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Birthstone month: JuneColor: AllFamily: PearlMoh's Hardness: 2.5Transparency: Opaque Pearls are lustrous, opaque specimens that don't quite fit into the gemstone mineral group. Rather, they're organic gemstones like jet or amber. Pearls are created when a small irritant, such as a piece of sand, becomes trapped or is intentionally placed inside specific types of mollusks. Natural pearls are found in nature, while cultured pearls have a small seed or starter intentionally placed inside the mollusk to grow a pearl. For both natural and cultured pearls, the mollusk creates layers of nacre around the irritant, and eventually a pearl is formed. Pearl...

Choosing a setting style is such a personal choice in jewelry. It's a tiny detail, but it can have a big impact on the overall look of a piece of jewelry. This week I'm talking about a few of my favorite pavé setting styles, and the pros and cons of each particular style. What is pavé, anyways? The word is French in origin and means pavement, as in paved with bricks. Therefore, pavé refers to a piece of jewelry that has a significant portion of its surface area covered in tiny diamonds set very close together, like bricks on a...

A faceted gemstone has several key aspects. The table is the very top, flat, polished face of a faceted gemstone. The crown is the general top section of the gemstone, above the girdle. The girdle is the widest point of the gemstone, and consists of a thin row of tiny facets. When viewed from above, the shape of the girdle determines the shape of the gemstone itself (oval, round, princess cut, etc). Facets are the tiny polished "faces" of the gemstone. The culet (if it exists; it's not always present) is the tiny facet on the very bottom of the...

Birthstone month: MayColor: GreenFamily: BerylMoh's Hardness: 7.5-8Transparency: Semi-translucent to transparent Emerald is a semi-translucent to transparent variety of beryl that is distinguished by it's vibrant, blue-green hue. If the color leans too far towards blue or yellow, it's no longer recognized as emerald, but simply as beryl. Milky inclusions and fissures visible to the naked eye are fairly standard in emeralds, and are one of their most recognizable attributes. Are all emeralds "emerald cut"? No, but many are! The emerald cut, which refers to an octagon shaped gemstone with long, step-cut facets, was originally designed specifically for emeralds. Because they...

There are two very general categories for polished gemstones: faceted and cabochon. Cabochons come in many different shapes, but what really defines a cabochon is that it has a smooth, domed surface. A faceted gemstone, meanwhile, has a surface covered in tiny faces, or facets. A cabochon is often the cut of choice for opaque and semi-transparent stones, in order to better show off their color. This style is excellent for displaying desirable inclusions, as in rutilated quartz. Below is a variety of cabochon gemstones in different shapes. Cabochons also emphasize asterism (a star-like illusion on the dome of the...