Birthstone ring

My grandmother has a birthstone ring with clashing colors lined up in a row that she is sentimental about. The colors do not blend together but my grandmother loves her colorful ring because each birthstone represents her children.

In today’s market, gem dealers are offering more variety because people are asking for unique colors. In the past, a sapphire with blue undertone and green streak would have been considered “off” and not valued at all. In fact, they would have been heat treated to assimilate them to the “correct” color that was in demand. What is wonderful now is that people seek out and appreciate natural beauty.

Recently I was asked to make a birthstone ring and I knew that I wanted to take advantage of the fact that there are various hues to work with for each gem. July for ruby and October for tourmaline. A wonderful mother of two daughters wanted to wear a birthstone ring that is well balanced and comfortable within her style.

Tourmalines come in green, brown, gold, pink, orange and purple. Rubies are red sapphires. We considered using red and green for contrast. We also considered using pink and red for harmony. In the end we went with cool ice green tourmaline and red ruby.

Isn’t it wonderful to have a sentimental birthstone ring with beautiful colors that coordinate! Tell me your story of birthstone jewelry.