How Birthstones Came to Be

Where the idea of Birthstones came from is mixed in historical accounts. Some people think it came from the significance of a Breast Plate worn by Aaron. Aaron was the brother of Moses and the story of the plate can be read in Exodus 28:15-20. The breast Plate consisted of twelve stones. What the stones where varies by the translation. Each of the twelve stones represented one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The stones where to have the names of the twelve tribes carved on them arranged in four rows of three stones.



Exodus 28:13
And thou shalt make settings of gold; 14 and two chains of pure gold; of plaited thread shalt thou make them, of wreathen work; and thou shalt put the wreathen chains on the settings. 15 And thou shalt make a breastplate of judgment, the work of the skilful workman; like the work of the ephod thou shalt make it: of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, shalt thou make it. 16 Four-square it shall be and double: a span shall be the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof. 17 And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: a row of carnelian, topaz, and smaragd shall be the first row 18 and the second row a carbuncle, a sapphire, and an emerald; 19 and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 and the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper; they shall be inclosed in gold in their settings. 21 And the stones shall be according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names; like the engravings of a signet, every one according to his name, they shall be for the twelve tribes.



This is just one of the many translations that can be found. The stones that are mentioned in this translation look different from what we consider the Modern Birthstones are today. Below are examples of what the stones look like if the translation is correct:

The current Modern Birthstones have been developed by the Jewelry Industry over the years. The industry has put in place these stones as stone trends come and go. Also the industry selected stones for there durability. Below are pictured the current Birthstones that most people use today:

Also different cultures have different types of stones that are recognized as Birthstones. Below are seven different lists of Birthstones:

*Click on image for larger viewing.

The Jury is still out on where birthstones have come from, and how they came about many theories and educated guesses, but no real proof. As you can tell from the list you can pretty much pick whatever stone you want and say it is your birthstone. Just like picking your favorite color or ice cream flavor pick what looks good to you, or what looks best with your coloring.

All the very best,
Shara Elaine Smith, G.G.

Sources:
http://www.mechon-mamre.org/
http://bible.cc/exodus/28-15.htm
www.about-birthstones.com/breastplate_of_aaron.html
www.rocksandminerals4u.com/birthstone.html
www.eifiles.ch/js-en.htm
http://www.cswnet.com/

Photo credits:
Agate Image
http://bluestonegemstudio.wordpress.com/
Jasper Image
http://en.wikivisual.com/

Insuring your jewelry and why it is so important...

One of my dear friends e-mailed me a link to a news story about a man that dropped his engagement ring mid proposal, to his soon to be Fiance', off the Brooklyn Bridge. The link to the story is below and you can actually watch the video of his proposal. His sister was video tapping it for him.
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Oops-Fiancee-Drops-Engagement-Ring-Off-Brooklyn-Bridge.html

Now not to spoil the ending to this story but he did manage to get the ring back. The ring was mangled from it being run over by on coming traffic, but it was found and she said yes!! Now if the ring had tumbled into the Atlantic instead of the road he would have been out thousands of dollars and one sad Bride to be without her engagement ring to deal with. Thus needing to buy another engagement ring ASAP! If this ring was insured before hand then all he would do is call his insurance company and file the claim and in a matter of a few weeks the Bride would have a replica of the original on her hot little hand.

Insuring your jewelry is very easy. You can go about it in a few ways:
1. Call the insurance company that covers your home and add a special rider to your policy. You could also have a flat $5,000.00 coverage for stolen jewelry already on your home, but may not cover loss or damage. Also check with the company to see how much your premium will go up if the piece was lost or stolen and if this would effect the coverage on your home.
2. Seek out a reputable company that just insures jewelry. There are a hand full that do just this. If you rent or your insurance does not cover loss and damage or the annual premium to cover the ring is too high this is the route you should go.

Diamonds of Palo Alto is insured with a company called Jewelers Mutual. We recommend them to our clientele. They tend to be the easiest to work with and are very competitively priced. Also you can go to any jeweler you want to have your jewelry replaced. Some companies require you to use there jewelers and you have no say in the process.

What you will need to insure your jewelry:
1. Appraisal that includes a very detailed description of the item. The description should include: metal type, shape of stones, size of stones, number of stones, measurements of stones, clear description of color if any, number of stones and orientation of how they are set, era of design, statement of designer and if it is hand made, machined made or assembled, if any moving mechanisms are in good or poor condition, over all condition of piece if clasp are working, any cracks or defects in piece or stones, clear color images of at least three views of the piece to aid the jewelry in re-creating the piece, if any type of certification has been performed on any part of the piece from a laboratory this must be mentioned with corresponding report or lab report numbers and name of the labs documented.
2. Invoice of purchase
3. Original lab reports if any

Also a good rule of thumb when purchasing a piece of jewelry or a expensive watch is to have an appraisal done by the jeweler before you pick up the item and have the piece fully insured before leaving the store. When insuring jewelry only insure pieces that would be a hardship to replace financially. For example, if you purchased a pair of gold hoops for $350.00 and if you lost them most likely you could replace them on your own without the added cost of paying to have them appraised and then paying the yearly premium to insure them. Now, if you purchased a $5000.00 diamond pendant this most likely would be a hardship and worth the appraisal fees and the yearly premium to know if it was lost it would be replaced without financially being a hardship.

If you have any further questions regarding appraisals please feel free to contact me at
shara@diamondsofpaloalto.com

All the very best,
Shara