july birthstone: ruby!

how fabulous is my birthstone?! 

when I was little I always wished my birthstone had been a pearl {#WASP} but now I have fully embraced vibrant red rubies as my stone. besides being a gorgeous shade of red, rubies are also incredibly durable stones (they are 9 on the Mohs scale of hardness--diamonds are a 10). 

rubies are considered the most powerful gem in the universe and are believed to be a symbol of passion, protection, and prosperity. so moral of the story, buy rubies! {side note: there are lots of rubies in my india-inspired fall 2013 collection, which launches the first week in sept}.

some famous rubies:

carmen lucia ruby. this burmese ruby is on display at the museum of natural history in dc. a whopping 23.1cts, its one of the finest and largest diamonds in the world.  burmese rubies over 20 carats are very rare so this gem is a true treasure

the liberty bell ruby. this 8,500 carat ruby (!!!) was carved into the shape of the liberty bell and accented with white diamonds. the massive gemstone was mined in south africa in the 1950s and is the largest mined ruby in the world. unfortunately the liberty bell ruby was stolen in 2011 and has yet to be found...

serious sparkle

every april and december, christie's hosts its magnificent jewels auction in nyc. it is heaven. I always go to the auction preview and buy the catalogue so I can daydream about owning everything, especially the diamonds over 20 cts. the auction preview is incredibly fun and as a gemologist, I'm a kid in a {very expensive} candy shop. the preview is open to the public and you can even try on some of the pieces (they said "no" when I asked to try on a $5m yellow diamond ring...).

last april I tried on this 50 ct sapphire ring. perfection.

this year the auction will take place on april 17 and all of the details of the lots for sale are now online and there are some incredibly stunning pieces. I'm most excited about all of the colored diamonds. here are a few of the pieces I cannot wait to see in person:

a 9 ct fancy vivid purplish pink diamond ring

emerald and diamond earrings 

ruby, diamond, and gold necklace

colored diamond necklace

all images, christie's

valentine's day

valentine's day is right around the corner and my valentine's collection is now available online! this collection features a variety of gemstones and organics in the red-pink color palette. unlike chocolates and flowers, these lovely pieces last forever!

july birthstone: ruby!

the glowing ruby shall adorn,

those who in july are born;

then they'll be exempt and free

from love's doubts and anxiety

I am constantly asked: "what is your favorite gemstone?" The answer really depends on the season (I'm all about carnelian in the fall and I die for vibrant emeralds in the summer), but rubies always hold a special place in my heart because ruby is my birthstone (my bday is july 16 :) )!

rubies are one of the hardest gemstones (don't mess with rubies!)--they are 9.0 on the Mohs scale and diamonds are 10. one of the most interesting facts I picked up while getting my gemology degree was the fact that rubies and sapphires have the same chemical composition, the only difference is color! so they are the same stone (fun fact: sapphires come in every color of the rainbow...just not red, because then they are considered rubies!).

in rare instances, rubies can have a star affect, called asterism. this is caused when light reflects off dense rutile impurities within the stone. this affect is believed to ward off tension and increase internal strength.

(an example of a star ruby--amazing!)

one of the world's finest and largest rubies (23.1 cts) can be seen at the smithsonian in dc. it is called the carmen lucia ruby because carmen's husband gave it to her as a gift (lucky woman!). this ruby was mined in the mogok region of burma in the 1930s. mogok is known for producing the highest quality rubies in the world.

(carmen lucia ruby, photo courtesy, smithsonian)

(amazing stone from garrard)

rubies are said to possess the powers of love, success, integrity, passion and promise. even if you don't believe in special powers of gemstones, you cannot deny the beauty of a deep red ruby on your finger!

(photo, harry winston)