Akoya Pearl studs. Always a classic

 Alexandrite

The rarest of the June birthstones, and a phenomenal stone in the truest sense. Phenomenal stones are stones that change in relation to light. Alexandrites trick is that it changes colour depending on whether it is in daylight or artificial light. In daylight an alexandrite will appear bluish green and in artificial light it will appear purplish red to red.

Alexandrite is named after Czar Alexander II as it was discovered in 1818 on the day of his birth in the Ural mountains near Ekaterinburg. Those original deposits have since been mined out, but new finds in Brazil and Africa have renewed the supply of these very beautiful stones. Madagascar is the source of the some of the finest of these new finds.

Alexandrites are among the most coveted of the coloured gemstones, with very fine specimens surpassing even diamonds in value.

June Birthstones

Summer arrives this month, so what better time to start a series on birthstones! The birthstones for June are pearls, moonstones and alexandrites. Although we divide the stones by month, some people prefer to refer to them by their astrological sign. These stones are the stones for Gemini, the twins.All three stones have their own distinct personalities.

The best known of June's birthstones is not actually a stone. Pearl is an organic substance. They are created by molluscs and very occasionally snails. The colour of a pearl is dependent on the type of mollusc and the water. The colour can vary from black to white, with a huge variety of colours in between including golden, green, and various pastel hues.

Today, the vast majority of pearls available are cultured. The Japanese were the first to discover a commercially viable method of culturing pearls in Akoya oysters, and they are to this day considered the finest pearls.

Earrings with Tahitian Black pearls and diamonds

The South Seas are host to the most spectacular coloured pearls, with Tahitian black pearls being the best known example.

Strand of Akoya pearls

One of the truly classic looks with pearls is the strand necklace. It is one of the true staples of a woman's jewellery wardrobe whether it is a long opera length strand or a short choker length, it is always in style!

Moonstone

Moonstones are the other phenomenal stone for June. Appropriately named, moonstones subtle beauty is very similar to the play of moonlight. Usually a milky colour, they can also come in soft shades of pink, green, or yellow. The name of the phenomenon in moonstones is adularescenence, named after the mountain which was the first known source of moonstone, Mt. Adula in the Swiss Alps

Moonstones are quite fragile, and not usually the ideal choice for a ring, but earrings and pendants can show moonstones off quite well.