Emerald

EMERALD: The best of these gems of Venus are a brilliant green, smooth and
trasparent and without dots or spots. Emerald attract wealth and give the
wearer interlligence and good health. They drive out evil spirits and cure
defects of the eyes, regulate blood pressure and nerve ailments. These
gemstone improve faculties related to the brain, such as memory,
communication, intuition, the intellect, and the ability to learn. However
newly married couple should not wear them as they impair sexual desire.
Emerald was once worn to guard against plague and the bites of venomous
reptiles. Tradition had it that the emerald breaks when he or she who wears
it is unchaste; even today the belief is that the stone will darken if the
spouse is faithless. Apparently a snake best worn when Mercury is in Virgo,
or a Wednesday, on the ring finger of the right hand weight at least 3
carats. Those born on the 3,9,12,18,21 and 30th of the month should select
stones other than the emerald.

Ruby

RUBY (Manik): of good quality is as expensive as a diamond. The stone
belongs to the Sun and so protects the wearer from sunstroke. As it is of
the colour of blood warriors wore it to battle. The ruby also endows
knowledge, intelligence and mental peace and ensures longevity. Women are
warned against wearing rubies as they may lose some of their lustre to the
stone. Those born on the 8,17,26,6,15 and 24th of the month should not wear
rubies. A stone of 3 to 5 carats set in gold worn on the ring finger gains
more power if worn when the Sun is in Aries or Leo.

Yellow Sapphire

YELLOW SAPPHIRE (Pushkaraj) is a yellow transparent stone that belongs to
Jupiter. One who wears it becomes intelligent, charitable and pious. Reputed
to attract wealth and honour, it acts as a protective charm. This stone
helps those facing difficulties in property and land-related matters. Worn
by a girl, it predicts early marriage for her. Generally, a stone or
weighing 7 to 15 carats should be worn on the first finger of right land. It
should be set in gold and worn when Jupiter is in Cancer. Those born on
2,3,5,6,7,8,11,14,15,16,17,20,25,26 an 29 of the month should avoid yellow
sapphires.

According to other astrologers and in particular those who fellow the
European line of thought, every month has a gemstone associated with it.

Blue Sapphire

BLUE SAPPHIRE (Neelam) of good quality is an expensive gemstones and has the
great power of Saturn on is. Available in shades from dark to light blue,
the stone could cause great havoc if it does not suite the owner. Blue
sapphire should therefore be worn only after a trial of around 21 days.
Those born 1,2,3,4,9,10,11,12,13,19,20,21,22,27,28,29 and 30th of the month
should be particularly cautious before wearing this stone. It is has a
positive effect, this stone has the magical poweer to elevate its user to a
higher status from all sides. Some astrologers believe that it is so
powerful that it can alleviate even long-term misfortune and bestow
everything one could desirehealth, wealth, longevity and happiness. It also
cures fainting epilepsy, impotence, mental disorders, deafness and baldness.
Worn on the second finger of the right hand and set in gold the weight
should be around 5 to 7 carats and the jewel worn when Saturn is in Libra.

Diamonds

DIAMAND: The one who wears a diamond lives in luxury and naturally so, since
the stone is expensive. A diamond must be given as a token of love or
friendship; its power is lost if the stone is bought by the wearer. It is a
widespread belief that a diamond can determine guilt or innocence and that
it would glow if the accused was innocent. The best diamonds are colourless,
but coloured diamonds, termed 'fancy' can be green blue black and other
colours.

They drive away evil spirits, ensure marital bliss and attract wealth. The
stone encourages fierceness, strength and fortitude, strengthens friendship
and protects from evil, disease and plagues. Symbolic if innocence, justice,
faith and strength, the diamond makes its wearers courageous and victorious
ove enemies. It also builds strong bones and protects the mother and baby
during childbirth. Set in gold or platinum it prevents nightmares. A six
sided stone bring balance and harmony, while triangular stones augur
disharmony and friction. Ideally a diamond should weight 2.5 to 1 carat. It
should be worn on the first finger of right hand and when Venus is in Taurus
or Pisces, or on Friday. However those born on 1,3,9,10,12,18,19,27 and 28th
of the month should avoid this stone.

Birthstones and Astrology

The faith that many people have in the properties of gemstone to bring them
good luck and protection is rooted in the tradition of centuries and exists
even in these days of scientific specticism and logic. Throughout history,
most cultures have had countless beliefs and fascinating tales about the
mysterious powers of these precious stones and other rare artefacts. As gems
shine like the stars above, astronomers and astrologers of the earliest
civilisations associated them with the planets and with the signs of the
zodiac and said that they were a source of mysterious rays. Their properties
provided the power to combat the malevolent effect of unfavourable planets,
to bring good luck, prosperity, status, knowledge and concentration, good
health, to avoid disasters and to change the course of an individual's life.
Almost every religion of the world now recommends crystals or gemstones for
protectiion, healing and contemplation, s well as to develop the personality
of an individual on a spiritual and material plane. Gems are thought to be
so powerful that they apparently led to a higher state of conciounses and
perception;thus they played and do so even today, an important part in
occult practices.

Gaius Plinius Secundus, otherwise known as Pliny the Elder wrote in his
book, The Natural History that some minerals possessed great values and
powers. For instance, a blue sapphire would bring good fortune, love and
release for prisoners. Zircon was thought to bless farmers with a good
harvest and to guard against lightning; it also ensured prudence in business
matters, to ward off poison, and exorcise the devil. Holding the stone in
the mouth was believed to cheer the heart and mind. Gradually these
traditions grew into faith in the power of crystals, a belief that the
Romans codified and taught to the Germans in the North.

Ancient astronomers divided the sky that they saw into twelve zones and each
was given a colour. At the same time, the power of a gemstone was belived to
reside in its colour and so each sign of the zodiac gained a gemstone. As
people discovered more gemstones of approximately the same colour, these
became associated with calender months rather than the zodiac signs. The
current cult of birthstones is a consequence of this development, but each
culture, be it Roman, Arabic, Jewish, Polish, Russian, Italian or Hindu
chose a different set or gems for each month.

