Every stone has a story.
Every birthstone, and every stone I set.

Abalone & Mother of Pearl

Abalone is a sea snail whose shell is lined with swirling blue, green, and pink nacre. Mother of pearl is the creamy nacre lining oyster and mussel shells. Thin slices of abalone are often backed with stone to make doublets.

Where it’s from

Abalone comes from the coasts of California, Mexico, and New Zealand, where it is called paua. Mother of pearl comes from pearl oysters around the world.

What it symbolizes

Associated with the sea and with calm. Abalone has long been used in ceremony by many coastal Native peoples.

How old it is

Grown by living animals over a few years.

Agate

Agate is banded chalcedony that slowly filled gas pockets and cracks in volcanic rock, one thin layer at a time. Minerals trapped along the way make the plumes, lace, eyes, and little landscapes that give each variety its name.

Where it’s from

Mexico (including Agua Nueva and crazy lace agate), Oregon, Idaho, Texas, Brazil, and Botswana.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of balance, protection, and calm.

How old it is

Most agate formed in volcanic rock that is tens of millions of years old.

June birthstone

Alexandrite

Alexandrite is a rare chrysoberyl that looks green in daylight and red under warm lamplight. It was discovered in Russia’s Ural Mountains in the 1830s and named after the future Tsar Alexander II.

Where it’s from

Russia, Brazil, Sri Lanka, and East Africa.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally linked with luck and balance. Alexandrite is a June birthstone.

How old it is

It forms over millions of years in rare rock that contains both beryllium and chromium.

February birthstone

Amethyst

Amethyst is quartz colored purple by traces of iron and natural radiation in the earth. The deepest purples come from crystals that grew inside gas bubbles in ancient lava flows, which later become geodes.

Where it’s from

Brazil and Uruguay, plus Zambia and the Four Peaks mine in Arizona.

What it symbolizes

Its name comes from the Greek amethystos, “not intoxicated”. It is traditionally a stone of clarity, calm, and a sober mind. It is the February birthstone.

How old it is

Brazilian and Uruguayan amethyst grew in lava flows that cooled about 130 million years ago.

Ammonite

Ammonites were sea creatures related to today’s octopus and squid, living in coiled, chambered shells. When they were buried in sea-floor mud, minerals filled the chambers. Cut and polished, they show the spiral and the delicate walls between chambers.

Where it’s from

Found worldwide. Most polished ammonites in jewelry come from Madagascar.

What it symbolizes

The spiral is a traditional symbol of growth, change, and continuity, a life that keeps expanding outward.

How old it is

Ammonites lived for more than 300 million years and died out with the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Madagascar’s ammonites are about 100 million years old.

Apatite

Apatite is a phosphate mineral, the same family as the mineral in teeth and bones. Gem apatite comes in electric blues and greens.

Where it’s from

Madagascar, Brazil, and Mexico.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of motivation and insight.

How old it is

Its age varies widely by deposit.

March birthstone

Aquamarine

Aquamarine is blue beryl, the same mineral family as emerald, colored by iron. Its name means “seawater”.

Where it’s from

Brazil, Pakistan, Madagascar, and Nigeria. It is Colorado’s state gem.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a protective stone for sailors and a stone of calm and courage. Aquamarine is the March birthstone.

How old it is

Much of Brazil’s aquamarine grew in granite pegmatites roughly 500 million years ago.

March birthstone

Bloodstone

Bloodstone is dark green chalcedony spotted with red jasper.

Where it’s from

India, plus Brazil and Australia.

What it symbolizes

An old legend ties its red spots to drops of blood, and it was traditionally worn for courage. It is a March birthstone.

How old it is

Much bloodstone comes from India’s Deccan volcanic rocks, about 66 million years old.

Carnelian

Carnelian is orange-red chalcedony colored by iron. Wax does not stick to it, which made it a favorite for signet rings and seals in ancient Egypt and Rome.

Where it’s from

India, Brazil, and Uruguay.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of courage and vitality.

How old it is

It formed in volcanic rock over millions of years.

