Mon 20 Apr 2009
Gems are truly outrageous
Category: Editorials
My interest in gems began early. I earned a short-lived reputation as a ‘jeweler’ in kindergarten: kids would bring in rings & brooches to watch me skillfully extract the stone with bare hands. (We thought loose crystals were prettier and called them ‘treasure’. We had no idea how much trouble we were in!) At 11, I read a story called The Malachite Casket by Pavel Bazhov and became officially obsessed with stone.
Jewels are more than just bling. Each has a unique story to tell and has traveled a long journey – getting mined, faceted, polished to perfection, put in a setting – before ending up on your hands or neck. I have yet to meet a stone I didn’t like, but my current favorites are opal (colorful and unpredictable, just like me), moonstone (murky and mysterious) and the semi-precious malachite, native of the Ural Mountains region I grew up in.
Pendant from jewelry store, Ice.com
The latest addition to my collection is this lovely heart pendant. Deep red garnet appeals to my inner goth, while the cutesy bow speaks to my girly side. Squee! If I didn’t believe in love at first sight, I do now! Plus, it came in an irresistible box with a blue bow.
Deerlings: do you have a signature stone?
63 Responses to “ Gems are truly outrageous ”
Comments:
Leave a Reply
Trackbacks & Pingbacks:
-
Pingback from ThinkThru This Week’s Blog Snog – ThinkThruFashion
April 25th, 2009 at 7:34 pm[...] agrees with me that dogs don’t need clothes. They’re just A-OK with their fur coats. DoDeer Blogazine says jewels are more than bling. Fashionista explores adventures in [...]
Loading ...
April 20th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
My signature stone has to be Blue Topaz. The color alone is so bold, the stone itself makes a statement.
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
I love a London Blue Topaz but opals, moonstones and malachite are favorites as well. And I love the name Carnelian. Not my favorite stone but such a pretty word.
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
I also love opals — they are, after all my birthstone. And I have a malachite pendant and a matching ring that are such beautiful greens — my favourite colour!
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
I’m a garnet girl myself. I have quite a lot of red and green garnets around my bedroom :)
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Oh, im such an Amethyst person…i find its deep purple color mesmerizing…and i definitely have felt its soothing,creative and empowering effect on me more than a few times over the years.
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
My birthstone is sapphire, and my baby’s is emerald. I love them both! My uncle is a jeweler and owns his own store. It’s a lot of fun to go and look at all the jewelry and minerals he has.
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
After reading The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, moonstones quickly became one of my favorite gems. My birthstone is garnet, but I’ve always been more partial to the brighter ruby.
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
I’ve never really felt an affinity to rubies, which are my birthstone. However, as a child and even now, I’ve had a great love of topaz and sapphires, in all their color varieties (my first earrings were even gold topaz!).
Like you, my mother is VERY in to gemstones, and I’ve claimed dibs on the beautiful loose star sapphire she has. If I ever get married, I want it as my engagement ring.
Star rubies may be the only incarnation of them I truly feel a fondness of.
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Garnet is my birthstone and I do adore it … but I wear pearls FAR more often!
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
I’m definitely a ruby girl(well, besides diamonds, of course! ^_^).. to the point that I named my cat after it. Just something about it, possibly it being my birthstone, draws me to it. Such a special stone to me, and pretty. But I love all stones, the sparklier the better. :)
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
I’m sorry, but this has annoyed me a little bit. I thought you read through all comments? Enjoyed reading what people said? Because I now don’t believe you do. Because on Thursday when you put the video up, you got 58 comments. And a lot of people asked where you stocked Lime Crime, I would have thought that if you had read through you would have at least replied. Ok, I understand you don’t reply to everything, thats fine, but this is something a large number of your visitors have asked but you have not yet said anything. And its not like you havn’t been online, as you have posted two new blogs since then. So really, i’m just asking, why not?
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
I love that story, and the illustrations are glorious!
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
truly truly truly outrageous?
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
i don’t wear a lot of jewelry, since i lose things fairly easily, but my signature piece is an opal ring my grandmother gave my mother for her 15th birthday. she passed it down to me when i was around the same age, and i’ve worn it since then. i think it’s absolutely beautiful.