The astrologies of the East and West often affirm the influence of planets
ans stars on all life. According to present day astrologers, the future of a
person depends on the position of various planets at the instant of his or
her birth. Since each planet is accociated with a gemstone, the light that
the gem emitscan cure or alleviate ailments. The reason stated is that the
birthstone stabilises energy flow in the body and helps realise inner peace.
They prescribe gems that can therefore neutralise the strong to subtle
malefic or disturbing influence of any planet that may affect the person
pcychologically as well as physically.

Gems are composed of minerals that are essential to growth. The lack of a
certain mineral could lead to ill health. Wearing the appropriate gem could,
according to gem therapists, cure this situation by maintaining a balance
between minerals in the body and in this manner, remove physical maladies as
well as help overcome problems of the body and mind. Contemporary life
commands great concentration, flexibility and energy in order to achieve
integrity and progress. Such intense concentration has been achieved through
contemplation in front of a crystal or gemstone. This is holistic process
and the time needed to establish the balance and to feel a stronger advance
in the field of perception depends om the individual.

There are various theories as to how gemstones influence events relevant to
the owner. One such suggests that planets sometimes have negative
'vibrations' that the gem neutralises, perhaps acting as a protective
shield. Vedic astrology supports this theory by asserting that remedial
measures can mitigate the harmful influence of planets. In particular,
faultless gems of not less than two carats in weight, worn in contact with
the skin, are the most beneficial for astrological purposes and should be
combined with other practices like prayer, meditation, ane service. Yogic
theories also believe that gemstones stabilise the chakras in and around the
body. They help in realising inner peace and stability, direct consciouness
and offer protection from psychic and mental influences by maintaining the
physical immunity and in neutralising existing difficulties. Whatever the
philosophy, the general belief is that wearing gems will bring about success
in a career, foster a long and healthy life and alter one's personality.
This personality change effects an improvement in the capacity to predict
market trends and so increase business profits. It can render more intense a
romantic involvement or even save a faltering marriage. Wearing the right
kind of gem could assure young people who are always most concerned about
their attachments that love will be constant forever. It can bring an
important encounter closer and lead to a satisfying phas in love and romance
giving ongoing affairs a special lustre. One the other hand, a gem like
malachite would provide pretection from undesirable seduction.

Generally, a gem should be set in such a way that it touches the body.
Placing the birthstone in cintact with the skin on a painful area can
neutralise mild paints in a short time. However it should be with the wearer
at all times and no one else should touch it if it is to retain its power.
The stone will change its vibrations and lose contact with the wearer if it
is not worn for more than one period moon. If a crystal or gemstones is worn
as a pendant on a chain or choker, it should be located by feeling a
sensation of oneness in the area of aorta or breast. It should touch the
breastbone. A ring on the thumb endows strength and willpower but worn on
the forefinger, it gives self-control. On the middle finger, it affirms
personality while on the ring finger it denotes accomplishment. On the
little finger, the life force is encouraged. A bracelet or bangle on the
left hand shows openness wisdom, while on the right hand is signifies
self-affirmation and activity.

The most powerful gems are diamond, ruby, emerald, pearl, chrysoberyl
cat's-eye, red coral, hessonite garnet, blue sapphire and yellow sapphire.
Astrologically ruled by nine planets, these nine precious gems are of great
importance. Their actrological properties are described below. Other gems
might substitute these nine planetary gems with less effect.

All about diamonds

In general thought, the colour of a diamond is not directly related to the
impurities and their concentrations but it due to defects produced in the
lattice by the impurity atom. Bombardment of the crystal by atomic particles
can knock out carbon atoms from their positions in the crystal lattice,
produce defects and so induce colour. Gamma rays and X-rays do not have any
mass and so cannot displace the carbon atoms and thus do not produce
defects.

Exposed to a stream of high energy electrons, the diamonds attain a blue
shade, the depth depending on the penetration of the electron into the
stone. Electron -hole pairs are trapped at the defects that absorb red light
and so colour the stone blue, but this colour fades with gentle heating. A
high energy electron colliding with a carbon atom could give it enough
energy for it to knock other carbon atoms out of their places. For example,
electrons of 13 Me V from a big accelerator can give a carbon atom a maximum
energy of 35 ke V; this atom is capable of displacing about a hundred other
atoms. This cascade of collosions tends to make the diamond greenish in
colour. Neutrons and alpha particles are far more effective in tranferring
energy to the carbon atoms and the cascade of collisions turn the diamonds
into a definite green colour. Even the highest energy alpha particles from a
cyclotron penetrate the diamond only a small distance and the colour is a
surface effect that may disappear when the stone is polished.

Composition of Diamonds

Almost all diamonds contain impurity atoms, mainly nitrogen and boron, but these cannot be seen even at the highest magnification. The effect of these impurities is to change the properties of the stone, mostly by giving it a light colour. For instance, the nitrogen tends to collect into small clusters of two three atoms and the interactions between the carbon and nitrogen atoms create new energy levels in the crystal. An optical centre is formed that absorbs light of wavelengths longer than 230 nm. Natural diamonds may have several such optical centres of different configurations. When a single nitrogen atom substitutes for a carbon atom, an N3 optical ventre is formed and the ultraviolet absorption edge comes close to the visible region. The 'A' optical centre atoms gives substantial infrared absorption in the region 10,000 to 7000 nm. An arrangement of four nitrogen atoms around a missing carbon atom gives a B centre with the result that the ultraviolet absorption is lowered though the infrared spectra of A and B centres are similar. The addition of a nearby vacancy in the carbon lattice results in the so-called H3 and H4 centres.

Natural diamonds contain these optical centres in randomly variable concentration and gemmologists label the type of diamond according to the absorption spectrum. Most diamonds have N3, A and B centres and these are the Type 1 sort. Type 1a diamonds contain primarily A and B centres, but if N3 centres are predominant, it becomes a Type 1b. The Type 1a is further divided into Type 1aA and Type 1aB according as to whether there are greater A or B centres. Type 2 diamonds have little or no nitrogen in them but may contain boron makes them 2b semi-conducting stones. In nature, it is possible to find stones which are of more than one type. Syntheric diamonds are usually Type 1b and may have up to ten per cent of iron and nickel as contamination from the process. Ultraviolet, X-rays and electrons excite luminescence in diamond that is usually blue thought often yellow and green colours are seen.

