Happy Birthday December: All about Tanzanite, Zircon or Turquoise

December is a month that includes wonderful holidays. People whose birthday is in December get to choose from three different birthstones. Tanzanite, zircon and turquoise are three beautiful blue stones that represent December birthdays. Each beautiful in their own individual ways, these three stones are quite different. When it comes to birthstones for the last month of the year, the more the merrier!

Tanzanite

Photo by First Last (Flickr)

A violet blue stone that was not found until the late 1960s in Tanzania is a stone that is similar to the sapphire, only less expensive. It is sometimes worn as an alternative to the sapphire. It was originally found in the Mererani Hills near Mount Kilimanjaro in the Manyara Region in the northern part of Tanzania.

The color of tanzanite can range from blue to violet blue to purple. The color of the stone is very rich, and is sometimes treated with heat to achieve such great color. The medium dark stones have vivid saturation, and are now purchased for their individuality, and not because they are a spectacular substitute for the sapphire. Tanzanite has brilliance and beauty that makes it a perfect stone on its own. It was named the Tanzanite by Tiffany & Co.

Depending on the crystal orientation, the stone can appear to be different colors depending on the type of lighting. When first mined, the tanzanite can look brownish red, but applying artificial heat will bring the blues and violet colors to the stone.

Zircon

Zircon

Zircon is mined in Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Australia and Cambodia. The actual word "zircon" is derived from Arabic words that mean "gold color." The color of zircon ranges from colorless to red, orange, yellow, green, blue and brown. Ancient folklore beliefs included that zircon could ease pain, protect travelers from sickness, help one to sleep without nightmares and to show comfort.

Colorless zircon is commonly used to look like diamonds because it has similar brilliance to a diamond. Red zircon is the rarest and can be the most expensive. The red zircon was called hyacinth because the Ancient Greeks thought it looked like the color of the Hyacinthus flower. The most popular zircon today is the blue zircon.

The zircon is a heavy stone, so the stone will appear smaller than other stones with the same weight. The zircon facets can be easily chipped and the stone can get an abrasion, so caution must be taken with zircon jewelry.

Turquoise

Photo by First Last (Flickr)

Turquoise is one of the oldest known stones. It can vary in color from green blue to sky blue. It can also have different transparency qualities, ranging from completely opaque to translucent. The stone is available in many different sizes and is quite plentiful, as it is used for beads, cabochons, inlays and carvings as well as gemstones for jewelry. Turquoise is a mainstay in the American Southwest, as it is popular among Native American jewelry as well, as it was used historically as a guard for burial sites.

Turquoise has been thought of as a holy stone for thousands of years. It is supposed to bring good fortune, as the sky-blue stones were worn in jewelry around the neck to protect from death. It has been a symbol of power, wisdom and a sign of nobility through time. It was thought to give protection, luck and power through the ages among the Ancient Egyptians, Chinese, Persians, Aztecs and Incas of South America, and Native Americans of North America as well.

When you think of December, you automatically think of red and green. Now you can consider blue one of the mainstays of the holiday season and all birthday celebrations during that time.