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      Gaia Star Jewelers' unique name is derived from the intertwining of "Heaven and Earth". According to Greek Mythology, Gaia was the "Goddess of Mother Earth" from which all things in our universe were born. Celebrate the goddess you love with jewelry from "Mother Earth" and Gaia Star Jewelers.
Diamond: the "King" of the gemstones. Comprised of carbon, the foundation of all life, diamonds represent power, purity and strength. Diamonds are said to be the "Teardrops of the Gods". Diamond is the birthstone for April.Diamonds have been used in the marriage ceremony for centuries to represent the strength of the couple's love. Although most of the diamonds seen today are white, they are found naturally in almost every color. Here are some of the most famous diamonds in the world and their natural color: The Dresden Diamond is green and 41 carats, the Hope Diamond is blue and 45.52 carats, the Tiffany Diamond is yellow and 128.51 carats, the Florentine Diamond is yellow and 137.27 carats and the Star of Africa Diamond is white and 530.20 carats. The Cullinan Diamond was the largest diamond ever found, it was as large as a fist! Rose Quartz: the love stone, is said to open the wearers' heart to love and encourage trust. Ancient Indians believed it brought the energy of the stars into the soul, creating love and serenity. Amethyst: the healing stone, it is said to transform the wearer and bring love and peace into their lives. An official birthstone for February. Jade: called the "stone of the heavens" by the Chinese, was believed to preserve the body after death and is found in many emperors' tombs. Since 2950BC it has been used for carvings, masks and jewelry. Confucius said that it had 11 virtues. Blue Topaz: from the Sanskrit word "tapas" meaning fire or "blue fire". Most "blue" topaz on the market today is produced by irradiating and then heating natural colorless topaz. Blue Topaz is an official birthstone for December. Pearls: said to promote prosperity and long life. Early discoverers called them "teardrops of the moon goddess". Pearls are truly the "treasure of the sea". An official birthstone for June. Most pearls today are "cultured", which means a human places a tiny foreign material inside the mollusk to act as an irritant causing it to produce layers of "nacre" or Mother of Pearl. The layers of nacre form concentrically around the irritant to form the pearl. Pearls come in different shapes, but the round pearl is usually the most expensive and desirable. Pearls are cultured and farmed in both saltwater and freshwater. Freshwater cultured pearls are less expensive than saltwater, but are still unique and beautiful. The saltwater cultured pearls are the "Akoya", "Black Tahitian" and now, most of the "South Sea". These saltwater pearls vary in size, from the Akoya, which is the smallest to the South Sea, which is the largest. Freshwater cultured pearls range in size from the tiny 'seed' pearl to a large 14-15mm. Although pearls are generally white, they can also be found in various colors. This is achieved by using a special technique during the culturing process or by permanent treatments such as dyeing, bleaching or radiation after the pearl is harvested. Remember: the bigger the pearl gets the more expensive it becomes. Tanzanite: was discovered in 1969 by accident. It was introduced and named by Tiffany and Company in the 1970's. In the last few years it has become a very popular gemstone but with only one mine in limited production it is getting expensive and hard to find. In 2003 Tanzanite was named an official birthstone for December by the American Gem Trade Association. Garnet: the symbol of faith, courage and compassion; they are believed to brighten the wearers' imagination and inspire devotion. The most valuable type of Garnet is the Demantoid. An official birthstone for January. Black Onyx: helps block negativity aimed at the wearer. Turquoise: adorns the wearer with healing and protection, friendship and loyalty. Ancient Indians believed it was the "God of the Sky" here on Earth. Alexandrite: it is a natural "color changing" stone named for Alexander II the Czar of Russia. The color changes from green in daylight to red in incandescent light. It is expensive and very difficult to find. Moonstone: brings love into the wearers' life. Peridot: is said to heal infection and provide an overall feeling of well-being to the wearer. The lovely green color tends to make it a very happy gemstone. An official birthstone of August. Fluorite: is called the "stone of discernment". It is said to help clear the fog of illusion and create order in chaos. Citrine: is said to bring sunshine into the wearers' life. The lovely yellow color warms the heart like a ray of sun. Citrine and Amethyst are basically the same stone; heating creates the two different colors. Citrine is an official birthstone of November. Ruby: the "Queen" of all gemstones. It is the gemstone of royalty and surrounds the wearer with an aura of beauty. It is an official birthstone for July. Emerald: gives the wearer an overall feeling of tranquility and activates the desires we hold nearest our hearts. Emerald is a very powerful stone! An official birthstone for May. One of the largest emeralds in the world