Diamond Industry

Diamond are extensively used in industry, but are better known for their use as gemstones. The value of a diamond depends on size, quality and shape. In the seventeenth century, Tavernier recorded that the value of a diamond was proportional to the square of the weight, and this is still true. The most popular cut as a gemstones is the 'brilliant', a round cut with fifty-eight facets that was developed to obtain the maximum brilliance and fire from the stone. There are also other fancy cuts like the kite, traingle and baguette. The term, 'melee' refers to stones cut from small fragments of larger rough stones, obtained after cutting. Approximately eight to sixteen such stones together weight one carat, and many of these small stones are cut with fifty-eight facets. Smaller melee stones are cut with only eighteen facets and may be as small as 0.01 carat each.

Merchants found that the dried brown fruit of the locust tree (ceratonica siliqua), that looked liked a horn (keration in Greek), had seeds of an extraordinarily uniform weight. In course of time, the seed, the keration or carat became the standard for weighing diamonds and gold. Now the standard weight for diamonds is the carat (two-hundred milligram or a fifth of a gram), rather than the more picturesque seed.

When heated in oxygen above 650 C, a coating of graphite forms on the diamond. In an inert atmosphere, the transition to graphite occurs above 1570 C. Diamond is extremely inert to acids and chemicals until heated to 1020K, but sodium nitrate attacks it at 430 C and metals react to form carbides. At pressures of 70,000 atmospheres and 2500 C, graphite may crystallise into diamond. The specific gravity of diamond is 3.5 and its refractive index is 2.4 as against 1.5 for glass and 1.33 for water. Diamond also has high dispersion and this gives 'fire' to the crystal. Diamond conducts heat but is a good electrical insulator; this is sure way to detect a real stone from fakes.

Valuable Diamonds

Diamonds have been found all over the world, the most ancient and famous being the old Indian deposits that were worked from earliest times. Till about the late 1700s, all the iamonds in the world were found in fields and on river beds, mostly near Hyderabed in the Deccan Plateau. Large stones like the Kohinoor were found there around 1300 AD. The town of Golconda so became the centre of the diamond trade of the world. In spite of the output from India, Borneo and, to some extent Brazil, diamonds were very rare. Valuable diamond fields in the gold-mining area of Minas Gerais were discovered in Brazil about 1725. Portuguese merchants took Brazilian diamonds to Goa, India, to pass them off as Indian stones. Mining was carried out to intensively in Brazil that the main ares wee almost exhausted within twenty years.

At about the time that the Brazilian fields were being depleted, the first diamond field of South Africa was discovered in 1866 AD, when children of a Boer farmer found 'a pretty pebble' in the sandy bed of the Vaal River. Four years later, diamonds were found in the earth far from a river source, and the practice of dry-digging for diamonds was born. More sophisticated mining techniques allowed deeper subterranean digging, as well as more efficient river marine mining than ever before. By 1871, world annual production, mostly from South Africa, exceeded a million carats. Soon South Africa had the monopoly for diamond production, until major deposits were found in Siberian permafrost in 1954. Currently Western Canada is the site of the world's newest diamond rush. Diamonds have also been found in the Urals and in Australia and these sources compete with South Africa.

Diamonds - The Mind Stone

The mined stones are classifield into different varieties.

01. Diamond, well crystallised, transparent and of gem quality.

02. Bort, boart or bortz, poorly crystallised, grey to brown in colour, translucent to opaque and used mostly in industry as an abrasive. The large and black stones of granular crystalline structure found almost exclusively in the State of Bahia in Brazil are also known carbonado or carbonate.

03.Ballas-spherical masses of minute diamond crystals more or less concentrically arranged. This mass is very hard and tough and has important industrial applications.

Rough diamond crystals are mostly of diameter less than a millimetre in diameter. Big crystals are extremely rare and so valuable that they acquire the status of an 'antique' and are known by special and distinctive names. History and legend play a bigger part than the actual inherent value of these stones. They are mostly found as part of the crown jewels of various nations.

A natural diamond mined from the earth always has inclusions of graphite or other metals that are visible as dark spots in the rough stone. Voids often filled with gas are visible as white or shiny spots within the stone. Stones that do not have any inclusions even under 50X magnifications are extremely rare and are collectors' items.

Carbon atoms arranged in inter-penetrating face-centred cubic lattices form the crystal structure of diamond. An inifinitely large crystal would be totally colourless and transparent except to ultraviolet light wavelengths shorter than 230 nm. However, all natural diamonds contain defects in the crystal lattice as well as impurity elements and these defects cause colour in the stone. Again, the growth patterns may abruptly change, with further layers becoming mirror images of the earlier growth. The 'twinning' that often occures within the crystal makes the crystals very hard to cut and they are called 'macles'.

Color of Gemstones

A milder version of this color, pink has been known to work wonders. This
colour too relaxes muscles, relieves tension and has an overall soothing
effect, so much so that jewellers suggest that pink gemstones shoul be worn
at any important event.

While a gemstone can change the personality and health of one who wears it,
any individual can in turn change the character of the gem over time. Sweat
and body oils give turquoise a green tinge and darken it. On the other hand,
emeralds may absorb oil and get more lustrous. Rubbing against the body,
pearls may gradually lose their shine and opals, their fire. Some stones
like amber develop an electric charge when rubbed while hematite acquires
magnetic properties. Whatever effects a gem may have because of its colour,
three factors determine the value of a coloured stone. The hue defines
whether it is red, blue or green. The next factor is the purity of the
colour or the absence of a mixture o hues. Finally, the intensity of colour
is another criterion. The value of a stone depends on these three
parameters, the best tone being the most expensive. For instance, a good
ruby should shine bright and pure red, without a trace of blue, while a blue
sapphire must be a deep blue without a trace of yellow or black. The most
expensive diamond would have no colour at all, or else should have a deep
colour, the richest and purest in nature.

