Summer Stones
I find gemstones absolutely magical - never more so than when the sun is shining and you can appreciate all the subtleties of colour and the fascinating inclusions in a stone. Even a fairly opaque looking stone reveals its inner fire when struck with a ray of summer sun. Being able to dress a little more lightly in summer presents the opportunity to adorn the neck and ears with luminous gems. Summer is full of events that make a great reason to chose a new piece of jewellery. Weddings, holidays, a lovely garden party. Any outfit can be elevated with the addition of a gorgeous gemstone or two.
I spend many happy hours sourcing stones, and my jewellery is very much led by the beautiful stones I select. A few types of gemstones seem to really sing ‘summertime’ to me.
Tourmaline
Like Sapphire, Tourmaline exists in large variety of colours, many having different names. The very recognisable bi-colour tourmaline in pink and green is known as Watermelon Tourmaline for obvious reasons. Blue tourmaline can be a very dark inky blue and is known as Indicolite. A fine bright blue tourmaline found in Brazil is known as Paraiba tourmaline. I particularly love green and blue gemstones, and there are a wide variety of verdant tourmalines to be found. I love the gorgeous rich green of the tourmaline cabochon in this pendant.
Tourmaline is one of relatively few naturally pink (rather than red) gemstones. The luscious ring (below) uses a sensational Brazilian tourmaline. The combination of the candy pink and buttery 18ct gold is delicious! This ring is just asking to be worn to a summer wedding.
Aquamarine
Aquamarine in all its variants, from pale milky blue to sparkling sea green is the quintessential summer stone. There is an aquamarine to suit all complexions - for me, when my skin is a little sun-kissed, aquamarine really pops. It’s like carrying a piece of a turquoise summer sea with you all year round.
Aquamarine varies in colour from pale sky blue to sea green blue right through to dark blue, the best stones tend to come from Brazil & Madagascar. When faceted, Aquamarine can diachronic - appearing to change colour when viewed from different angles. I like to use all kinds of aquamarine; faceted and cabochon. These are few of my favourite pieces using Aquamarine.
Yellows
It would be wrong to not include some sunny yellow stones! Though there are many yellow and brown gemstones, I have a couple of favourites. Firstly, an unusual gemstone with a wonderful name, is Heliodor, which means ‘gift from the sun’. This deliciously caramel yellow stone is a type of Beryl - the blue variant being aquamarine. When cut into a polished cabochon, it almost glows from within. I can see this pendant (below) being worn with a simple linen dress, allowing the understated elegance of this piece to take centre stage.
Citrine is the yellow hued variety of quartz, it’s actually quite rare to find quartz citrine - a lot of citrine is in fact heat treated amethyst. I’ve used three different shades of Citrine in this pendant (below), which feels like a summer sunset to me.
Lastly, sapphire. Beyond its commonly known blue form, sapphire comes in many tones and the ring stack below show sunny shades of yellow combined with diamond.