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Emerald is my stone. I absolutely HATE my birthstone ruby. I felt that this wasn’t my stone. Red is my color, but I hated the stone. When the time came to get my High School Class ring, my mother forced me to mutually agree on getting October’s pink stone, because 1 its closely related to red, and 2 its not a ruby. But since then, I made sure I made my own choices as far a stones go, I love my Emerald College ring. Its green, pretty and most of all one I chose. I got this book the other day that describes Emeralds as:
“…A symbol of love prosperity, kindness, and goodness….The emerald has been known to keep people honest, to make them clever and funny, to improve their memories, and to make them excellent public speakers. The emerald also was a cure-all at ancient pharmacies.”
Kinda interesting since I’m a teacher :)
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Your top 3 are also mine!!! I love opals, I really want some opal jewellery, and Id love a moonstone ring or earrings. Im doing a project at uni on crystals right now! I also love green amber and emeralds. My ex boyfriend got my a gorgeous star ruby ring last year, its so gorgeous!
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
I have to say that since I love blue lapis lazuli has king of always been my favorite. :D Either that or sapphire.
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
♣ Kelly
Don’t worry, I’ll get to it. :) Sometimes it takes me a bit to respond to all the questions – on here or in my inbox – but I try!
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
mine is this mineral that I forget the name of (I’m oh so useful :P) thats the most colourful mineral in the world. I have a pendant in teh shape of a turtle, and that alone has clear, purple, and green, all blending together beautifuly. I will have to google the name of it. and i hope you answer our questions soon Ms. Deere :D
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
My mother’s birthday is the day before mine, so a lot of jewellery I have is stuff with peridot (our birthstone) that she doesn’t wear anymore and gave to me. I like peridot (I like jewellery, period. hahaha) and everything, but I have a soft spot in my heart for opals and their various colour plays. I’m even a sucker for things like nail polishes that claim “opalescence” or iridescence. :P Most of the jewellery I wear on a daily basis doesn’t have any stones though.
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
I love red-black garnets :3 I almost won a pair of vintage hairpins on ebay featuring them. *sigh!*
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
I’m all about pearls. Classy and elegant. Also, they instantly soften a sweater or blouse & jeans.
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
My two stones are labradorite and purple Fluorite. NOT TO MENTION OKENITE (mineral)!! omg.
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
I’m with Krista. I adore pearls.
But really, I just love anything that sparkles. I own way too much jewellery…including a lot of malachite, because it doesn’t tend to be very expensive :)
By the way, if anyone is looking for cheap (where ‘cheap’ = ‘excellent value for money’) jewellery, you should check out GemsTV.com (or .co.uk). Obviously, if you want a platinum diamond ring, it’s still going to cost you a few hundred pounds, but compared to its ‘original’ value you could pick one up for a relatively low price. My friend studies Geology and he can’t believe how low their prices are compared to what the stones should be worth.
(I’m not a Gems TV salesperson, haha, I just love that channel and its website so much.)
x
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
amythist and emeralds are my stones. Purple and green two of my fave colours, so I guess that partially explains it. Other than that, I really cannot underderstand my draw to these two stones, as I just natually love them! They resonate with me.
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Rubies, emeralds and my birthstone, opals, are my top three. I also really like jade and quartz, and used to be known for my jade pendant, ’til it fell off and broke. :(
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
The initials of my two middle names, paired with my last name, make up J.E.M. … And yet, that’s about as close to gemstones I’ll ever bother to get!
For some reason, I’ve just never really been interested in jewels and gemstones … Even as a little girl I wasn’t fond of them, I much prefered primary coloured plastic-looking jewellery over the fake jewels and such.
I never thought of this until now, though! I wonder why I don’t fancy gems and such …? =o
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
I love lapis lazuli, amethysts and garnets for the rich, deep colors. The pearl is my birthstone, so I’ve always loved them too! My mom is into pearls too, but she loves jade and diamonds too, unlike me. I prefer amber…there is nothing cooler to me than that clear, coppery color and more importantly, the prehistoric insects inside! I feel like I’m wearing a piece of history ;)
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
I’m all about hematite and onyx. They’re pretty awesome.
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
I love anything handmade, unique, or otherwise “special”. A hand-carved cameo pendant/brooch is more precious to me than any run-of-the-mill diamond. :) Hehe, I told my boyfriend that if he ever plans to propose, he shouldn’t buy me an engagement ring!
