December’s Birthstones

[kristin]

Blue Topaz- One of December’s Birthstones

Blue Topaz is one of the birthstones for December and its strong blue color is rare in nature. Treaters use a combination of radiation and heat to produce the color. Blue Topaz has a hardness of 8, but care should be taken when cleaning since heat can cause Blue Topaz’s color to fade.

[kristin]

Turquoise- December’s other Birthstone

More than 5000 years ago, Egyptian pharaohs made jewelry with Turquoise extracted from the Sinai desert. The Chinese shaped ceremonial figurines from the soft gem. The Americas civilizations amassed Turquoise as a source of wealth and fashioned it into distinctive jewelry. The most prized color for Turquoise is an even, intense, medium blue. Until recently the most common Turquoise treatment was to soak it in melted wax. The wax seeped into the pores improving the Turquoise’s color and luster. Currently, colorless polymer plastic is used instead of wax. Polymer impregnated Turquoise is known in the trade as stabilized Turquoise.