Purple Gemstones

March Specials
15% off of purple gemstones – iolite, amethyst, tanzanite, spinel, purple sapphire, and lavender chalcedony.

Somewhere between the passion of red and the calmness of blue lies the mystery of purple. Those with a passion for purple are creative and spiritually in tune with life. As a combination of red and blue, people who pick purple as their favorite can be balanced, yet exciting or steadfast yet vivacious. Those attracted to softer purples such as lilac and lavender describe themselves as refined and romantic. Express your royal nature with effervescent purple gems like amethyst, iolite, and tanzanite. Relax into sensual pastel hues with pastel Purple Sapphire or Lavender chalcedony. Unleash your inner Goddess by adding purple gems to your wardrobe.

Here is some useful information on popular purple gems:

Amethyst is February's birthstone. Early Greek legend, and its purple wine color, associated amethyst with Bacchus, the god of wine. Other legends led to beliefs that amethyst gems kept their wearers clear headed and quick witted. Russia and South America is where most amethyst can be found. It ranges in color from pale lilac to rich purple. Amethyst is a 7 on the Moh's Hardness Scale, and it has good hardness. The safest way to clean amethyst is with warm soapy water.

Iolite gets its name from the Greek word for violet. And Iolites shades range from cool shades to dark blue and violet. It is transparent to translucent and pleochroic - this means that it shows different colors from different angles. From some angles it can look colorless, gray, violet, or yellow. This optical property allows the gem to act as a strong light polarizing filter, a feature that Viking navigators found useful. Iolite is a 7-7.5 on the Moh's scale and has fair toughness. It is best to use warm soapy water to clean this gem.

Tanzanite is a relatively new gemstone that first turned up in 1962 in Northern Tanzania. Tanzanite is often heat treated to achieve colors that include light to dark violetish blue and bluish purple. It is a special-care gem for 2 reasons: sensativity to thermal shock and the potential for cracking. Tanzanite is best in jewelry pieces that won't be too exposed to accidental bumps - such as earrings or pendants. It is a 6-7 on the Mohs scale and the toughness is fair to poor due to potential cracking and thermal shock.

Some other purple gems that I will discuss in another blog are purple sapphires, purple spinel, and lavender chalcedony.

Personal Online Jewelry Consultant

When shopping online for an engagement ring or other jewelry, you may be faced with an overwhelming number of options... Elizabeta Jewelry offers personal jewelry consultation to help you narrow down your options and come up with an engagement ring or special jewelry piece that symbolizes your intentions. Whether you are looking for a specific diamond, searching for a vibrant colored gemstone that represents your love, comparing the costs of your options, shopping for a diamond alternative, wondering what type of metal is best for you, or just deciding on the perfect design, we can make your shopping experience fun and easy. Even if you end up purchasing someplace else, we would be happy to offer any advice or suggestions if you are seeking something personalized and sentimental. Please check out our website (http://www.elizabetajewelry.com/) or send us an email (elizabeta@charter.net) if we can help. And if you don't know how to tell your significant other what your likes and dislikes are, let us know and we will keep them in mind when your special someone contacts us to make a purchase.

Diamond Alternatives

While diamonds are beautiful and symbolic, they do carry a heavy price tag. Many couples struggle with justifying such a large expenditure on such a small object. And if the price tag isn't enough to scare you, the origin of the diamond can be shrouded in dubious mystery. If you have seen Blood Diamond or heard of conflict diamonds, you know what I mean. The African diamond trade has long been used to finance civil war, hence the term "blood diamond." At Elizabeta Jewelry, we offer alternatives that will ease your apprehension and save you some serious money. Our diamonds come from suppliers that are in compliance with the The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) which imposes extensive requirements on its members to enable them to certify shipments of rough diamonds as ‘conflict-free’. And for every diamond we sell, we donate a portion of the sale to http://www.conflictneutral.com/, a registry for charitable donations to counter the negative effects of diamonds.

But if you still aren't convinced that diamonds are for you, we have some very attractive and practical options. Elizabeta Jewelry offers a vast selection of colored gemstones in every shape and size. Many couples are using colored gemstones today as they are rich in symbolism and color. And of course, most of them are a fraction of the cost of a diamond. There are certain considerations, such as hardness and toughness to consider if you are putting the stone in an every day ring. If you have any question as to what gemstone would be best for you, please post a comment to this blog.

Another increasingly popular option is moissanite. It is silicon carbide that was originally discovered at a meteor crash site. Now it has been manufactured in sizes large enough for jewelry. It's fire and luster surpass that of the diamond. However, moissanite isn't completely colorless; it is usually equivalent to an H or I colored diamond (which are some of the most common diamond colors in jewelry). It isn't quite as hard as a diamond; it rates 9.25 to diamond's 10 on the Moh's Hardness Scale. The cost is quite attractive and is usually about 1/5 to 1/10 the cost of a diamond.

Diamond hybrids, also known as amorphous diamonds are man-made and "composed of a multitude of tiny diamond crystals all aligned together*". They tend to be equivalent to an F or G colored diamond (colorless to near colorless - very good). They are also flawless in clarity. Hardness is rated a 9 on the Mohs Scale. This option too is far less expensive than a diamond.

So if you aren't comfortable with the price and reputation of the diamond, there are lots of great options to chose from that will offer all the beauty of a diamond.

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Please check back periodically for information on selecting the right engagement ring, wedding bands, diamonds, gemstones, diamond alternatives, and lots of other jewelry related stuff. Or if you have a question for us, please ask and we will get back to you with an answer.