Gemstones Throughout the AGES

By Crystal Cobert-Giddens, LE

Rubies, diamonds, emeralds and sapphires have long inspired myths, legends, curses and spells.They have been coveted by royalty, rich collectors and movie stars.

In fact, the reverence that humans have for gemstones is almost as captivating as the gemstones themselves. They have been used throughout history to decorate a variety of items like combs, ceremonial or religious objects, crowns, swords and even horses.

I’ve always been intrigued by crystals and other stones. My grandfather gave me a rock tumbler when I was a little girl. We would put these dirty, plain rocks in the tumbler to polish and these beautiful stones would come out! I don’t know if my grandfather would toss a few semi-precious stones into the mix when I wasn’t looking or if it was just a little girl’s wish come true, but there were always stones like cat’s eye, rose quartz and lapis lazuli in the mix when we were finished.

There are over 200 natural gemstones that we know about today. They’re usually classified as precious and semi-precious. There are only four precious stones currently classified in the world now. Diamonds, Sapphires, Emeralds and Rubies. All the others are classified as semi-precious.

The other stones…the crystals and semi-precious stones…have long been used for their healing, spiritual and focusing qualities.

The oldest gemstone formed on Earth is the zircon. It has been carbon dated to around 4.4 billion years old.

The oldest extraterrestrial gemstone is the peridot. This gem has been mined here, but it has also been found on meteorite landing sites and in mineral samples collected from space.

The oldest mined gemstone is thought to be lapis lazuli, a stone with a vibrant blue color and was used during the Neolithic period.

Egyptians were making gemstone jewelry using lapis lazuli and amethyst around 4000 BC.

Jade is the earliest gemstone mentioned in Chinese historical texts around 3600 BC.

History dates the use of several gemstones in Greece and the Roman Empire to between, 1600 BC and 500 BC. Both civilizations used sapphires, garnets and pearls as amulets. The ancient Greeks believed that gem stones held many powers. They believed that wearing amethyst while drinking wine would protect them from drunkenness. In fact, the word amethyst comes from the Greek word amethystos, meaning “sober”. Sapphires are named after the Greek word sapphires, which literally means “blue”. In fact, the Greeks considered sapphires symbolic of wisdom and purity.

The Roman Empire was extremely powerful, far-reaching and wealthy. For over 1000 years they had unlimited access to the world’s precious resources, including gemstones. Roman jewelers would craft ostentatious jewelry with precious and semi-precious stones. They preferred emeralds, diamonds, topaz, pearls and amber. Their empire was so vast, they would fill chambers with pearls from the Persian Gulf, emeralds and peridot from Egypt and lapis lazuli and onyx from Persia.

Fast forward to gemstones in the Middle Ages. The church was the biggest and richest collector of valuable gemstones in Europe. There were a powerful display of wealth in a time marked by plagues AND widespread superstition, fear and despair. During this time, the belief in the protective powers of gemstones grew. Those who could afford them wore gemstones as talismans on necklaces and rings to ward off illness and bad luck.

Modern times and there are jewelry stores, book shops and crystal apothecaries that carry assorted gems and crystals throughout the world. I dove deep into the healing vibrations of some stones and wanted to share my findings with you. Some of these are quite common and easy to find, but there are several that I had never heard of and thought you would enjoy reading about them too!

UNAKITE Healing Properties: Unakite is beneficial for people who have difficulty in being in the present. This gemstone helps you go with the flow.

OPAL Healing Properties: Helps control insulin levels and relieves PMS symptoms. For emotional healing, it is known to help you avoid negative energy.

ANGEL STONE Healing Properties: Helps you acquire vitality and strength. Offers positive energy to attract new opportunities and adventures.

CITRINE Healing Properties: Increases positive energy and promotes emotional wellbeing. It also helps with digestive illnesses, pain, inflammation, and hearing and sleeping problems.

TIGER EYE Healing Properties: Tiger Eye is a bearer of good luck for the wearers and improves the mind's focusing abilities. It can promote mental clarity and objectivity.

STRAWBERRY QUARTZ Healing Properties: Strawberry Quartz is believed to help heal wounds while enabling the wearer to attract abundance and successfully find their soulmate. (Wow!)

GARNET Healing Properties: Garnet enriches its warmth and helps im prove circulation while flushing out toxins. It also improves your metabolic performance.

AMETHYST Healing Properties: Among the many physical healing ben efits, Amethyst can enhance your immune system, improves skin appearance and endocrine functions.

OBSIDIAN Healing Properties: Obsidian is a strong protector against negativity. It can absorb negative energies while enhancing the truth.

GREEN AVENTURINE Healing Properties: Green aventurine possesses soothing energy and calms irritation, anger, and nervousness.

LABRADORITE Healing Properties: This is an immensely spiritual stone and a source of relief for those who are overworked and burned out.

ROSE QUARTZ Healing Properties: Rose quartz is among the top crystal healers and can assist with emotional blockages and health while calming relationship problems.

TURQUOISE Healing Properties: Turquoise delivers detoxifying and anti-inflammatory effects.

LAPIS LAZULI Healing Properties: Lapis lazuli can help reconnect you with intuition, integrity, and clarity.

Crystal Cobert Giddens

FACES of Saratoga www.facesofsaratoga.com