is the "Mongul Emerald." It dates back to the year 1695, and weighs 217.80 carats. Iolite: is said to bring harmony to the wearers' relationships. It is blue in color and is sometimes mistakenly called the "water sapphire". Jasper: from the Bible, it is said to be from the breastplate of Aaron. Some ancient Indians believed it would bring rain and protect the wearer from unseen dangers in the night. Lapis Lazuli: is said to bring awareness to the wearer in order to expand their viewpoint. The finest material has been brought from a mine in Afghanistan for over 6000 years. Sapphire: is said to provide protection and wisdom to the wearer. Sapphires like diamonds come in almost every color of the rainbow. An official birthstone for September. Opal: surrounds the wearer with an aura of mystery. Some cultures believed they were the "stardust" that fell from the night skies, with their shimmering greens, blues and oranges. An official birthstone for October. Amber: is called the "good luck" stone although it is actually the fossilized resin of the pine tree. It has been used for jewelry since prehistoric times. Aquamarine: is known as the "water of the sea" stone because of its' beautiful sea blue color. The very fine Aquamarine is called "Santa Maria" named after the mine of the same name in Brazil. An official birthstone for March. Tourmaline: was a favorite stone of Dutch children until the discovery of its gemstone value. It comes in many different colors like Chrome, Indicolite and Rubellite but the most rare is the bi-color and tri-color. Spinel: is sometimes called the "balas" ruby for its color or country of origin. It is often mistaken for the ruby. The large red stone in the Imperial State Crown of England was recently found to be a spinel not a ruby. Carnelian: it is of the chalcedony variety and named after the color of the kornel cherry, a brownish red to orange. Morganite: is also called pink beryl. It is a soft pink to violet color and was named after American banker and collector J.P. Morgan. Zircon: the name was derived from the Persian language. The colorless Zircon has a high refractive index and intense fire, which has caused it to be confused with the diamond on occasion. The Blue Zircon is an official birthstone for December. Kunzite: was first discovered in 1902 by G.F. Kuntz, it was also named after him. This stone's coloring agent is manganese so the light pink-violet color can fade, which is why it is usually heat treated to retain the color. It is often confused with many pink colored stones, but is more rare than most. Smoky Quartz: is quartz named after its smoky color. For many years it was called "Smoky Topaz" but because it is not a topaz that term is not used in the jewelry trade. The coloring agent is natural gamma rays. Chrysoprase: is the most valuable of the chalcedony variety of stone. It is an opaque stone in beautiful shades of green. It is cut en cabochon because of its brittleness. The most important deposit of Frankenstein, located in Poland was made in the 14th century. Apatite: is named after the Greek word "cheat" because it can be so easily confused with other stones. It comes in beautiful greens, yellows and blues but blue is the most common color and easily confused with the blue Topaz and Sphene. Sphene: is part of the Apatite family and very unique. It comes in greens and reddish yellows. It has intense fire when brilliant cut but it is very brittle. The mineralogical name is "titanite" derived because of its titanium content. It is often confused with Topaz and Zircon. Malachite: when cut displays bands of light and dark layers with concentric rings, straight stripes and shell like formations. It is beautiful shades of green and is usually found in or near copper ore deposits. The main mine is in Zaire. Gold: was probably first found by prehistoric man and used for tools. The Egyptians adorned their Kings with it in life and in death. By 1500 BC it had become the standard medium of international trade. It is still a safe form of financial security and is the basis of our financial reserve. Gold used for jewelry is made up of a mixture of alloys (nickel, silver, zinc) and pure gold. Pure gold is 24kt and the "kt" measurement is the amount of pure gold mixed with alloys; in other words 14kt gold is 580 parts gold or 58%. Gold in its pure form is much too soft for jewelry. (24kt-pure gold, 18kt gold is 75% or 750 parts gold; 10kt is 42% or 420 parts gold) White gold is created by mixing gold with the "white" alloys. Silver: together with Gold and Platinum is one of the precious metals. It is a malleable metal that is usually mixed with copper or lead to give it the hardness needed to make beautiful jewelry. Platinum: Annually, only about 133 tons of platinum is mined, compared to about 1,800 tons of gold. Louis XVI of France proclaimed platinum the only metal fit for royalty! 10 tons of ore and five months of processing are required to makeup one ounce of platinum. It is the heaviest of the precious metals, weighing almost twice as much as a karat of gold. Platinum does not "wear-down" like gold, and it does not actually lose any material when "scratched". If Platinum jewelry looks scratched it simply needs a quick buff and polish!
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