The perception of colour also depends very much on the light that falls on
the object. A white sheet appear red when viewed in red light. Textiles too
appear to change colour with the ambient light and customers always look at
fabric in sunlight outside the store when different pieces have to be
matched. Similarly, the colour of a gemstone too depends very much on the
light that falls on it. It will appear very different when viewed by
candlelight, in sunlight or in the glare of a fluorescent lamp. Jewellers
and gemmologists therefore take the sun's rays to be several colours.
Electric lamps whose light spectrum is as close to sunlight as possible are
necessary for gem grading.

Another problem faced by gem buyers is that colour perception varies
considerably with each individual. Indeed some humans and all dogs are
colour-blind. Sensitivity to colour too varies as a result of the internal
structure of the eye. The human retina consists of rods and cones. The cones
are of three types, those sensitive to red and yellow, other to green and
yet others to the blue to violet regions of the light spectrum. The
sensitivity of these differs from person to person and therefore colour
judgment can be very subjective;this can affect the estimated price of a
gemstone significantly. Although one jeweller may sell in good faith a ruby
that appears to him as a pure red and so of high value, a second valuer may
see a trace of blue in the same stone and thus declar it to have a much
lower value.

Colour appears to affect well-being and behaviour. It affects man in a
combination of biological, physiological, psychological, social and cultural
factors. For instance, magenta, red, orange, yellow, and yellow-green are
warm colours associated with excitement, happiness and comfort. Cool colours
include violet, blue, light blue, cyan and sea green and induce calm abd
peace as well as sadness, withdrawal and repression. Scientific studies show
that red light is more likely to produce epileptic seizures than blue light.
Red also increases blood pressure, respiration and heart rate. Naturally,
people connected the lustre and the colour of gemstones with medicine,
astrology and emotions. Even today, in an age of scientific cynicism, men
and women wear gems for their mystical ability to endow health, wealth and
happiness. The belief that gems possess magical properties has led to a huge
volume of oral traditions and literature, apart from billions of dolloars
worth of trade and industry. To increase profits, jewellers have devised
various processes than can improve or even change the colour of a gemstone.
These are described in a later chapter.

Legend of Gemstones

According to the philosophy of colour therapy, the days of the week also
demand varying colours. Wearing white on Monday, often considered a
depressing day apparently boosts confidence and overcomes failure. On
Tuesday red gives enthusiasm and zeal. Green is a soothing colour for
Wednesday and on Thursday yellow is prescribed since it is traditionally
associated with saints and rishis who achieved their aims easily. Violet
offers pease and calm on a Friday but a deep blue excites the imagination on
a Saturday. Orange or black is suitable for Sunday, the day of relaxation.

According to the Indian system there are apparently nine colours in the
human body paralleling the nine colours of the rays from the sun,
ultraviolet, violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, re and infra-red.
Indian astrology also specifies nine important planets Sun and Moon, Rohu
and Ketu, Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, Marcury and Mars. Correspondingly there
are nine precious stones or navaratnas that affect the individual these are
gomed, blue sapphire, diamond, yellow sapphire, emerald, coral, pearl, ruby
and cat's eye.

The philosophy of Yoga postulates seven major energy centres or chakras in
the human body that govern its behaviour and health. When all chakra points
are balanced, the seven colours of the rainbow surround us. Any disturbance
at any level shows in the behaviour of the chakra.

01. The Grown Chakra is situated on the top of the head and violet or white
is its colour. The Crown chakra controls the pineal gland in the brain and
so connects with these spirits that are helpful. If the chakra is not
active, and application of violet, the colour of the spirits is recommended
in order to promote enlightenment and spiritual awakening. Violet also curbs
the appetite and soothes nerves and relaxes muscles. It is also beneficial
in the treatment of arthritis, acute cass of consumption and insomnia and is
especially useful for those suffering from migraine. The gems that are worn
for the application of violet and white are alexandrite, amethyst, clear
quartz, diamond and selenite.

02.The Third Eye Chakra is situated in the middle of the forehead and
governs intuitive experiance. Indigo is the associated colour that gives
power to the pituitary gland that is linked to the nervous system, and so
improves mental abilities and the psychic potential of all humans. It is
also the source of intuition, clairvoyance and extra-sensory perception. The
colour influences the eyes and ears and controls bleeding and cures
abscesses. Indigo alleviates many disorders of the stomach and skin and
being a dark blue, is the line to the subconcious, strengthening the
sensitivity to truth and encouraging dreams in a sleeping person. The colour
has the psychological effect of allaying fear, frustration, and allied
problems, Indigo coloured gemstones are azurite, calcite, lapis lazuli,
sodalite and quartz.

03. The Throat Chakra is centred in the neck. Describing the beginning of
the world, Indian mythology relates that when the gods and demons churned
the waters, among other objects, poison spewed out and threatened to engulf
the world. When the God Shiva drank this poison to save mankind and his
consort Parvati held his throat to stop the poison entering his body, the
voman turned his neck blue. The colour blue has since then been considered
the colour of purity, but it is also the colour of Shani, the malefic
planet. A relaxing colour, blue makes people more more decisive and
clarifies though and speech. It lowers blood pressure and so induces sleep
and decreases palpitation. Chromotherapists treat ulcers, inflammatory
disorders and back problem with the blue. It has been used to treat
nonmalignant tumours, psychological problems, addictions, eating disorders,
impotence and depression. It eliminates toxins, cures liver disorders and
jaundice and offers relief for various other ailments. The blue gemstones
that are recommended in such cases are aquamarine, blue sapphire, chalcedony
and turquoise as well as blue diamonds.