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
I don’t have a specific stone I would consider a favorite, but I do like diamonds. I think their pretty and something majestic about them… =)
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
I love those cheap “moon stones”. I think they’re made out of a cheap glass. I grow up in a old gold mining town and they sold them at the local rock shop. I owned so many of them and loved them so much, there was something so magical about them.
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Garnet garnet garnet! Sapphire as well. Who am I kidding, I love them all!
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
I love amethyst! but my favorite since I was a little girl was opals. my mom used to stop at the jewelry store at the mall and they were the ones that always caught my eye. my grandmother gave me a beautiful fire opal for my 14th birthday and its my favorite piece off jewelry.
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
I’ve allways loved gems. When I was young I used to sit on my Grandma’s bed with her jewrely box and look at all of her beautiful stones. She sometimes even gave me small ones to wear to church. I love jade, and saphfire personally, but my favorite stone belonged to my Grandpa. It is called a blood stone and is green and has little red dots. It is my lucky stone.
[Reply]
April 20th, 2009 at 11:45 pm
A Beautiful necklace! I love how it is a bit gothy inspired, and a bow as well. Very cute!
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 1:26 am
I also love opals :)
My signatures would have to be sapphire (not only is it my birthstone, but dark blue is my favorite color), pearls (I have several ropes of freshwater pearls, in natural and dyed colors) and emeralds…people tend to give me green stones because they match my eyes.
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 1:27 am
I love amethysts and aventurines (my birthstone, so to speak). I love going around shops that sell gemstones, just to look at them is nice.
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 1:27 am
And how could I forget…tanzanite/blue zoisite! (Apparently Tiffany & co. started calling it tanzanite once they decided zoisite sounds like suicide…whatever)
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 2:44 am
I’ve always had a kind of affinity for Tiger’s Eye. I came across one when I was younger and just loved the shiny browns and golds of my asymmetrical stone.
Picasso Jasper is another one that I think looks amazing.
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 3:52 am
I love dark deep red Garnet as well. But since my mom got into jewelry around 3 years ago I found this lovely stone called Cairngorm.
I love this smokey brownish grey.. Usualy not my color, but the stone is just gorgeous.
Most jewelry I have with real stones have Marcasite. I find that stone very elegant, but not too flashy. My mom once told me that it was a sort of “Diamond for poorer people” or a “black Diamond”, but I’m not sure if that’s correct. XD
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 5:05 am
I don’t wear that much jewellry, but my favourite necklace that I own is a white gold treble clef set with diamonds. My Dad bought it for me when were in SF visiting my sister!
I would love something Ruby though. Its my middle name – after my great grandmother who had the fantastic name Ruby Orange Lily!
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 5:30 am
I a huge fan of Tanzinite – a bluish-purple stone- but it’s getting harder and harder to find any these days. :(
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 5:56 am
I love the title! Freezepop does the BEST cover of that theme tune!
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 6:49 am
My birthstones are Peridot and Sard Onyx (the stuff they use to make Cameos sometimes). I’ve found that finding good Peridot is rather difficult because it’s not a high demand stone usually. But the bright spring green tones, the clarity of it, and (I think at least) the way it glows when it’s set in silver? Beautiful.
I’m also partial to silver-set Sapphires, because it looks more like a piece of the night sky with stars like that.
Green Amber is something I’ve found myself adoring a lot over the years as well, and it sometimes has a colour similar to Peridot. It’s also a nice change from the yellow and orangey-toned ambers, and it’s just uncommon enough that people notice and ask about it every time.
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 8:32 am
I’d have to say that my signature stone is definitely Rainbow Moonstone or even Blue Ice Moonstone. I wear so much of it and have been doing so for several years now.:)
I grew up loving opal but once I saw rainbow moonstone, I was a goner.:D
I also really like amethyst, but it’s hard to find a smooth cabochon in an attractive setting.
-Never been one for cut and faceted stones.
I not only like how rainbow moonstone looks but I also like it’s ties to Women/the Feminine(symbolism) and it’s ’supposed’ (magical) properties.
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 8:33 am
-Just wanted to add, Labrodite (being a cousin to Moonstone) is coming is a close 2nd with favorite gem stones.
