Pearl is June's Birthstone Written by Sam Serio If you're still young enough to remember your birthday, you probably also remember special birthstone assigned to it. But at your age, we bet you don't really know SIGNIFICANCE of your birthstone and what power ancients felt would be bestowed about you by wearing it. June's Birthstone: Pearl Birthstone Properties: Truth and beauty Alternative Birthstones: Moonstone and Alexandrite Pearl is official birthstone of month of June. It is also accepted anniversary gemstone for 3rd and 30th years of marriage. Pearls have adorned crowns, clothing, and temples, and were said to be a favorite of Cleopatra, yet there are perfectly suited to young girls and are a popular gift for first communion. Pearls come in a wide range of colors from delicate rose white to black. The higher luster or “orient,” more valuable specimen. Greeks believed that pearls were hardened tears of joy that Love Goddess shook from her eyes as she was born from sea. In Arab legend, pearls were formed when oysters were lured from depths of ocean by beautiful moon and then swallowed moonlit dewdrops. Ancient Chinese thought that these gems originated from brains of dragons. Whatever their origins, pearls are magnificent! Round Pearl…and Her Shapely Sisters It's hard to believe that coveted pearl comes naturally from one of humblest of life forms -- mollusk. Divers find natural pearls in The Persian Gulf as well as in waters off Japan, South Pacific Islands off northern Australia, and coasts of Panama, Venezuela, and California. Opal is October's Birthstone Written by Sam Serio If you're still young enough to remember your birthday, you probably also remember special birthstone assigned to it. But at your age, we bet you don't really know SIGNIFICANCE of your birthstone and what power ancients felt would be bestowed about you by wearing it. October Birthstone: Opal Birthstone Properties: Enhances insight and dispels fear Alternative Birthstone: Tourmaline Opal is birthstone for October and gemstone given to commemorate a 14th wedding anniversary. The word "opal" for this dynamic gemstone was derived from Greek word "opallus" which means to see a change in color…because it is, after all, opal's abilty to refract and reflect specific wavelengths of light that make it so special. In fact, there are more than a dozen varieties of fiery and iridescent opals. Opal is a non-crystallized silica, a mineral found near earth's surface in areas where ancient geothermal hot springs once existed. Romans called magnificent gemstone "Cupid Paederos," meaning a child as beautiful as love. They believed that opals fell to earth from heavens in a flash of lightening. However they arrived in on Earth originally, today opals must be mined from deposits found primarily in Southern Australia, although other sources exist in Brazil, Mexico, Czechoslovakia, and Nevada. Crown Jewels Opal has symbolized hope, innocence and purity through ages. During Middle Ages, fair-haired young women put sapphires in their tresses to protect lovely blond color of their hair. Physicians ground opals into a powder that was ingested to ward off nightmares. Cont'd on page 2 ==>   ImproveHomeLife.com © 2005 Terms of Use