Gem Notes
Learn the stone before you buy it
Straight answers on identifying, pricing, choosing and caring for natural gemstones — written for buyers in Pakistan, with the Urdu names you already know.
A plain, stone-by-stone routine for rings you actually wear Gemstone Care at Home: Cleaning, Storing and Wearing Your Stones
In short: hard stones that haven't been filled, such as sapphire, ruby, topaz, aquamarine, garnet and amethyst, only need lukewarm water wit…
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Shani's stone, the customs around it, and how to tell a real one Neelam (Blue Sapphire): What Tradition Says and How to Wear It
In brief: Vedic astrology gives neelam (blue sapphire) to Shani, the planet Saturn, and the tradition credits it with discipline, focus and…
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The sign-to-stone table, the nine planetary gems, and how each one is traditionally worn Your Rashi Stone: Which Gem Goes With Your Zodiac Sign?
The quick version: in Vedic astrology, each rashi (moon sign) takes the stone of the planet that rules it. Mesh and Vrishchik take red coral…
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How we pick a lively red garnet over a dull one Choosing a January Garnet: What to Look for in Yaqoot-e-Rumani
If you were born in January, your stone is garnet. Here in Pakistan most people know it as Yaqoot-e-Rumani, which roughly means "pomegranate…
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How to pick purple quartz that stays purple Amethyst (Jamunia), February's Birthstone: Buying and Care
February's birthstone is amethyst, the purple variety of quartz. In Urdu we call it jamunia, after the dark purple jamun fruit. Of all the b…
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A clear sea-blue beryl and the older green stone with red spots March Birthstones: Buying Aquamarine (Beruj) and Bloodstone
If you were born in March you have two stones to pick from. The modern one is aquamarine, which most Pakistanis know as beruj, a transparent…
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We don't sell diamonds, so here is what we would suggest instead April's Birthstone Is Diamond: Honest Advice and Natural Alternatives
Diamond, or heera, is the birthstone for April. We should say this straight away: Authentic Gems does not sell diamonds. Our work is natural…
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Why inclusions are a good sign, what oiling means, and the Swat story May's Birthstone, Emerald (Zamurd): A Buyer's Guide
The stone for May is emerald, which we call zamurd in Urdu and which goes by panna in much of the subcontinent. Of the three big coloured st…
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Two soft, glowing stones and the care they need June Birthstones: Moti (Pearl) or Moonstone, and How to Choose
June gets two birthstones. One is pearl, which we know as moti; the other is moonstone, called chandrakant in the subcontinent trade. The pe…
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Reading the red, understanding heat, and staying clear of glass-filled stones July's Ruby (Yaqoot): A Checklist Before You Buy
July's stone is the ruby, which we call Yaqoot in Urdu and which Vedic astrology knows as Manik. No other birthstone has such a wide gap bet…
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A green stone with a Kohistan address, and how to buy it well Zabarjad (Peridot), the August Birthstone Mined in Our Own Mountains
If you were born in August, your birthstone is peridot, which most of us here call zabarjad. Of all the birthstones, this is the one with th…
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How to pick a blue that stays blue, and what neelam means here September's Birthstone: Sapphire (Neelam), Its Origins, Colour and Care
If you were born in September, your birthstone is sapphire, the stone everyone in Pakistan knows as neelam. It is the stone we get asked abo…
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One shows every colour at once, the other comes in every colour there is October's Two Birthstones: How to Buy Opal and Tourmaline Well
October gets two birthstones, and they could hardly be more different. Opal is the traditional one: a soft form of silica that holds water a…
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