Lucky or not they look good!

Crystals, minerals and metals have played various roles in the myths and legends of human cultures throughout history and among these, gemstones are among the most popular or coveted. Men and women have the desire to own a certain gem, maybe because they are superstitious; believe in its powers; like the colour or maybe even to ‘keep up with the Jones’s!’Whatever the reason you have to agree they do look good.

Most gemstones can be divided into precious and semi-precious. Only the most rare and expensive gems like diamonds, emeralds, rubies, pearls and sapphires are classified as precious. The remaining ones – such as varieties of quartz - including amethyst, opal, and bloodstone – are semiprecious. However some experts contend that ‘a common mistake often made by buyers of genuine coloured gemstones is the belief that some stones are precious and some stones are only semi-precious. While precious stones are obviously more famous, this does not necessarily mean that they are more valuable! These terms are based on old traditions from the west - these days, all gemstones are considered precious since they are all rare and there is a limited supply of them.’

Yet, in today’s market there are literally hundreds of gemstones to choose from and apart from jewellers, there are the travelling salesmen who carry trays of gems and rings to tempt prospective buyers. These salesmen have ready spin offs about the qualities of a gemstone and depending on the customer, they use the sales pitch which will probably result in a successful sale. They go about this in a clever manner, starting a conversation and wheedling out information, like if a woman has children or not and so on. Most of them are quite confident and speak with authority, fooling simple folk into making a purchase. Anyway, there are many stories of how a gem turned out to be more valuable than the price paid for it, so if you are a prospective buyer, you may hit the jackpot!

The biggest proponents of wearing different gems are ‘pirs’; ‘faqirs’ and ‘holy’ men of different religious denominations. They wear dozens of different stones around their neck; their fingers and even ankles and toes; attribute powers to them and use them to beguile their ‘mureeds’ (followers) into buying one or more.

For those who believe that gemstones can be lucky, ‘birthstones’ are precious or semi-precious gemstones that are associated with each month and they are considered lucky for that particular month, so if you are looking to get yourself a present or giving one to a loved one, the following list will guide you. January (Garnet); February (Amethyst); March (Aquamarine or Bloodstone); April (Diamond); May (Emerald); June (Pearl, Moonstone or Alexandrite); July (Ruby); August (Peridot or Sardonyx); September (Sapphire); October (Opal or Pink Tourmaline); November (Topaz or Citrine) and December, (Turquoise or Blue Zircon). There are also gems for months; weeks; days and hours, so take your pick!