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 8:40 am
I wear a mood ring on my right hand ring finger. It is authentic, from the 60’s, and it was an engagement ring given to my mother. The man proposing was to be shipped off to Vietnam and wished to marry before leaving. My mother told him that she couldn’t, but that she loved him dearly and that they could be together when he got back. Like many others, he unfortunately never made it back to my mother. She gave me the ring when I was a freshman in high school, and the ring seems to have attached itself to me. Even when I think I have lost this ring for good, it will randomly appear in the oddest places, and be returned to me. I have worn it for almost 10 years.
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 11:03 am
My favourite is Seraphinite – a moody grey-green stone with these wavery patterns in it that look like angel’s wings – hence the angelic name ;)
It’s really very beautiful, but unfortunately I haven’t found a piece of jewelry featuring it that I really, really love. I’m keeping an eye on Etsy, though!
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 11:05 am
I love opals, fire opals even more! I was thrilled when I went to Mexico and found they sold many opals at their markets.
I also love jade, as my mother brought a few amazing jade pieces with her from korea, and I’ve always had a fondness for turquoise as well, and its currently my signature piece right now.
With my father currently living in Alaska, he’s been sending me cool little handmade piece with turquoise and such and I love it!
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 11:11 am
Lapis Lazuli, hands down. More specifically I prefer the deep, deep indigo variation, sometimes referred to as Egyptian Lapis but is, unfortunately, harder to find. I have a great tear-drop ring (about an inch long) that I wear every day and is my signature piece of jewelry. And even though I wear only silver jewelry these days, if the lapis doesn’t have a vein of pyrite running through it, it won’t come home with me!
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 11:33 am
Wow. That is a STUNNING necklace.
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Amethyst: It’s my birthstone, favorite colour and everywhere in my house!
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 3:01 pm
I love emeralds! the darker the better…just love those green sparkles. ruby is my birthstone, and I love those too….but emeralds have stolen my heart.
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 9:46 pm
Gah! I can’t believe you like moonstone too! <33
It’s my birthstone and my favorite stone! :D
[Reply]
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:39 am
I love all stones, and have many many rings with large sapphires or topaz or amethyst.. diamonds and pearls. They are little wonders that the earth makes. So pretty, but can only truly shine with the dedicated jewelers who craft such lovely things!
[Reply]
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:25 pm
i always wear a ring wire-wrapped with an aqua aura quartz crystal. it is such a lovely stone – i am addicted to gemstones of all kinds! i am such a new age hippie XD i love amber, moonstone, mystic fire topaz, blue goldstone, amethyst, and of course my birthstone – DIAMOND!!! my 16th birthday was yesterday, actually :P
[Reply]
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:00 am
I never knew that they translated ’shkatulka’, ie jewellery box as ‘casket’! Makes the story title sound rather morbid. But I’ve been fascinated with gemstones ever since reading it also, as a little kid back in the motherland.
[Reply]
April 23rd, 2009 at 4:59 pm
My favorite color is purple so,guess which stone is my favorite. You guessed it; AMETHYST!
But what I recently found out is that the June stone is actually an ALEXANDRITE.
It is a beautiful multi color stone. Blues and reds and violets depending on where the light hits it. Unfortunately it is so rare only royalty can afford them. LOL
OPALs are gorgeous too. That is probably my second favorite. White with a rainbow of colors.
[Reply]
April 25th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
Alexandrites
The little known birthsone of June and he mos amazing jewel ever
[Reply]
August 16th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
My signature stone is labradorite. It’s a sick obsession and most of my jewelry is made with it.
[Reply]
October 18th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Yes! I’m obsessed with stones and stone healing and it all started with the movie Practical Magic where a redheaded Nicole Kidman has to find her tigers eye after seeing “blood” on the moon. Ever since Tigers eye has been my stone. Though I love them all and cats eye is fabulous and my birthstone garnet which I din’t like much as a kid but got a lot of (much of it fake) has really grown on me. That malachite you love is awesome too. i wonder what it does. I bought a big pebble of lapiz lazuli last march for $14 my brother and his friends thought i was insane to spend so much on a “Tiny rock!” but the ancient Egyptians who used it to decorate king Tut’s sarcophagus wouldn’t have believed the deal. Oh and I’m dying for some Kunzite, it was Jakie O’s fave and its so unique.
[Reply]