Found in many different shades, deep red is the most popular
colour of the garnet. Representing faith, this birthstone was believed
to provide the wearer with health and good fortune, and to exercise
a claming influence. It was also thought that garnets gave the wearer
peaceful sleep and protection from nightmares!

This birthstone from the quartz family was believed by the ancient Greeks to ward off the heady effects of wine. Indeed, legend has it,
the god Bacchus gave the stone its colour by pouring the juice of the
grape over a pure white stone. The amethyst symbolises humour and
wit, and was reputed to sharpen the mind and intellect.

Aquamarine, a transparent pale blue stone from the beryl family, which
also includes emerald. Since the earliest times aquamarines have
been said to bestow courage in times of adversity, bringing serenity
and hidden strength, like the waters of the ocean after which this
beautiful stone was named.

According to ancient mythology, any white or clear stones signify
great integrity, innocence and happiness. Also, they were thought
to symbolise the power of good over the forces of evil, with their
rainbow of colours giving them magical powers.

Known as the gem of spring, this beautiful green stone is a variety of
beryl and was thought to foretell the future. The ancients of Peru believed
the emerald ripened like the fruit on a tree, turning from clear to green
as it faced the sun. The stone was often carried by travellers on land or
sea as a talisman to safeguard their journey

Pearls have long been regarded as symbols of nobility representing
beauty, modesty and purity. Formed from a substance called nacre,
pearls can take up to eight years to form completely

Known as the gem of summer, ruby is the red variety of corundum and
is the sister stone of sapphire. Rubies symbolise love and, in the past,
it was believed they possessed the power to bestow peace and
harmony. Also the wearer of a ruby was thought to be protected from
discord and all perils of war.

The peridot symbolises luck and success. These stones were originally
collected on the isle of St John in the red sea around 1500BC, for the
Egyptian kings. Legend has it that to exert its fullest power, peridot
should be "set in gold and worn thus". It is also believed to dispel
fear of the dark.

Sapphire is the usually blue variety of corundum. In the orient, kings
wore it around their necks as defence from harm, and it was thought
that merely looking upon this stone would bring luck. Known as the
"gem of autumn", sapphires were regarded as powerful talismans
of faith and good fortune.

Derived from the Latin "opalus", precious stone, opals were highly
prized by the ancient Romans. Their varying shades of soft colour make
each opal unique, and it was believed they possessed magical powers.
Denoting health and purity, opal was thought to protect the wearer from
disease, and to possess the gift of prophecy.

Often irradiated to produce more intense colours, this stone was widely
believed to render the wearer invisible to all but those who had practised
the arcane arts.

Having only been discovered in 1967, there is little folklore surrounding
this stone. Only found in Africa, tanzanite is rarely pure, and often exhibits rich purple overtones.