Chalcedony

Chalcedony is quartz made of crystals too small to see, which gives it a waxy glow. Agate, jasper, carnelian, onyx, and chrysoprase are all members of the family. I use aqua and lavender chalcedony, and Namibian blue chalcedony.

Where it’s from

Indonesia, Namibia, Brazil, and Turkey.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of calm and kindness, once carried by sailors for safe passage.

How old it is

Most of it formed in cavities in volcanic rock over millions of years.

Chrysocolla

Chrysocolla is a copper mineral that forms near the surface of copper deposits, often swirled with turquoise, malachite, or quartz. Its name comes from the Greek for “gold glue”: similar copper minerals were once used to solder gold, so it’s a fitting stone for a metalsmith’s bench.

Where it’s from

Arizona, Peru, Chile, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of calm, gentle communication, and teaching.

How old it is

It forms over thousands to millions of years as water slowly weathers copper ore near the surface.

Chrysoprase

Chrysoprase is chalcedony colored a bright apple green by nickel. It forms as nickel-rich rock weathers deep underground.

Where it’s from

Queensland, Australia, the main source today, plus Tanzania and Poland.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of renewal, hope, and joy.

How old it is

Australia’s chrysoprase formed over millions of years as its ancient rocks weathered.

November birthstone

Citrine

Citrine is yellow to orange quartz. Natural citrine is rare, and much of what is sold is amethyst that has been heated.

Where it’s from

Brazil, Bolivia, Madagascar, and Spain.

What it symbolizes

Known as the “merchant’s stone”, traditionally linked with optimism and abundance. Citrine is a November birthstone.

How old it is

Like amethyst, most citrine grew over millions of years in cavities in old volcanic or granite rock.

Cuprite

Cuprite is a deep red copper oxide. It often appears as red flecks among blue chrysocolla and shattuckite, all from the same copper deposits.

Where it’s from

Arizona, Namibia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of vitality and grounding.

How old it is

It forms in the weathered tops of copper deposits over thousands to millions of years.

April birthstone

Diamond

Diamond is pure carbon crystallized more than 150 kilometers below the surface and carried up by rare volcanic eruptions. It is the hardest natural material.

Where it’s from

Botswana, Russia, Canada, South Africa, and Australia.

What it symbolizes

Its name comes from the Greek adamas, “unconquerable”, and it is the traditional symbol of enduring love. Diamond is the April birthstone.

How old it is

Most diamonds are between 1 and 3.5 billion years old.

May birthstone

Emerald

Emerald is green beryl colored by chromium or vanadium. Almost all emeralds have natural inclusions that jewelers call the jardin, or garden.

Where it’s from

Colombia, Zambia, and Brazil.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of rebirth and love, famously treasured by Cleopatra. Emerald is the May birthstone.

How old it is

Colombia’s emeralds formed roughly 40 to 65 million years ago.

Fluorite

Fluorite is calcium fluoride in bands of purple, teal, and green. Many pieces glow under ultraviolet light, and the word “fluorescence” comes from this stone. It is soft, so it takes a careful setting.

Where it’s from

China, Mexico, England, and Illinois, where it is the state mineral.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of focus and clarity.

How old it is

Most fluorite crystallized in hydrothermal veins millions of years ago.

Fossilized Coral

Over millions of years, minerals replaced the skeleton of an ancient coral colony with chalcedony, turning the reef to stone while keeping its pattern of tiny cells. Polished, it shows flower-like rings and webs that look different from every angle.

Where it’s from

Indonesia, Morocco, and Florida, where agatized coral is the state stone.

What it symbolizes

Coral is traditionally associated with the sea, renewal, and community. A reef is built by thousands of tiny animals working together.

How old it is

Most fossil coral used in jewelry is at least 20 million years old.

January birthstone

Garnet

Garnet is a family of minerals rather than a single stone, ranging from wine-red almandine and raspberry rhodolite to orange hessonite and green tsavorite. It forms in metamorphic rock and is tough enough for everyday wear.

Where it’s from

India, Sri Lanka, East Africa, and the United States. Idaho’s state gem is the star garnet, found near St. Maries in North Idaho.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of protection, loyalty, and friendship, once carried by travelers for safe journeys. It is the January birthstone.

