Garnet

Garnets have been known and used in jewelry for thousands of years. Legend says that Noah used a garnet lantern to safely steer his Ark through the darkness of the night and the great flood. Garnets are found in jewelry from ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman eras. Many courageous discoverers and travelers wore garnets for protection, as they were considered popular talismans and protective stones, because it was believed in those days that garnets illuminate the night and prevent their wearer from any sort of evil. Today science explained to us that the proverbial luminosity of garnet is caused by its high refraction of light.
Although the color red is the one which occurs most frequently, there are also garnets showing different shades of green, pale to bright yellow, fiery orange and fine earth- and umbra-shades. Only blue is a color which is not available in garnet. Garnets are gemstones which are in high demand and are often worked into pieces of jewellery - especially since today not only the traditional gemstone colors red, blue and green are cherished by the consumer, but the intermediate shades and hues are also very popular. Garnets are unusual because their tone can change depending on whether they’re seen in natural or artificial light.
Some of the alternately-colored garnets are very famous. Spessartine garnets are a bright orange to orange-red. These are extremely rare. There is a type of garnet called a Mandarine garnet which is also orange. It too is rare.

There are even green garnets, even though one doesn’t associate this color with garnet. The star among green garnets is rare demantoid. It shows enormous brilliance, higher even than that of diamond. Russia’s leading court jeweler Carl Fabergé loved the brilliant green garnet from the Urals more than any other stone, and liked to use it in his creations.

Rose Quartz

Who doesn’t love rose quartz in all its varying hues of pink? Rose quartz takes its name from the flower because of its translucent and delicate pink color caused by traces of iron, manganese or titanium. Rose quartz is usually very large - meaning that it doesn't form crystals. Rose quartz is found in Madagascar, India, Germany and several areas in the USA. Much rose quartz was extracted from a famous site near Custer, South Dakota, but now, most of the world's supply comes from Brazil. Rose quartz is one of the most valued varieties of quartz. The pink to rose red color is unique.

The color of rose quartz is still not completely understood. It has been said to be due to a number of different minor impurities present in the rose quartz including titanium, manganese and even colloidal gold. However, recent studies using micro-analytical methods have discovered that the color of massive rose quartz is actually due to microscopic mineral fibers in the rose quartz. X-ray diffraction tests on these microscopic fibers yielded patterns similar to the mineral dumortierite, suggesting the possibility of a totally new and as yet unknown fibrous mineral causing the color in massive rose quartz. The rare transparent crystals of rose quartz owe their coloration to aluminum and phosphorous impurities. Their pink color is photosensitive and can fade in sunlight.

Rose quartz is often called the 'love stone'. It is associated with forgiveness and compassion and can create a wonderful calming influence. It is soft and delicate inspiring feelings of love and friendship. Rose quartz is aid to help remove repressed anger and hatred and is said to remove negative influences such as jealousy and avarice. It is said to aid the spleen, kidneys and circulation system. Rose quartz also eases sexual and emotional imbalance and can also improve fertility. It makes a lovely gift as it is a symbol of love.

Citrine

Citrine is any quartz crystal or cluster that is yellow or orange in color. Although, often cut as a gemstone, citrine is actually somewhat rare in nature. Citrine is one of the most affordable gemstones, thanks to the durability and availability of this golden quartz. Named from the French name for lemon,"citron," many citrines have a juicy lemon color, but like all gemstones, there is a range of colors that can be exhibited as citrine.

Citrine colors include yellow, gold to orange brown shades of transparent quartz. It’s a cheery-looking stone, and affordable and is popular as a gemstone for jewely. In ancient times, citrine was carried as a protection against snake venom and evil thoughts.

Although the darker, orange colors of citrine, sometimes called Madeira citrine after the color of the wine, has generally been the most valued color, in modern times, many people prefer the bright lemony shades which mix better with pastel colors. Citrine is generally more inexpensive than amethyst and is also available in a wide range of calibrated sizes and shapes, including very large sizes.

Sometimes you will hear citrine referred to as topaz quartz, which is incorrect. This name was used in the past in reference to the color, which is sometimes similar to the color of topaz. Since topaz is a separate mineral, this type of name can be confusing and should not be used. However, citrine is considered an alternative to topaz as the birthstone for November.

Since most citrine on the market started its life as amethyst which was heated to turn its color to gold, citrine jewelry, as well as amethyst jewelry, should be kept away from prolonged exposure to strong light or heat. With this precaution, citrine jewelry will last for many generations.

Amethyst

Amethyst is a violet or purple variety of quartz often used as an ornament or jewelry. The name comes from the Greek A (not) and methuskein ("to intoxicate"), a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness; the ancient Greeks and Romans wore amethyst and made drinking vessels of it in the belief that it would prevent intoxication.
Amethyst was used as a gemstone by the ancient Egyptians and was largely employed in antiquity for intaglios. Beads of amethyst are found in Anglo-Saxon graves in England.
Amethyst has been in use for thousands of years in magic, healing and psychic empowerment. Its violet color makes this one of the most sought after variety of quartz. It has a large number of qualities and uses that have been given it over the years and it is said to be a stone that radiates energy which has often been referred to as the purple ray.
It is referred to as a Spiritual Stone because its color violet is same as that of  the crown chakra. Amethysts also are believed to calm emotions and reduce stress. It’s an amulet for travelers, and helps whoever holds the stone to have a more optimistic outlook and perspective. Placing it under your pillow is supposed to help induce sleep and prophetic dreams. 
Some people use amethyst balls not so much for divination, but to channel knowledge and healing from the universe. It’s also used for healing in a variety of ways. If you merely hold it in your hand or keep it in your pocket, you can channel the healing powers of amethysts. Although a healing crystal doesn’t necessarily need to be amethyst, it’s one that’s often used for spiritual as well as physical healing.