04. The heart Chakra is located near the heart and at the centre of the
chest. It is the centre of the soul balancing the various organs such as the
heart, lungs, bronchia, arms, hands, and other organs. Naturally the colour
of this centrel Chakra is green, at the middle of the visible spectrum.
Linked with equilibrium, green influences the working of the heart and blood
supply. The colour indentified with Goddess Lakshmi, green cleanses and
renews the mind and body, removes stress and initiates a feeling of peace
and unconditional love. Mildly sedative and generally antiseptic and
germicidal, it can sometimes help in curing bacterial infections. The colour
gives a feeling of renewal, new life, freshness, and clarity. Nervous
conditions, hay fever, ulcers, influenza, malaria, colds, sexual disorders
and cancer have been successfully treated with green which is why hospital
rooms are generally painted light green. Emerald, green jade, kunzite, green
quartz and tourmaline are typically the green gemstones recommended for
wear.

05. The solar Plexus Chakra, centres just above the navel is the seat of the
human nervous system. When it is not correctly balanced problems with
digestion, liverishness, diabetes, and skin occur. Yellow is the colour of
the Solar Plexus Chakra and acts as a sensory stimulant that sharpens
perception and comprehension that in turn encourages wisdom and clarity of
thought. It affects the pulse and respiration rates as it stimulates the
brain, the liver and the spleen and acts as a decongestant and an
antibacterial agent that is laxative and diuretic. It has treated depressive
patients. Sociologists individuals that yellow street lighting is linked to
violet street fight. Gems of this colour are amber, citrine, tiger's eye,
topaz and yellow sapphire.

06. The Spleen Chakra lies below the navel and gives energy to the bronchia.
Its malfunction causes disturbances in the lungs, spleen, kidneys and
stomach and produces gall stones. When correctly aligned, it helps to treat
hernia, appendicitis and diseases of the kidney. On the other hand, conncted
with orange colour, it is a very effective emotional stimulant and inducs a
sense of independence, of happiness, of enthusiasm and bonhomie. Symbolic of
prosperity and pride, orange is useful for stimulating the blood supply and
energising the nerves. This colour reduces inhibitions, gives courage and
strength, promotes pleasure and adds energy and assurance and provides
sexual stimulation. Those in need are therefore advised to wear carnelian,
coral, gold, calcite, moonstone.

07. The Root Chakra is at the base of the spine and symbolic of heat, fire
and anger. Red governs this chakra and provides strength derived from the
earth. Strong willed and honest people generally choose this colour and wear
red gemstones such as ruby, agate, bloodstone, haematite, red coral or red
garnet to gain vitality, courage and confidence. Through the red colour, the
Root Chakra energizes the feet, legs, the genito-urinary system and
adrenaline glands. The colour stimulates arterial blood and brings warmth to
extremities. It stimulates brain activity heart rate, respiration and blood
pressure. It adds excitement but is also seen as an aggressive domineering
and threatening colour.

Colour and Health

Diamonds may well be a girl's best friend and may men may also consider
wearing diamonds, but for sheer volume of trade, for more coloured stones
are sold. This is because the colours of most precious and semi-precious
stones have always attracted the greatest attention. Rubies and emeralds as
well as blue and yellow sapphires are sought after rather than clear white
zircons or light coloured topaz. The reasons for this arise from the
profound interaction of colour with human moods and behaviour.

To begin with,the sun radiates mny colours. When the sun goes behind the
black clouds of the monsoon or is less visible during the long winter of
northen latitudes, a profound depression settle on all living beings. Bears
hinbernate and birds migrate to sunnier climates. Social scientists aver
than even the human psyche is affected. Sunlight appears to alleviate almost
every affliction and chronic disease. Once recommended as a cure for
tuberculosis, solar radiation improves digestion and nutrition, quickens
blood and lymph circulation and increases the elimination of impurities
through the skin. when light enters the body (through the eyes of the skin)
it generates signals that travel through the nerves to the pineal gland
attached to the brain. In turn this controls our daily physio-biological
rhythms. The gland responds to light levels by producing melatonin that
determines metabolic rhythm.

Scientific research has proved that the colours worn in clothing can alter
mood, physiology and fate to some extent. According to psychologists, colour
appears to affect well-being and behavior in a combination of biological,
physiological, phychological, social and cultural factors. Each individual
is attracted to some colours more than to others and his or her total
reaction to that hue appears to improve and balance his or her emotional
state. On the average, magenta, red, orange, yellow, and yellow green are
regarded as warm colours and are associated with excitement, happiness and
comfort. The colours at the blue end of the spectrum tend to be cold and are
connected with sadness, sleep and discomfort.

Coloured objects can therefore relieve emotional stress and even cure
ailments. Red light is known to increase blood pressure, respiration and
heart rate in men and women, and statistically, is more likely to produce
epileptic seizures than blue light. Violet, blue, light blue, cyan and sea
green are cool coloures that induce calm and peace but and excess of these
shades encourage sadness, withdrawal and repression.

Colour can help heal illness by adjusting the light in the room. Wearing
coloured gemstones can also help the healing process. This method of
treatment, called chromotherapy, restores the colour imbalance of the
individual by appliying it externally to the body. Chromotherapists say that
coloured light gemstones have innate healing energies and do change one's
mood. The mixture of coloures in sunlight establishes equilibrium of mind
and body and causes a sense of well being and this is why sunbathing is
advised and is so popular in northern climes.

Chromotherapy is not a recent fad. The ancient Egyptians believed that the
god Thoth started the practice of healing through colours and advocated
remedies, and cures using colored stones, minerals. crystals and dyes. The
method of healing through colour, spread to ancient Greece where it was used
in combination with other elements like air, water, fire, earth and ether.
They believed that colours represented bodily fluids, yellow was choler or
bile. The blue of lapis lazuli, turquoise and aquamarine related to the sky
and water.

A healthy person was one who balanced all four colours and so treatment with
colour removed and imbalances. Ayurvedic doctors today administer colour
therapy to their patients in the belief that each colour has specific
healing properties and the vibrations from each colour establish a balnce
that is necessary for holistic well-being.

There is an enormous range of colour found among minerals and even within a
single mineral species, there is great subtlety in the variation of colour.
Tourmaline, beryl, quartz, and spinel are some minerals that occur in a wide
range of colours. In these cases, the value of the mineral is directly
linked o the fashion of the times, that is, what colour is cosidered most
desirable.