How old it is

Most garnet grows over millions of years in rock that has been heated and squeezed deep underground. Many deposits are hundreds of millions of years old.

Grandidierite

Grandidierite is a rare blue-green mineral first described in 1902 and named for the French explorer Alfred Grandidier. Gem-quality material was not found until much later.

Where it’s from

Southern Madagascar.

What it symbolizes

A newer stone without a long folk tradition. Crystal lovers link it with calm and clarity.

How old it is

It formed in Madagascar’s ancient metamorphic rock, more than 500 million years old.

Iolite

Iolite is gem cordierite. It shifts from violet-blue to almost clear as you turn it, an effect called pleochroism. Legend says Viking sailors used thin slices of it to find the sun on cloudy days.

Where it’s from

India, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and Tanzania.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of vision and guidance.

How old it is

It forms over millions of years in metamorphic rock, and its age varies from deposit to deposit.

Jasper

Jasper is opaque chalcedony colored by iron and other minerals into patterns that look like paintings. Morrisonite is a prized jasper from Oregon. Polychrome jasper comes in sunset colors.

Where it’s from

Morrisonite comes from the Owyhee River canyon in Oregon, and polychrome jasper from Madagascar. Other jaspers come from the American West, Mexico, India, and Australia.

What it symbolizes

Called the “supreme nurturer” in crystal lore, and traditionally a stone of grounding and stability.

How old it is

Morrisonite formed in Owyhee volcanic rock about 15 million years old, the same rock that holds Owyhee opal.

Kunzite

Kunzite is pink-to-lilac spodumene, named for Tiffany gemologist George F. Kunz in 1903. Its color can fade in strong sun, so it is nicknamed the evening stone.

Where it’s from

First found in Pala, California, and now mostly from Afghanistan and Brazil.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of love and gentleness.

How old it is

California’s kunzite grew in pegmatites about 100 million years ago.

Kyanite

Kyanite grows deep in the earth under the heat and pressure of mountain building. It comes in electric blues, teals, and a vivid “neon” blue-green. It is unusual: it is softer along its length than across it, so setting it takes a gentle hand.

Where it’s from

Nepal (the source of neon kyanite), Brazil, Kenya, and India.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of calm, alignment, and clear communication.

How old it is

It forms over millions of years in metamorphic rock. Nepal’s kyanite comes from the collision that began raising the Himalayas about 50 million years ago.

Lapis Lazuli

Lapis is a rock rather than a single mineral: deep blue lazurite with white calcite and glittering flecks of pyrite. It was once ground into ultramarine, the most precious blue paint of the Renaissance.

Where it’s from

The mountains of Badakhshan in northeastern Afghanistan, the classic source, plus Chile and Russia.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of wisdom, truth, and royalty. It was inlaid in Tutankhamun’s burial mask.

How old it is

People have mined lapis in Afghanistan for more than 6,000 years. The rock itself formed long before that, deep underground, when heat and pressure transformed limestone.

Lepidolite

Lepidolite is a purple mica rich in lithium, often sparkling with tiny flakes. It forms in granite pegmatites.

Where it’s from

Brazil, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, and the United States.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a calming stone, associated with easing stress.

How old it is

It grew in pegmatites that are often hundreds of millions of years old.

Montana Agate

A clear-to-honey chalcedony with black and rust-red markings that look like tiny trees, clouds, or shorelines. The markings, called dendrites, are iron and manganese minerals that crept into the stone as it formed. Rockhounds find it in the gravel bars of the Yellowstone River.

Where it’s from

Eastern Montana, along the Yellowstone River and its gravels. Agate is one of Montana’s two state gemstones, along with sapphire.

What it symbolizes

Agate is traditionally a stone of balance and steadiness, said to calm and ground whoever carries it.

How old it is

The agate formed in volcanic rock tens of millions of years ago. Rivers later broke it free and tumbled it downstream.

June birthstone

Moonstone

Moonstone is a feldspar made of thin, alternating mineral layers. Light scatters between the layers and creates a soft, moving glow called adularescence. It comes in white, peach, gray, and rainbow varieties.