Quartz 2

In ancient Egypt, glazed quartz served as a substitute when no high quality examples of Turquoise could be found. The Greeks had originally named quartz, krystallos, the word for ice, but this soon came to mean any crystal. In China’s Ming Dynasty, quartz often showed up as stone in jewelry work. In Pre-Columbian America, explorations of Mixtec graves have uncovered quartz use for ear jewelry. In European history, Queen Elizabeth I’s court spiritualist’s crystal ball was Smoky Quartz, which is also the national gem of Scotland, whose national scepter included a large Smoky Quartz on its top. In modern times, it was the first crystal used in radio transmission and reception and was essential in the development of computers.
Clear quartz is of the traditional healing stones believed to draw out pain and amplify healing energy. Crystal Healers use clear quartz in rituals meant to treat convulsions, diarrhea, dizziness, exposure to radiation, general pain, hemorrhages, headaches, hypochondria and kidney diseases.
Rose quartz is used for treating cardiovascular health, fertility, headaches, kidney disease, migraines and sexual dysfunction, as well as those disorders occurring in the throat, ears, nose and sinuses.
Rose quartz is the essential stone for increasing love and for times of extreme emotional turmoil, such as divorce, bereavement or career set backs because it helps to remind the wearer of the importance of self-love. It stimulates the body’s love centers and can result in peace and fidelity in committed relationships. As one of the most important crystals for attracting love it does emotional maintenance clearing out emotional baggage, converting negative emotions, and calms hot tempers, all of which prepare us for love. The stone is also recommended for improving mental discipline and making one more responsible, and for meditation and mental tranquility.

Quartz

While quartz is the most plentiful mineral on earth, it also provides endless fascination and beauty for experts and casual observers alike. It is found in nearly every geological environment and is at least a component of almost every rock type. It is also the most varied in terms of varieties, colors and forms. This variety comes about because of the abundance and widespread distribution of quartz. A collector could easily have hundreds of quartz specimens and not have two that are the same due to the many broad categories.

Quartz is usually clear, but in granite it is also cloudy white or grayish in color. It can also be dark (as in smoky quartz). Many gemstones are actually less common colored varieties of quartz. Examples include purple amethyst, yellow citrine, and pink rose quartz. Because quartz is so resistant to weathering due to its chemical composition and atomic bonds, it accumulates as the other minerals in a rock erode. Light colored beach, Aeolian and alluvial sand is composed of mainly quartz grains.
The use of Crystals for crystal healing or gem healing, has been linked to mental, physical, spiritual health, charkas’ energy, whose Healing Power followers of the New Age, Psychic Healing and Atlantis and Crystal Healers have long revered for relieving pain, stress, depression, anxiety in the mind, body and spirit. Spiritual Healers believe this approach to alternative medicine is essential for ensuring health.
For Spiritual Healers, no stone is as essential to their craft as quartz. Embodying all the qualities they seek, it is the quintessential healing crystal. Part of this faith they place in Quartz comes from its scientific properties that make it useful in electronic devices. From this one truth, Crystal Healers make huge leaps in logic. They believe that its crystal formation can align the harmonies within the human body, that they can “program” the crystal easily, that acupuncture needles coated with quartz are more effective, and that it has the ability to receive and send energy.

National gem collection

The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC is home to so much that’s rare and wonderful on the planet. One of the more spectacular collections is the collection of gems in the Museum of Natural History. There you can see wonderful crystals and minerals in their natural form, as well as some of the most incredible pieces of jewelry every created. There are crowns worn by royalty, enormous diamond earrings worn by the doomed French queen Marie-Antoinette.
They’re all stunning and awe-inspiring, but nothing is more mysterious than the rare earth-green of the emerald. The Smithsonian is home to the most fabulous emeralds ever known, and we’re incredibly fortunate to have them in this country.
One such emerald is the Hooker Emerald which legend has it was once part of the belt buckle of a Turkish sultan. Another brilliant example of emerald jewelry, combined with diamonds is the Spanish Inquisition necklace. It’s a spectacular double row of diamond shapes, ending in a pendant of a chandelier shape with emeralds.

There is also a magnificent 37.8-carat emerald called the Chalk Emerald, that is set with diamonds and was found in the mines of Columbia. The Mackay Emerald Necklace is also set with diamonds and is a brilliant example of how a stone like an emerald, which often contains flaws or inclusions, is still a beautiful piece of gemstone jewelry.

The collection at the Smithsonian is not to be missed, not only for the incredible selection of emeralds it contains, but because it’s a chance to be as close to some of the world’s most fabulous gemstone necklace as most of us can ever be! We may never own anything like this, but we can dream, can’t we?