Alexandrite Smoky Quartz Claddagh Rings in 14K Gold

Alexandrite is the birthstone for June (along with the pearl) and the Anniversary stone for the 55th year of marriage. It is also considered Friday's stone, or the stone of "Friday's Child." It is an extremely rare gemstone and a reasonably modern one to boot. It does not share the ancient history and lore of most other gems because it was first discovered in the 19th Century. The name Alexandrite comes from the fact that the gemstone was first found in the emerald mines near the Tokovaya River in Russia's Ural Mountains in 1830, on the day of Prince Alexander II of Russia's birthday. The story of the stone's discovery goes like this: Miners were working alone in the mountains one day, collecting emeralds. One miner gathered some stones, which looked like emeralds, and took them back to the camp at the end of the day. But in the campfire's light, the stones shone a brilliant shade of red! The miners were perplexed. When morning came, and they saw that the stones were green again in the... learn more

Smoky quartz is the National Gem of Scotland and has been considered a sacred stone there for a long time, a belief dating back to the Druids. The stone is the birthstone for Scorpios. Smoky quartz is one of the rare brown gemstones. Other rare brown gemstones are topaz, black beryl and brown corundum.... learn more

The claddagh is an ancient Gaelic symbol that consists of two joined hands holding a heart with a crown over it and has traditionally symbolized eternal love, everlasting friendship and loyalty. It belongs to a family of European rings called Fede rings, or faith rings. Fede is derived from Italian "mani in fede" or hands (joined) in faith. These rings portray two hands clasped together symbolizing faith and trust, and were used as engagement or wedding rings dating back to the Roman Empire as well as in medieval and Renaissance Europe. The claddagh is a variation of the earlier version of a Fede ring.... learn more

Many different gemstones can be bought in today's market. There are sapphires, opals, rubies, emeralds and more. What you may not know, however, is that all of these gemstones may not be what they appear. Some gemstones on the market are not natural gemstones, and should be marked by the seller as either "lab-created" or "simulated". You may find that some of these so-called "fake" gemstones may be almost as expensive as their natural counterpoints! This may seem suspicious to you, but actually, it is an accepted practice in the jewelry trade, that is, if the "fake" is actually grown in a laboratory, which makes it quite real in fact.... learn more