Historically, the ruby is associated with royalty, love and vividness, passion and power. Thirteenth century medical literature from India tells us that a ruby could cure digestive disorders. In the Bible, only wisdom and a virtuous woman are more valuable than rubies (Proverbs 8:11 & 31:10). 

An extremely rare flawless ruby is actually more valuable than a diamond, the true emperor of gemstones. In 1550, the finest 1-carat ruby cost eight times more than a comparable quality 1-carat diamond. Wow! By 1894, this is dropped to a 2:1 ratio in favor of the ruby, but it is still incredible. I don’t know about you, but I generally think of the diamond as the most expensive gem stone available.

Some famous rubies include:
The Edwardes Ruby, a 167-carat ruby, donated to the British Museum of Natural History in 1887.
The Rosser Reeves Ruby, a 137-carat ruby, displayed at The Smithsonian.
The Edith Haggin de Long Ruby, a 100-carat ruby, displayed at The American Museum of Natural History.

Rubies are made of the mineral corundum, one of the most durable minerals, a crystalline form of aluminum oxide. Corundum has a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale and is extremely tough - Diamonds are a 10.

2. “Remove your jewelry while cleaning, swimming, or taking a shower.”  We have discussed that sterling silver will tarnish.  There is no faster way to speed the process than to wear it while swimming or cleaning with chemicals.  Strong chemicals (especially chlorine) reacts with the silver and causes immediate oxidation.  In fact, it oxidizes so fast that it pits the surface and can’t be cleaned or buffed back to its original luster.

3. “Remove jewelry while sleeping.” Most of my jewelry is strung on a wire. It is the highest quality wire available and has a 40 pound test strength.  But like anything else, it will wear out over time.  The more pulling and tugging it receives, the faster it will wear out. It is best to leave your jewelry in a cool, dry place while sleeping to avoid this unnecessary strain.

4. “Periodically clean jewelry with warm soapy water and a SOFT toothbrush.  Rinse thoroughly and dry completely.”  Warm soapy water will usually remove the light layer of tarnish that causes your jewelry to look less than new.  A soft toothbrush is more than sufficient to buff the surface.  Make sure you dry it completely after cleaning.  Water left inside the beads could begin to corrode the wire.  Simply shake your jewelry inside a towel to remove the droplets remain behind.

5. “Never use a silver polishing cloth on Swarovski crystals (our Sunshine Polishing Cloth is gentle enough to use on all our jewelry).”  A silver polishing cloth has tiny abrasives that buff the tarnish off silver making it look like new.  However, those same abrasives will scratch the surface of our Swarovski crystals causing them to look dull.  Our Sunshine Polishing Cloth is, however, gentle enough to use on the crystals and tough enough to remove tarnish with 1-2 swipes. 

6. “Never let your jewelry soak in water.”  See item 4 above.  Leaving water inside the beads for a long period of time will corrode the wire.

7. “Never use any kind of jewelry cleaners or dips.”  Never and any are the operative words here - not even “sterling silver cleaners” should be used.  Jewelry cleaners and dips contain chemicals that could remove the dark areas (oxidation) on letter beads and Bali beads.  They could also cause the same pitting mentioned above with chlorine and household cleaners.  PLEASE don’t take matters into your own hands.  If you feel you need to take drastic measures to clean your jewelry, contact me, and I will do my best to help.

The care card that comes with each bracelet includes the following instruction: “Never use any kind of jewelry cleaner or dip.” She said that sterling silver cleaner was not a “jewelry cleaner” and that I should have specified that “sterling silver cleaner” was not permitted. I thought I was being pretty clear when I said “never” and “any”, but I guess she misunderstood.

I offered to use my knowledge and experience to clean her bracelet, but told her I could not replace it. Please, please follow the care instructions for your jewelry - they are there for a reason. If you have questions, just ask!

Now all you have to do is click on the person you are buying for and a whole list of specific choices is presented. We have categories for mother, sister, grandmother, best friend, wife, daughter, new baby, teacher, graduate, cancer survivor, and Christian.

I believe everything happens for a reason and sure enough, this did too. Since I know that tarnish is the reaction of something with silver and solid sterling has unlimited layers to give up, I tried all the tricks I know to remove the tarnish. The tarnish came off the smooth round beads easily, however, the letters gave me more of a problem. Why would some of the sterling silver give up its tarnish and not others?

