Emerald

The natural color of Emerald is green, which is considered to be the color of spring, and it is this reason that emerald symbolizes love and rebirth. Emerald, which has been around for almost 4000 years now is said to be good for both the mind and the heart. The Mughal emperors of India valued emeralds so much that they were given a place in their sacred texts - these emperors included Shah Jahan, the emperor who built the Taj Mahal.

Emerald is the birthstone for the month of May. It is also the gemstone for the 20th marriage anniversary. In short, a symbol of perfect love. Ancient emeralds are generally from deposits in Egypt what is now Afghanistan. Columbia is considered to be the source of best emeralds in the world. Zambia, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Russia also produce fine emeralds. The most important factor, which is looked into when buying an Emerald is it's color, the more green the emerald, the more expensive it is. Emeralds are generally treated with oil, which is used to fill up the fissures and cracks in it's structure.

Emeralds are cut in a rectangular step-cut which is also called the emerald cut. Apart from this, the other shapes in which emeralds are cut, are round, oval, pear, and marquise. Due to their rich colour, emeralds are also cut in cabochon (smooth dome-shaped). A rare transparent, dark green emerald can be more valuable than a diamond of the same size!
                                                 
                                                     



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Garnet
             
       
                                             Coloured range of Garnets

Garnet is a gemstone for all seasons. They are a closely related group of gemstones that are available in every color. Dark reds, tangerine orange, vivid lime green, soft bluish-pink, garnet is all these colors and more. Garnets have long been carried by travellers to protect them against accidents. The name garnet probably comes from pomegranate. Most people think automatically of small dark red gemstones, even though this is only one aspect of the world of garnets.

Garnet is the birthstone for January. Rhodolite, Malaya, Demantoid, Grossular, Hessonite, Spessartite, Almandine, Mandarin, and combinations between these are some of the varieties of garnets. One of the most popular is rhodolite garnet, which ranges from pink to purplish red in colour and is mined in Africa, India, and Sri Lanka. Tsavorite garnet is bright yellow green to grass green and is mined in Tanzania and Kenya. Demantoid garnet, a bright green colour with dazzling brilliance, is the most valuable since it is very rare. They are found in Russia, China, Korea, U.S.A., Namibia are Zaire. Others countries include Myanmar, China, Madagascar, Sri -lanka and South Africa.

Hematite

The stone is called Hematite because when it is cut, the saw coolant becomes of red color. In some countries it is also called 'Bloodstone' and means color 'Red' in Greek. When Hematite is cut into thin plates, it is red and transparent and once it is polished, it becomes metallic and shiny.

It is mainly used for bead necklaces and rings. Deposits can be found in Bangladesh, New Zealand, England.