Although chromotherapy is not very widely practised as a branch of medicine,
the traditional link between the colours of gemstones and the mood of the
wearer persists. The colour of the stone that an individual wears can
determine mood for that time. There is also a belief that the colored light
from the stone on it's wearer betrays his or her inner mind, that he has
lied or is unfaithful or that he may be ill or going to die.

Today, jewelles and therpists prescribe coloured gemstones to alleviate
chronic diseases as well as to effect changes in the life of an individual.
Experience has shown that wearing particular gems appears to bring on
physical, mental or spiritual relief, and aid one's pursuits in life.
However during the Middle Ages, the rise of logic and logical thought
altered sensibilities all over Europe. Medicines that removed symptoms of
disease immediately were preferred. Traditional practices of healing were
dubbed 'wichcraft' and 'sorcery' and so were forced into disuse and to some
extent, oblivion. It was an Arab physician, Avicenna who re-invented
chromotherapy by prescribing naturally occurring colours to check the spread
of disease; the advised patients againts the malevolent effect of unfriendly
colours. This method of treatment became popular for a short time during the
Renaissance and short into fame in the nineteenth century in America after
experiments conducted on plants and animals proved beyond doubt that colours
had a strong influence on them. Prison cells were then painted blue to calm
their inmates while pink became the prescribed colour for nurseries.

Cutting and Polishing Diamonds

India has always been regarded as the natural and ancient home of the
diamonds. Up to 1728 the whole world's supply of diamonds was found in the
Deccan plateau in the valleys and on the beds of streams to a depth of
twelve to sixteen feet of earth. Placed there by the Gods as a gem endowed
with magical qualities, Indians revered tyhe diamond as far back as 1500 BC,
the age of the Vedas.

During those ancient times, diamonds were not cut. The rough stones were
mounted as such in jewellery, in helmets and on swords. This is why Indians
who wrote on gems, such as Buddhabhatta, Thakkura Pheru describe the shape,
and nature of rough diamonds in great detail. For example, Thakkura Pheru
wrote in 1315 AD: 'The best rough diamond has symmetric facets, prominent
solid angles, very sharp edges, of the first water, free of impurities,
sparkling, flawless and light in weight.'

Being the hardest known mineral in nature, only diamonds can cut or abrade
other diamonds. Artisans used this property to best advantage; they rubbed
one diamond against another for months to get the shape they wanted. They
were expert in the art of grinding and polishing diamond crystals and kept
gemstone shaping a family secret, not to be revealed to the outside world.
It is likely that their techniques dated back thousands of years, but there
is hardly anymention of this in Indian Literature. Ancient texts state that
while the diamond was extremely bhard and indestructible, it could easily be
split by a light blow along certain directions and that the earliest diamond
workers employed such techniques to remove heavy flaws and cracks and to
smooth the faces of crystals. Kautilya in his Arthashastra wrote of the
ability of diamonds to scratch hard metals an other gemstones. It is
possible that Indian wworkers tried to cut and polish diamonds with other
diamonds as early as 77 AD, engravers embedded diamond fragments in iron to
make cutting tools. According to Pliny,these tools could in turn cut
diamonds. During his travels in India in the eighteenth century Tavernier
who wrote extensively on the gemstones industry in the country, found
artisans in India were using iron wheels with diamond grit to remove flaws
in diamond crystals. At the time of his visit, most Indians were merely
polishing rough stones that had regular crystallised shapes. Faults like
inclusions and grains were removed by grinding, but deep faults were sought
to be hidden by a great number of small facets. Some European workers who
had practised diamond cutting in Europe but had settled in India were given
the larger and more expensive stones for cutting. They were better at this
work perhaps because they had already attained a higher level of perfection
in their work. It has been recorded that as early as 1375 AD, diamond
cutters in Germany were active and had even formed a guild in Nurenberg.

GNT573 - Garnet

Rhodolite Garnet, Blood Red color, Ovel Shape, 9.3x7.4mm, 2.94ct
Price US $11.95

GNT572 - Garnet

Rhodolite Garnet, Pink Mix Blood Red color, Ovel Shape ,9.4x8mm, 3.07ct
Price US $12.95

GNT571 - Garnet

Rhodolite Garnet, Pink Mix Blood Red color, Ovel Shape ,8.8x6.8mm, 2.60ct
Price US $10.95

All about diamonds

Of all precious stones, diamond has been and is the most desired, thought it does not have the attractive colour of emerald or ruby. Over the centuries this passion for diamonds has endowed the stones with histories that are rich with mysticism, intrigue, adventure and romance. Found rarely inm nature, the gemstones is the hardest and most durable material on earth. More important, the mining and sale of diamonds has been so rigidly controlled, that the price of the stones has been increasing steadily over the last three centuries.

Chemists and crystallographers have determined that the diamond is merely pure carbon crystallised in a structure different from that of common graphite and charcoal. As early as 1675 AD, Sir Isaac Newton concluded that diamond would burn in air twenty years later, Averani and Targioni demostrated this at the Accademia del Cimento of Florence. They put a diamond in the intense heat of a fierce charcoal fire and saw the stone gradually decrease in size and finally disappear.

Millions of years ago, organic material such as tress or other living creatures died and, exposed to the heat of those times, became charcoal. This carbon, trapped within molten rock and subjected to intense pressures and temperatures of over 3000C over thousands of years, slowly crystallised into clear hard diamond. Natural volcanic eruptions took the material to the surface of the earth. Later, erosion by the sun and rain and other climatic changes broke up the soil containing the diamonds and scattered it and the gemstones over river beds. These 'alluvial' deposists are found on the surface of river beds, on the rough pebbled sea bed or in gravel down to twenty metres beneath the sand. Diamonds are also mined by digging within the bluish ground of 'kimberlite', from deep inside the earth, down volcanic pipes of around half a kilometre diameter through which molten material once forced its way up. A productive mine usually yields a gram of diamonds from about three-hundred tonnes of ore.