My searching introduced me to a wonderful thing called “argentium silver”. Sterling silver is, by definition, 92.5% silver and 7.5% something else (usually copper). Argentium silver is 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper + germanium which makes it extremely tarnish-resistant. Argentium silver is (as you can imagine) extremely expensive and very difficult to obtain. However, there are other types of tarnish-resistant sterling as well. Researchers have been experimenting with substituting different elements for some of the copper in sterling silver for years. I suspect that the smooth round beads were a slightly different alloy of silver, but I can’t prove it (my supplier wasn’t aware of any special properties).

I am hoping that in the future, tarnish-resistant sterling silver will become more prevalent and accessible. In the meantime, treat your sterling with care and respect and it will bless you with many years of beauty.

The best alternative turned out to be something called gold-filled beads. Gold-filled beads are much more economical and practical than solid 14K gold beads. They are not filled with gold as the name suggests, but rather a thick layer of gold is permanently bonded to a base metal. They should not be mistaken for gold-plated since they have 100 times more gold than plate - in fact, they are 5% 14K gold by weight. Under normal wear, gold-filled beads will never peel, flake, or wear off and can be treasured for generations.

Everything About Birthstones
by Gina Ritter

As a new parent or an old pro, there’s something wonderful about the birthstone. What does it mean? What can we find with our birthstone on it? Even children love to learn about their birthstones and receive special gifts.

January Birthstone: Garnet
Garnet, usually noted as the color red, is actually a gem of nature with its colors ranging from deep red to orange, yellow and green. Only blue is not found among garnets. Garnet is believed to be able to illuminate the night and protect the wearer from wounds, ill health and evil.

February Birthstone: Amethyst
The word “amethyst” comes from the Greek, meaning “not drunken,” and the gem is purported to have originated when the god Dionysus took out his anger on mortals.

March Birthstone: Aquamarine
Aquamarine is a beautiful light blue-green stone whose name is derived from the Latin “beryllus aquamarinus,” meaning “resembling seawater” — “aqua” meaning water and “mare,” sea. Since it’s the color of the sky, aquamarine is presumed to be heavenly or eternal. It’s also the color of water, carrying the legend that it was originally found in a mermaid’s treasure and making it a sailor’s talisman. Its light blue color symbolizes sympathy, trust, harmony or friendship in a relationship, and aquamarine is supposed to be the ideal gemstone for lovers or couples to give them happiness and riches.

April Birthstone: Diamond
While you may think of diamonds as being colorless or yellow, they really come in a rainbow of colors. Although they tend to be pale, they come in oranges, greens, pinks and blues, pale to bright yellows and several shades of brown now being given names like “cognac” and “champagne.” “Diamond” is from the Greek “adamas,” meaning unbreakable or unconquerable. Diamonds were believed to render poison harmless and to drive away insanity and bad dreams.

May Birthstone: Emerald
The name emerald was derived from French “esmeraude,” formed from a Latin root word meaning “green gemstone.” Like the garnet, the emerald is a natural color also linked to the earth goddess and fertility. “Emerald green” gained its named from this amazingly deep and beautiful green color. In lore it was sacred to the goddess Venus and interestingly, it’s been worn to ease the pain of childbirth. Emeralds promise good luck, well-being and healing.

June Birthstone: Pearl
Pearls are an organic gem, formed by an irritation in a sea oyster or freshwater mussels. Long ago, pearls were important financial assets, comparable in price to real estate, as thousands of oysters had to be searched for only one pearl. They were rare because they were created only by chance. Now, men culture pearls by setting a sea shell piece in the oyster and returning it back to the water until a sufficient amount of time has passed for it to create a pearl. The goddess Venus was linked to pearls as a symbol of innocence.

July Birthstone: Ruby
An extremely rare flawless ruby is more valuable than a diamond, a true emperor of the gemstones. Historically, the ruby is associated with royalty, love and vividness, passion and power. It was attributed to the power over life and death, strengthening the heart, diluting poisons and prevention of blood loss. Red emanates warmth and a strong sense of life.

August Birthstone: Peridot
The peridot is a light green color perfect for summer and said to rid night terrors and bad thoughts with some healing powers for the liver. The Egyptians used peridots and the ancient Romans coveted its brilliant green sparkle, naming it “evening emerald”. Peridot is also found in European medieval churches.

