FEBRUARY BIRTHSTONE: AMETHYST

Amethyst is a type of quartz and is suitable for everyday wear. Available in a wide range of purples from the palest pastel lavender to the deepest seductive purple they are available in many sizes.

COLOUR: Pale lilac to deep purple.

GEMSTONE FAMILY: Quartz.

MOHS HARDNESS: 7

LOCATION: Mainly in Russia, Brazil and African countries such as Namibia and Zambia.

A BRIEF HISTORY: With its association with the god Bacchus amethyst has long been associated with drink and is believed to help prevent drunkenness.

FAMOUS GEMSTONES: Known as the purple sapphire, the amethyst below was looted during the Indian mutiny in 1855. Everyone who owned it since has suffered disaster and misfortune. When Edward Heron-Allen, owner of the stone from 1890, discovered its sinister history, he declared it 'cursed and stained with blood' and locked it in a bank vault with instructions that it not be opened until 33 years after his death. Heron-Allen's daughter donated the stone to the Museum with a letter he wrote warning anyone against handling it. (Source: The Natural History Museum).

CRYSTAL DICTIONARY: Amethyst is believed to calm the emotions, create clarity of thought and assist in attaining wisdom.

IMPORTANT: Be careful heating an amethyst - high temperatures can cause an irreversible change in the stone and can cause the colour to fade or change.

 www.catherinebuddjewellery.co.uk

FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK...

Congratulations to this beautiful couple - Jamie and Hannah - who got married this summer in NYC!

Hannah's wedding ring is a handmade 18ct white gold wishbone-shaped band, made to shape around her engagement ring and Jamie's wedding ring is a flat palladium band with an off-centre engraved line, with a high polished finish on one side and a brushed finish on the other. Wedding photos courtesy of Jonny MP Photography.




Photograph courtesy of Jonny MP Photography.

18ct white gold handmade wishbone-shaped band

Palladium band with off-centre engraved line and a high polished finish on one side and brushed on the other.



Photograph courtesy of Jonny MP Photography.

www.catherinebuddjewellery.co.uk

DECEMBER BIRTHSTONE: TANZANITE

Tanzanite is a rich blue-violet stone, discovered in the 1960's in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro.

A member of the Zoisite family of gemstones, this beautiful blue-violet stone is mined only in Tanzania and is often mistaken for a sapphire. Tanzanite is strongly 'pleochroic', which means this gemstone displays different colours - red, violet, blue, grey - when viewed from different angles. The blues appear more evident when subjected to fluorescent light and the violet hues can be seen readily when viewed under incandescent illumination.

With a hardness rating of 6.5 tanzanite is somewhat soft and fragile - most are set in earrings or pendants and care should be taken with tanzanite rings.

In its natural form, tanzanite is typically a brown colour, however most blue tanzanites for sale today owe their colour to heat treatment, which is what reveals its attractive pleochroic blues and violets. Simply richer in colour, heat-treated tanzanite is considered to be the same quality as non heat-treated tanzanite's, and as a rule, the larger the tanzanite, the deeper the colour.

Probably the most noteworthy tanzanite gemstone is the "Queen of Kilimanjaro", which is set into a white gold tiara along with 803 garnets and 913 diamonds. It is thought to be one of the world's largest faceted tanzanite gemstones, and weighs 242 carats.

www.catherinebuddjewellery.co.uk

BESPOKE DESIGN: PEAR PERFECTION

This delightful and delicious one of a kind ring was custom made with a perfect pear shaped diamond in 18ct rose gold.

My lovely client Polly supplied the diamonds - a mixture of sparking stones of all different sizes - from rings she no longer wore.

The striking centre piece, a 1.08ct pear diamond was re-polished by hand by one of London's few remaining diamond polishers, around which we designed a beautiful irregular halo with diamond accents tapering into the double shank.

Details: 18ct rose gold with diamonds

For more information on bespoke jewellery design contact: info@catherinebuddjewellery.co.uk or 07701 080 615.

BESPOKE JEWELLEY: AQUAMARINE AND DIAMONDS

This special ring was custom made for a lovely couple with a sea-blue aquamarine and diamonds, in platinum and 18ct yellow gold.

Aquamarine in Latin means " "water of the sea" and according to legend, aquamarines were used by mermaids to keep sailors safe at sea.

Aquamarine is the birthstone for March.




Details: 0.68ct oval-cut aquamarine centre with white diamonds, in platinum and 18ct yellow gold.

www.catherinebuddjewellery.co.uk