GNT570 - Garnet

Rhodolite Garnet, Pink Mix Blood Red color, Ovel Shape ,9.8x7.8mm, 3.31ct
Price US $13.95

GNT569 - Garnet

Rhodolite Garnet, Blood Red color, Ovel Shape ,8.9x7.5mm, 3.17ct
Price US $12.95

GNT568 - Garnet

Rhodolite Garnet, Pink mix Blood Red color, Ovel Shape 9.5x7.5mm, 3ct
Price US $11.95

GNT567 - Garnet

Rhodolite Garnet, Pink mix Blood Red color, Ovel Shape 9.5x7.5mm, 2.95ct
Price US $11.95

GNT566 - Garnet

Rhodolite Garnet, Pink mix Blood Red color, Ovel Shape 10.5x8mm, 3.37ct
Price US $13.95

GNT565 - Garnet

Rhodolite Garnet, Blood Red Color, Oval Shape, 10x7.8mm, 3.28ct
Price US $13.95

Coloured gemstones for life

Today, jewelles and therpists prescribe coloured gemstones to alleviate chronic diseases as well as to effect changes in the life of an individual. Experience has shown that wearing particular gems appears to bring on physical, mental or spiritual relief, and aid one's pursuits in life. However during the Middle Ages, the rise of logic and logical thought altered sensibilities all over Europe. Medicines that removed symptoms of disease immediately were preferred. Traditional practices of healing were dubbed 'wichcraft' and 'sorcery' and so were forced into disuse and to some extent, oblivion. It was an Arab physician, Avicenna who re-invented chromotherapy by prescribing naturally occurring colours to check the spread of disease; the advised patients againts the malevolent effect of unfriendly colours. This method of treatment became popular for a short time during the Renaissance and short into fame in the nineteenth century in America after experiments conducted on plants and animals proved beyond doubt that colours had a strong influence on them. Prison cells were then painted blue to calm their inmates while pink became the prescribed colour for nurseries.

How gemstones can improve your health

A healthy person was one who balanced all four colours and so treatment with colour removed and imbalances. Ayurvedic doctors today administer colour therapy to their patients in the belief that each colour has specific healing properties and the vibrations from each colour establish a balnce that is necessary for holistic well-being.

There is an enormous range of colour found among minerals and even within a single mineral species, there is great subtlety in the variation of colour. Tourmaline, beryl, quartz, and spinel are some minerals that occur in a wide range of colours. In these cases, the value of the mineral is directly linked o the fashion of the times, that is, what colour is cosidered most desirable.

Although chromotherapy is not very widely practised as a branch of medicine, the traditional link between the colours of gemstones and the mood of the wearer persists. The colour of the stone that an individual wears can determine mood for that time. There is also a belief that the colored light from the stone on it's wearer betrays his or her inner mind, that he has lied or is unfaithful or that he may be ill or going to die.

Colored Stones for Gem Therapy

Colour can help heal illness by adjusting the light in the room. Wearing coloured gemstones can also help the healing process. This method of treatment, called chromotherapy, restores the colour imbalance of the individual by appliying it externally to the body. Chromotherapists say that coloured light gemstones have innate healing energies and do change one's mood. The mixture of coloures in sunlight establishes equilibrium of mind and body and causes a sense of well being and this is why sunbathing is advised and is so popular in northern climes.

Chromotherapy is not a recent fad. The ancient Egyptians believed that the god Thoth started the practice of healing through colours and advocated remedies, and cures using colored stones, minerals. crystals and dyes. The method of healing through colour, spread to ancient Greece where it was used in combination with other elements like air, water, fire, earth and ether. They believed that colours represented bodily fluids, yellow was choler or bile. The blue of lapis lazuli, turquoise and aquamarine related to the sky and water.

How gemstone can help to improve you health

Scientific research has proved that the colours worn in clothing can alter mood, physiology and fate to some extent. According to psychologists, colour appears to affect well-being and behavior in a combination of biological, physiological, phychological, social and cultural factors. Each individual is attracted to some colours more than to others and his or her total reaction to that hue appears to improve and balance his or her emotional state. On the average, magenta, red, orange, yellow, and yellow green are regarded as warm colours and are associated with excitement, happiness and comfort. The colours at the blue end of the spectrum tend to be cold and are connected with sadness, sleep and discomfort.

Coloured objects can therefore relieve emotional stress and even cure ailments. Red light is known to increase blood pressure, respiration and heart rate in men and women, and statistically, is more likely to produce epileptic seizures than blue light. Violet, blue, light blue, cyan and sea green are cool coloures that induce calm and peace but and excess of these shades encourage sadness, withdrawal and repression.

Gemstones for Health

Diamonds may well be a girl's best friend and may men may also consider wearing diamonds, but for sheer volume of trade, for more coloured stones are sold. This is because the colours of most precious and semi-precious stones have always attracted the greatest attention. Rubies and emeralds as well as blue and yellow sapphires are sought after rather than clear white zircons or light coloured topaz. The reasons for this arise from the profound interaction of colour with human moods and behaviour.

To begin with,the sun radiates many colours. When the sun goes behind the black clouds of the monsoon or is less visible during the long winter of northen latitudes, a profound depression settle on all living beings. Bears hinbernate and birds migrate to sunnier climates. Social scientists aver than even the human psyche is affected. Sunlight appears to alleviate almost every affliction and chronic disease. Once recommended as a cure for tuberculosis, solar radiation improves digestion and nutrition, quickens blood and lymph circulation and increases the elimination of impurities through the skin. when light enters the body (through the eyes of the skin) it generates signals that travel through the nerves to the pineal gland attached to the brain. In turn this controls our daily physio-biological rhythms. The gland responds to light levels by producing melatonin that determines metabolic rhythm.

Gem Heat Treatment

There are other ways to enhance the beauty of a gem and make it more valuable. Irradiation is one such method.

