Your Guide to Buying Gemstones as Gifts

Do you know the appropriate gemstone for a November birthday? What about the perfect stone for someone expecting a baby?

With gift buying season well and truly here, we bring you this handy guide to gemstones so you can pick the perfect pressie for anyone on your list.

Peridot

From shades of brown to tinges of yellow, peridot gemstones come in a range of different colours, but the stunning olive green is the most sought after.

Ancient civilizations believed that Mother Nature gave peridots to the earth as a gift to celebrate the rebirth of the land each summer. That's why it’s the modern birthstone for August and has the nickname ‘Gem of the Sun.’

Not only is Peridot the perfect gift for any sunworshippers in your life, it’s also a fitting present for the superstitious. Because when given as a gift, it’s said to act as a talisman – driving away evil spirits, warding off negative influences and even preventing nightmares!

Topaz

Topaz is another gemstone available in a variety of colours, but the most common today was actually once the rarest. Blue topaz, whilst still extremely difficult to find in raw form, is now the most widely available due to modern treating techniques which give us those exquisite azures and sky blue stones.

Topaz is one of the birthstones for November (the other being citrine) and is also known as the jewel of love and loyalty which makes it the perfect gift for your significant other or best friend. It’s also the traditional stone for 4th and 19th wedding anniversaries.

Do you know someone who is due to give an important speech or pitch a new idea to their boss? Topaz could give them the helping hand they need as it’s said to relax the wearer, take away fear and improve communication. It’s perhaps not too surprising that those cool blue tones have long been associated with calm, peace and water.

Pearl

Pearls are one of three birthstones for June (as well as Moonstone and Alexandrite) and is traditionally gifted on 30th wedding anniversaries. And perhaps because pearls are the only gemstone created by a living creature, they’ve captivated our imaginations for centuries.

In the past, they’ve been worshiped as ‘tears of the gods’, worn to attract wealth and even used as treatment for digestive disorders. But today pearls represent a timeless elegance which makes them the perfect gift for that sophisticated special someone. Pearls are also a unique idea for soon-to-be new mums as they’re said to increase fertility and ease childbirth!

Alternatives

Let’s be honest, buying gemstones is an expensive business. The average ruby (the birthstone of July) and emerald (the birthstone of May) is probably going to set you back far more than your average birthday or Christmas present budget. And because they’re most commonly set with gold or silver, it’s incredibly hard to find gemstone jewellery that is suitable for those with sensitive skin.

But luckily there is still a way you can gift the perfect coloured stone as Swarovski offer a full range of stunning crystal stud earrings in a huge variety of hues. These colours, such as sapphire (September) and amethyst (February) perfectly replicate their more expensive counterparts and the fact that they’re hypoallergenic earrings means you can be safe in the knowledge they aren’t going to cause irritation or discomfort.