The Curator's Journal

Blue Topaz

The ancient Greeks believed that topaz gave them strength. In Europe during the Renaissance (the period from the 1300s to the 1600s) people thought that topaz could break magic spells and dispel an...

Tourmaline

For centuries people were confused as to what the gem tourmaline was. Until the development of modern mineralogy it was identified as some other stone, such as a ruby, sapphire, emerald, and so on ...

Tanzanite

Tiffany and Co. recently discovered tanzanite and it is only found in one place on earth. It was found in a country named Tanzania. The gem was name after the country. Most crystals comes in diff...

Sapphire

Blue sapphire belongs to the mineral species corundum. It can be a pure blue but ranges from greenish blue to violetish blue. The name “sapphire” can also apply to any corundum that’s not red and d...

Red Ruby

According to the GIA: "Ruby is the most valuable variety of the corundum mineral species, which also includes sapphire. Rubies can command the highest per-carat price of any colored stone. This mak...