Where it’s from

Sri Lanka and India, as well as Madagascar and Tanzania.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally linked with intuition, new beginnings, and travel by night. It is a June birthstone.

How old it is

Sri Lanka’s moonstone comes from ancient rock more than 500 million years old.

Obsidian

Obsidian is natural glass made when lava cools too fast to form crystals. Peanut obsidian is full of small round spherulites that look like peanuts.

Where it’s from

Peanut obsidian comes from Mexico. Obsidian is also found in Oregon, Idaho, and other volcanic regions.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a protective stone and a stone of truth. It was prized for blades and tools across the ancient Americas.

How old it is

Geologically young: over time volcanic glass slowly turns to crystals, so obsidian is rarely more than about 20 million years old.

Onyx

Onyx is layered chalcedony. Most black and green onyx in jewelry is chalcedony that has been dyed to a deep, even color, a centuries-old practice.

Where it’s from

Brazil, India, and Uruguay.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of strength, protection, and focus.

How old it is

The chalcedony formed in volcanic rock over millions of years.

October birthstone

Opal

Precious opal is made of microscopic spheres of silica stacked so neatly that they split light into flashes of color, called play of color. Pink opal, which I also use, is a soft, solid-colored “common” opal.

Where it’s from

Most of the world’s precious opal comes from Australia, including the mining town of Coober Pedy in South Australia. Pink opal comes from Peru.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of hope, inspiration, and creativity. Opal is Australia’s national gemstone and an October birthstone.

How old it is

Australian opal sits in sedimentary rock laid down about 100 million years ago, in the age of dinosaurs. The opal settled into cracks in that rock long afterward.

Opalized Wood

When volcanic ash or mud buried a forest, silica-rich groundwater soaked into the wood and slowly replaced it, cell by cell, with opal or quartz. The grain, rings, and knots of the original tree are often still there. Petrified wood is Washington’s state gem.

Where it’s from

The American West, including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Nevada, as well as Indonesia and Australia.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of patience and endurance, a reminder that slow change makes something lasting.

How old it is

Much of the West’s opalized and petrified wood comes from forests buried about 15 million years ago, during the same lava flows that shaped the Columbia Plateau.

Owyhee Blue Opal

Unlike the flashy fire opals of Australia, Owyhee opal is a “common” opal: an even, milky sky blue with no play of color. It is silica that settled out of water inside volcanic rock, and its calm color pairs beautifully with agate and silver.

Where it’s from

The Owyhee region along the Oregon–Idaho border, in southeastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho.

What it symbolizes

Opal is traditionally linked with hope, inspiration, and creativity. Blue stones are often associated with calm and clear communication. Opal is an October birthstone.

How old it is

It formed in volcanic rock laid down roughly 15 million years ago, when lava flows covered much of the region.

June birthstone

Pearl

A pearl forms when an oyster or mussel coats an irritant with layer after layer of nacre, the same shimmering material that lines its shell. I use freshwater, Biwa-style, Edison, coin, mabe, and Tahitian pearls.

Where it’s from

Freshwater pearls mostly come from China. Tahitian pearls grow in black-lipped oysters in French Polynesia.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally linked with purity, wisdom, and the moon. Pearl is a June birthstone.

How old it is

Young, by stone standards: a cultured pearl usually takes from one to several years to grow.

August birthstone

Peridot

Peridot is gem-quality olivine, a mineral from Earth’s mantle that volcanoes carry to the surface. It has even been found in meteorites.

Where it’s from

Arizona, where the San Carlos Apache Reservation is a major source, plus Pakistan, Myanmar, and China.

What it symbolizes

The ancient Egyptians called it the gem of the sun. It was traditionally worn to ward off nightmares. Peridot is an August birthstone.

How old it is

The crystals form deep in the mantle. Arizona’s peridot was carried up in lava flows within the last few million years.

Pyrite

Pyrite is iron sulfide with a brassy, metallic shine. It shows up as golden flecks in lapis and in some turquoise, including the Nacozari turquoise in this cuff.

Where it’s from

Peru, Spain, and Mexico, plus copper and turquoise mines in the Southwest.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of abundance and protection.

How old it is

Its age varies with the rock it forms in, from thousands to hundreds of millions of years.

