered a sign of friendship. Whether you believe in these legends or not, it’s difficult to ignore the beauty which this eye-catching stone posesses.

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