September Birthstone: Sapphire
In ancient times, the sky was believed to be “a gigantic blue sapphire stone into which the earth is embedded.” Buddhists believe the sapphire brings purity and spiritual enlightenment. The sapphire is found in all the colors of the sky as well as all the colors of the sunset, including yellow, pink, orange and purple (but not red; in fact, a red sapphire is actually a ruby). Interestingly, a large percentage of the population favors the color blue, and sapphires are connected to sympathy and harmony, friendship and loyalty. Sapphire blue is related to reliability, loyalty, faithfulness, love and yearning and like aquamarine, is considered a gem for couples and lovers. Sapphires are also connected to identifying liars, protection from black magic, visions and the ability to read the future.

October Birthstone: Opal and Tourmaline
In ancient Egyptian legend, the “rainbow gemstone” tourmaline got its amazing colors from heat while traveling to the sun on a rainbow. No two are alike, and it is thought to possess magical powers, especially in love, stability and friendship.

Opals carry a mystical healing power, according to the ancients, and can solve depression and help find true love. When the zodiac sign bearer carries an opal, his or her personality and positive characteristics are amplified. Opal reflects changing emotions and moods of people and our moods will choose the color of opal we prefer that day. In the time of the ancient Australian aborigines, it is reported that the creator came down to Earth on a rainbow to spread peace, and where his foot touched the ground, opals were formed in rainbow colors. The Roman senator Nonius chose exile rather than surrendering an opal to Mark Antony.

November Birthstone: Topaz
Topaz is used for clear sight and to break the chains of magical enchantment, protect the faithful against harm and increase strength. It’s said to change color in the presence of poisoned food or drink and to be colored with the golden glow of the mighty Egyptian sun god Ra. Rubbing or gentle heating of topaz electrifies it, causing it to attract small particles like bits of paper or hair. The Romans associated topaz with Jupiter, who also is the god of the sun. Topaz was said to cure insomnia, asthma and hemorrhages. The word “topaz” comes from the Sanskrit “tapas,” meaning ‘to glow.” Topaz is colored amber gold, peach, warm brown or oranges, blue and rarely pink. Citrine is a form of topaz.

December Birthstone: Blue Zircon
In the Middle Ages, zircon was said to aid sleep, bring prosperity and promote honor and wisdom in its owner. The name probably comes from the Persian word “zargun,” which means “gold-colored,” although zircon comes in pastel blue, bright blue, green, and dark red, yellow, brown, and orange. Zircon is said to rid wearers of bad dreams and spirits, grief, melancholy and sleeplessness. Zircon is often confused with the man-made diamond, cubic zirconia.

© Gina Ritter

Gina Ritter is the owner and publisher of Natural Family Online as well as a freelance and fiction writer. Visit her at GinaRitter.com and Blame Mama Media.

1. I am a TV junkie when my favorites shows have new episodes. The shows that can drag me away from just about anything are 24, Prison Beak, CSI:Miami, House, Standoff and Grey’s Anatomy.
2. If I am having a bad day all it takes is chocolate to make it better.
3. I fell 12 feet out of a tree when I was 28 and (only!) shattered by leg and ankle. I thank God for keeping me safe.
4. I ran competitively for 8 years in high school and college. I ran for fun (huh?!) for another 6 years before breaking my leg.
5. I have started watching Seseme Street with my 2 year old. I think Cookie Monster is a riot!

Some people I admire and would like to know more about are Gina Ritter and Crystal Unrau.

• Largest cut diamond in the world: “Star of Africa” is pear-shaped, 74 facets, 530.20 carats, set in the Royal Scepter (in the Tower of London), and was cut from the Cullinan.
• Third largest cut diamond: “The Great Mogul” was found in the mid-seventeenth century in India and weighed approximately 280 carats.
• Largest natural diamond in the world: “The Cullian” was discovered in South Africa in l095, weighed 3,106 carats and yielded nine major and 96 smaller brilliant-cut stones.
• Second largest natural diamond in the world: “The Excelsior” is a high-clarity, blue-white stone, discovered in l893 in South Africa, cut into 21 stones.
• Oldest Diamond: “The Koh-i-Nur” dates back to 1304 and originally weighed l986 carats. It was later cut to l08.93 carats and is kept in the Tower of London.