Quartz

Clear quartz is a canvas for whatever grew inside it: golden or copper needles of rutile, “phantom” outlines of earlier crystal faces, smoky and lemon tones, or copper staining. Himalayan quartz grows high in the mountains of Nepal and India.

Where it’s from

Brazil (rutilated quartz), Madagascar, the Himalayas, and Arkansas.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of clarity and focus. Rutilated quartz was once called “Venus hair”.

How old it is

Its age varies widely. Himalayan quartz grew during the mountain building that has raised the Himalayas over the last 50 million years.

Red Coral

Precious red coral is the hard skeleton of a tiny colonial sea animal. It is a classic partner for turquoise in Southwestern jewelry.

Where it’s from

The Mediterranean Sea and the waters around Japan and Taiwan.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a protective stone and a symbol of life and vitality, carried as an amulet around the Mediterranean.

How old it is

Red coral grows only a fraction of a millimeter thicker each year, so a single branch can take many decades to form.

Rhodochrosite

Rhodochrosite is a rose-pink manganese mineral, often banded in pinks and whites. It is soft, so it is usually set where it will not be knocked.

Where it’s from

Argentina, where it is the national stone, plus Peru and Colorado, where it is the state mineral.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of love and compassion, nicknamed Inca Rose.

How old it is

It forms in veins where hot, mineral-rich water moved through rock, typically over thousands to millions of years.

Rose Quartz

Rose quartz is massive quartz tinted pink by microscopic mineral fibers. It is usually milky and translucent rather than clear.

Where it’s from

Brazil, Madagascar, and South Dakota, where it is the state mineral.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally the stone of love, compassion, and self-care.

How old it is

Many deposits formed in granite pegmatites hundreds of millions of years ago.

July birthstone

Ruby

Ruby is red corundum, colored by chromium. Fine needles of rutile inside the stone make the silky sheen in “silky” rubies and the six-rayed star in star rubies.

Where it’s from

Myanmar (Burma), Mozambique, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of passion, protection, and vitality. Ruby is the July birthstone.

How old it is

From roughly 500 million years old in Mozambique to tens of millions of years old in Myanmar.

September birthstone

Sapphire

Sapphire is the same mineral as ruby, corundum, in every color except red: blue, pink, raspberry, yellow, and more. It is one of the hardest gems, so it wears beautifully every day.

Where it’s from

Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Thailand, Australia, and Montana, where sapphire is one of the two state gemstones.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of wisdom, truth, and loyalty. Sapphire is the September birthstone.

How old it is

Montana’s Yogo sapphires reached the surface in volcanic rock about 48 million years ago. Other deposits are far older.

August birthstone

Sardonyx

Sardonyx is chalcedony with bands of reddish-brown sard and white onyx. Ancient Romans carved it into cameos and seals.

Where it’s from

India and Brazil.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of courage, happiness, and clear communication. It is an August birthstone.

How old it is

It formed in volcanic rock over millions of years.

Seashells

I set real shells as well as stones: pearlized nautilus, pink conch, scallop, limpet, sea urchin spine, and wampum. The chambered nautilus is a living cousin of the ancient ammonites. Wampum is the purple-and-white shell of the quahog clam.

Where it’s from

Oceans worldwide. Quahog clams for wampum come from the North Atlantic coast.

What it symbolizes

The nautilus spiral is a traditional symbol of growth. The scallop is the emblem of pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago. Wampum beads have deep cultural meaning for Native nations of the Northeast, who used them to record agreements.

How old it is

Present-day shells, grown over a few years by the animals that made them.

Serpentine

Serpentine is a group of soft green minerals that form when seawater alters rock from Earth’s mantle. Its name comes from its resemblance to snakeskin.

Where it’s from

China, Afghanistan, New Zealand, and California.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally carried for protection, once against snakebite, and as a stone of renewal.

How old it is

It forms over millions of years where tectonic plates push mantle rock up toward the sea floor.

Shattuckite

Shattuckite is a copper silicate in deep blues, often mixed with chrysocolla and quartz. It was named after the Shattuck mine in Bisbee, Arizona.