All hot objects like the sun, the stars and burning coal radiate energy in the form of electromagnetic waves. Light waves are only a small small part of a wide spectrum of this radiant energy. The gamma rays that come out of radioactive substances are the most energetic of these waves and are used to cure cancers and sterilize food and other items. Less energetic are the X -rays that doctors use to internally examine the body. Lower in energy are the ultraviolet rays that help plants grow and human skin to acquire a dark tan. Even lower in energy are the infrared rays that we cannot see but whose warmth we can feel the warmth as our body absorbs them.

Our eyes are sensitive to rays in a narrow range of energies between the heat-giving infrared and the ultraviolet. These visible rays that we generally call "light" cover a spectrum of seven different colours, violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red, a range of wavelengths that is commonly termed VIBGYOR and in this range, our eyes are most sensitive to the central region, green.

We call those objects that do not give off any radiation 'black' but usually this only means they do not emit visible light. If on the other hand they radiate light of all energies of the visible spectrum, they are usually termed 'white'. The sun whose surface temperature is around 6000C, radiates light with all these colours mixed in a certain proportion. This mixture appears white to the human eye. Artificial light has different ratios of the component colours and thus light from an incandescent bulb appears slightly red while a fluorescent tube produces a blue tinge.

So what makes gemstones so luminous and attractive? The beauty comes from the fact that they give out light waves that our eyes can see and to which our senses react. All objects reflect, absorb and emit light that falls on them. Objects like charcoal, that absorb all the light falling on them without any reflection, appear to be black. Conversely, a top quality diamond is colourless but reflects all the light that falls on it and so absolutely accurate only the paper of this book should really be termed 'white'. Between these extremes are the coloured gems that reflect light selectively. A good ruby for instance, absorbs all light but gives off light only in the red region. This is how we recognize and define colour.

A transparent medium bends a ray of light that enters it. The more it is bent the higher the refractive index of the medium. The refractive index of glass, for example, is around 1.33, while diamond has the highest index of 2.42. This is why a cut diamond glitters so much more than does glass or any other crystal. Sapphire has a refractive index of around 1.77, while zircon or Rangoon diamond clocks in at 1.98. Crystals of zirconium oxide have a refractive index of 2.18, the closest created so far to that of diamond. They are now grown commercially and sold as American diamond, cubic zircon or CZ, diamondite or diamlite. They are inexpensive but because of their high refractive index, are often mistaken intentionally or otherwise, for diamond.

Cutters make full use of the high refractive index of gemstones. When light rays coming out of the crystal hit the surface at small angeles they are sreflected back. They crystal can therefore be cut jwith plane flat facets so that any light that enters it exits only through the top surface or table. This enchances the brilliance of the stone and explains why diamonds are cut in that way.

Some stones have a crystal structure that splits a light ray that enters it into two rays of slightly different velocities and these travel in slightly different directions. no black spot viewed through such a crystal appears as two spots and this property of the crystal is called double refract but zircon does and this effect allows an immediate identification of the stone.

Yet another factor improves the appearance of a cut gemstones. The reflection of most clear gemstones varies with the colour of the light that that passes through it. This is 'dispersion' and causes different colours to flash outwards when the crystal is turned. This is known as the 'fire' of the gemstones. The refractive index and the dispersion as well as the stone determine the fire and light of the gemstone but the beauty of the gem increase with the perfection of the cut and the polish.

The total value of a gemstone, in general depends on several criteria. These are:

01. Rarity: It is the most important factor that determiners the value of a gem, in much the same way that an antique is most prized when it is the only one of its kind. The material itself might be very uncommon like the gajaratna. The rarity of a particular gem may also be due to its large size compared to most other gems of the same material as for instance the Black Prince's Ruby, or it's extremely fine or unusual colour as with the Hope Diamond. No doubt it is difficult to find buyers or sellers for such rare artifacts.

02. Clarity: Gems should be free of flaws, be they inclusions or cracks. In India, a buyer will not usually look at a diamond that has a flaw or black spot in it. This was not always the case and flawed stones were once considered attractive. Even now, some communities prefer to buy such diamonds because they believe that a genuine diamond always has flaws in it! Totally flawless or 'clean' in many species. Such perfection is almost unknown for example, in Colombian emerald and Burmese ruby.

03.Colour: Colour plays a big part in the determination of the value of a gemstone. The slightest tinge of colour, yellow or brown, in a diamond brings down its price to a fraction of the value it would have if it were totally colourless. Again a dark colour might be desirable in a green tourmaline, but if the colour is too dars the gem may actually lose value.

04. Transparency: A gem should be clear and not in the least milky. In nature, most rubies and sapphires are milky and these are often processed at the mine itself to remove this cloudiness.

05. Hardness: A soft gem will scratch easily and soon lose its polish and beauty from constant wear. Of course, soft gems such as amber and coral are in jewellery, but buyers are warned to handle them with great care. Pearls are also soft, but are able to retain their beauty for a long time if they are stored and cleaned properly.

06. Brilliance: Many gemstones vary in their refractive index so the light reflected from one stone could differ from that from another even if they are of the same family. proper cutting of the stone can optimise its lustre or brilliance.

07. Dispersion: As mentioned earlier, high dispersion improves the 'fire' of the stone. It often happens that if the stone is cut to give off most of the light, the ' fire' is decreased.

08. Beauty: The perception of beauty in a gem varies from one culture to another. The Chinese may desire green jade and the Europeans may buy coral and amber, but Indians on the whole prefer colourless diamonds. Tradition as well as the fashion of the time thus ultimately decides the worth of a gem.

09. Special Properties: Some stones and in particular sapphires, contain numerous thin, hair-like fibres of another mineral. This gives the stone a fibrous sheen like satin or silk and this is termed 'chatoyancy'. Generally, the stone is milky, but when the fibres are aligned, streaks of light appear as a cat's-eye effect. as in chrysoberyl. When the fibres are aligned in three crystal directions, a six-ray star effect results. The twelve-rayed star is most rare, and therefore the most valuable. Alexandrite as well as a few rare diamonds are photochromic, that is to say, they change colour when exposed to light.

As a result, techniques to produce cat's-eye and star effects in milky sapphires and rubies have been developed and have proved successful.