Here's a few of these precious gifts from mother Earth, and you decide.
Demantoid Garnet
This green variation of all you January babies birthstone is the rarest of all garnets. I had to dub this one The Prince. I couldn't stop thinking that if a beautiful princess gemstone kissed a frog gemstone, it would turn into this Prince of a gem. First, discovered in Russia, this brilliant stone got its name because of its diamond-like luster. Bank Accounts beware, at the top retail end, this Ural Mountain dweller can reach as much as US$10,000 per carat.
Alexandrite
Good luck finding this extremely rare stone at you local jewelers. This is one of my favorites because it possesses a quality that only a hand full of other natural stones can stake claim to, color change. Alexandrite is a variety of Chrysoberyl, same family of gemstones that Emerald fall in, that displays a change -of-color from green to blue-green in daylight, and purple to purplish-red in incandescent light. It gets its name from a mineralogist who coined the term in honor of the Russian Czar that was coming of age at the time of its discovery, Alexander II.
Paraiba Tourmaline
I can picture myself floating adrift on a raft in the center of this stone, just off shore a deserted island. Relaxing with this crystal clear blue ocean beneath me. Paraiba is one of the most magnificent natural gemstones in the world. First found in Paraiba, Brazil, it's color varies from intense blue to green. It gets this beautiful color from copper being added to its composition. As the rarest and most expensive of all Tourmalines, this bad boy can easily reach tens of thousands per carat.
Padparadscha Sapphire
And last but definitely not least at all, we have this pink rose of a gem. the Padparadscha Sapphire. Padparadscha is a variety of corundum, the sapphire and ruby family. It's color is a pinkish orange, and it gets its name from the Sanskrit/Sinhalese padmaraga, a color similar to that of the lotus flower. Now-a-days, some define the gem's color as a blend of lotus and sunset shown below.
This stone set as a solitaire ring is sure to melt the heart of your special little lady.
Gemstones really are the flowers of the mineral world. I've been considering using one of these stones as a replacement for the traditional diamond ring, only problem is they can get up to 10x more expensive and even harder to find. But, I guarantee that the look on your Queen's face will be very well worth it.