Where it’s from

Arizona, Namibia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of communication and calm.

How old it is

It forms as water weathers copper ore near the surface, over thousands to millions of years.

August birthstone

Spinel

Spinel comes in red, pink, blue, and lavender. For centuries it was mistaken for ruby: the “Black Prince’s Ruby” in Britain’s Imperial State Crown is actually a spinel.

Where it’s from

Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Tajikistan, and Vietnam.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of renewal and energy. Spinel became an August birthstone in 2016.

How old it is

Like ruby, Myanmar’s spinel formed in marble during mountain building tens of millions of years ago.

Sunstone

Sunstone is feldspar with tiny platelets of copper or hematite inside that catch the light and sparkle, an effect called aventurescence. Mine is Madras sunstone from India.

Where it’s from

India, Norway, and Oregon, where sunstone is the state gem.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of joy, warmth, and leadership.

How old it is

Oregon’s sunstone grew in lava flows millions of years ago. Indian sunstone comes from much older rock.

Super Seven

Also called Melody stone, Super Seven is amethyst and quartz with inclusions of up to seven minerals, including smoky quartz, rutile, goethite, and cacoxenite.

Where it’s from

Espírito Santo, Brazil.

What it symbolizes

A favorite of modern crystal lovers, who see it as a stone of harmony.

How old it is

Like other Brazilian quartz, it grew over millions of years in old rock.

December birthstone

Tanzanite

Tanzanite is a blue-violet variety of the mineral zoisite. It looks blue from one angle and violet from another. It was discovered in 1967 and named by Tiffany & Co.

Where it’s from

Only the Merelani Hills of northern Tanzania, near Mount Kilimanjaro.

What it symbolizes

A newer gem, linked with transformation and new beginnings. Tanzanite became a December birthstone in 2002.

How old it is

Tanzanite is thought to have formed about 585 million years ago, during a period of intense mountain building.

November birthstone

Topaz

Topaz forms in granite and in veins where fluorine-rich fluids moved through rock. Imperial topaz is its rarest color, a warm golden orange to pink.

Where it’s from

Imperial topaz comes from Ouro Preto in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Topaz is also found in Pakistan, Russia, and Utah, where it is the state gem.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of strength, wisdom, and friendship. Topaz is a November birthstone.

How old it is

Brazil’s imperial topaz formed over millions of years in very old rock.

October birthstone

Tourmaline

Tourmaline comes in more colors than almost any other gem: pink, green, blue, and “watermelon” crystals that are pink inside and green outside.

Where it’s from

Brazil, Afghanistan, and Nigeria, plus Maine and San Diego County, California, whose pink tourmaline was a favorite of China’s Empress Dowager Cixi.

What it symbolizes

Pink tourmaline is traditionally linked with compassion and gentleness. Tourmaline is an October birthstone.

How old it is

San Diego County’s tourmaline grew in granite pegmatites about 100 million years ago.

December birthstone

Turquoise

Turquoise forms when water seeps through copper-rich rock in dry country and slowly deposits copper and aluminum phosphate in cracks and seams. The dark webbing you see in many stones is the host rock, called matrix, and no two pieces are alike. I carry American turquoise from mines like Number 8, Sleeping Beauty, Kingman, and Royston.

Where it’s from

Arizona and Nevada in the United States, plus Iran (the source of “Persian” turquoise) and China.

What it symbolizes

One of the oldest protective stones. It is sacred to the Diné (Navajo) and Pueblo peoples, was prized in ancient Egypt and Persia, and is traditionally given for friendship, healing, and safe travel. It is a December birthstone.

How old it is

Turquoise builds up over millions of years. Many of the American deposits sit in copper deposits that formed tens of millions of years ago.

December birthstone

Zircon

Natural zircon is brilliant and fiery. It is not cubic zirconia, a lab-made imitation. Blue zircon is usually heat-treated brown zircon from Cambodia.

Where it’s from

Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Australia.

What it symbolizes

Traditionally a stone of wisdom and prosperity. Blue zircon is a December birthstone.

How old it is

Tiny zircon grains from the Jack Hills of Australia are about 4.4 billion years old, the oldest known pieces of Earth.