A complete guide to sugilite, the vivid purple stone discovered in Japan and found in gem quality in South Africa: what it is, its colors and sources, the meanings given to it, how it compares with amethyst and charoite, common fakes and dyed imitations, and how to clean and store it.
A complete guide to spinel, one of the August birthstones: what it is, its colors and sources, the famous red spinels once mistaken for rubies, the meanings given to it, synthetic spinel, how to tell spinel from ruby and imitations, and how to clean and store it.
Everything to know about ruby, the July birthstone: what it is made of, where it comes from, the meanings people have given it, common treatments such as heating and glass filling, synthetic and imitation rubies, and how to clean and store it.
What sapphire is, how it relates to ruby, why blue is only one of its colors, where sapphires come from, common heat treatment, the meanings crystal lovers give it, safe care and how to tell real sapphire from glass and lookalikes.
What emerald is, why almost every stone has inclusions and oil treatment, where emeralds come from, the meanings crystal lovers give it, how to care for emerald jewelry safely and how to tell it from glass, green quartz and other lookalikes.
What morganite is, how pink beryl got its name, why many stones are heat treated, the meanings crystal lovers give it, how to care for it in rings and how to tell it from kunzite, pink topaz and glass.
What kunzite is, how it got its name, why its pink color can fade in sunlight, the meanings crystal lovers give it, how to care for a stone with strong cleavage, and how to tell kunzite from morganite, pink topaz and glass.
What topaz is, why most blue topaz is treated, what imperial and mystic topaz mean, the meanings crystal lovers give each color, how to care for a hard but cleavable gem, and how to tell topaz from citrine, glass and coated stones.
What ametrine is, how one quartz crystal can be both purple and gold, why most natural stones come from Bolivia, the Anahí legend, the meanings crystal lovers give it, how to protect the color, and how to separate natural ametrine from lab-grown and heat-treated stones.
What charoite is, why it comes from a single region of Siberia, what gives it the swirling lilac pattern, the meanings crystal lovers give it, how to care for a softer fibrous stone, and how to tell real charoite from dyed howlite, purple glass and other imitations.