Iolite Gemstone

Iolite dates back to at least the Greek period of history. It was the Greek people that named this beautiful stone. Iolite translates to "violet" in ancient Greek and is an accurate description of the typical color of this gemstone.

Where Iolite truly makes its mark in the history book is the Viking era.

It is known that the Vikings used the stone for navigation. The Vikings used the sun and the stars to navigate, looking directly at the sun is obviously not the best thing for your eyes and the ancient mariners used a slim piece of Iolite to shield their eyes from the harmful glare of direct sunlight.

The common modern use for gem quality Iolite is of course jewelry.

Iolite available in various different shades, from deep blue, to purple and lavender hues.

The deep blue variety has also given the stone another one of its names "water sapphire"

As a day to day gemstone, Iolite can be found in rings, bracelets, earrings, and pendants. The stone is reasonably durable (7 1/2 moh's scale) and can stand up to day to day wear. It is not advised to clean the stone in an ultrasonic cleaner or to use a steam cleaner, as both can cause possible damage to the stone. It is typically advised that owners of this jewelry should use warm soapy water to clean this stone.

Iolite is usually mounted in white gold, silver, and occasionally platinum. It is not impossible to find yellow gold pieces, but they are nowhere near as common as the aforementioned metals.

Iolite also has quite a reputation amongst the "new age" and spiritual interest groups. The stone is said to represent several qualities, including truth and leadership. The stone was also historically used by shamans as it is considered a powerful aid to clairvoyance amongst some cultures.

This beautiful gemstone has a rich and deep history, and makes a wonderful stone for jewelry.

Gemstone Therapy Today

For ages, gemstones have been used medicinally. Jade was thought to protect the kidneys, liver, spleen, and heart; beryl to cure eye injuries, and carnelian to purify the blood and relieve menstrual cramps. Yet the properties assigned to gems in the past tended to be general and ambiguous. No more. Today, gemstone therapy has evolved into an art and science, and a sophisticated energy medicine modality.

Gemstone therapy is based on gemstones in spherical form. The primary advantage of spheres over crystals is a sphere's ability to radiate its energies in all directions. The body's energy field is able to moderate how much of this energy it wants and can direct the energy where needed. This is impossible with a crystal, which points its energies in only one direction. Furthermore, when a sphere is cut from a crystal, it captures the finest essence of that crystal, leaving the dross behind.

Gemstone therapy began in 1987 when Isabelle Morton researched the missions and essential effects of gemstone spheres by intuitively communicating with the devas, or guardians, of individual healing stones. Back then, gemstone therapy was limited to wearing therapeutic-quality gemstone sphere necklaces to support physical and life issues, plus concerns that involve emotions, memory, and mind. A few techniques for placing necklaces on the body over ailing organs were also taught.

Today, many new applications for therapeutic gemstone necklaces are available, including special techniques for applying them in the aura. Gemstone therapy has also expanded into two more branches: single sphere applications and gem formulas, which are homeopathic-like remedies made from the energies of gemstones. gem formulas are the next generation of gemstone elixirs. They are imprinted with the energies of therapeutic gemstones that have been arranged to produce energy fields with unique purposes.

These two new branches make gemstone therapy more affordable and offer the layperson a great deal of versatility for self-therapy. This is what makes gemstone therapy stand out among other energy medicine modalities, which rely on hands-on applications. With gemstone therapy, the gems do the work.

Gemstone energies work throughout your body and aura. They are also adaptogenic in that your body's energy field can direct gemstone energies wherever they are needed, and in whatever quantities are required. Gemstone energies have a normalizing effect on the emotions, mind, and body, including all physiological systems. Because gemstones work energetically, they can be used safely along with any other natural or allopathic medicines. In addition, they are ideal self-therapy tools, which allow individuals to take an active role in self-care, and more direct responsibility for improving their health.

Affordable self-therapy involves using single gemstone spheres. Single spheres can be used in a variety of ways, such as placement on acupoints and special energetic "windows" of organs and tissues. Spheres can also be arranged into patterns or small mandalas, called "mini-gemandalas," which are supported by a disk of beeswax attached to a therapy rod and applied in the aura.

Mini-gemandalas can address a wide variety of health concerns. Each gemstone provides its unique benefits, plus you get the added support from the numerology and geometry you use when you make the gemandala. Even with a relatively small collection of single spheres, you can make a nearly unlimited number of gemstone configurations-each tailored to your unique energetic needs at the moment the treatment is applied. Instructions for how to do self-therapy using mini-gemandalas can be viewed on the Gemstone Therapy Institute certification series DVD #1 "Mini-Gemandalas for Self-Therapy" available from GEMFormulas, LLC.

The Gemstone Therapy Institute offers Gemstone Therapy Practitioner certification to students who complete the three-part training. A trained gemstone therapist can also use gems to diagnose the energetic picture of an illness; address the energetic patterns and accumulations that underlie disharmony; correct chakra and aura anomalies; loosen limiting patterns of emotions, habit, and belief; unwind the energies that hold life issues in a negative rut; directly address local and systemic conditions, as well as bring ease to emotional, karmic, and thought-based disharmony; and more.

Gemstone therapy offers something for everyone: from the layperson who wants meaningful self-therapy to the health care practitioner looking for effective ways to add energy medicine to their practice.

Aquamarine Gemstone - Its Interesting History

Aquamarine is an adorable gemstone of modern jewelry. This "Gem of the sea" is a valued gem of ancient lineage. "Gemmarum et Lapidum Historia" is an ancient and important gemological work compiled by Anselmus De Boodt that was published way back in 1609. And in this ancient compilation the specific term "Aquamarine" has been mentioned. What better proof one can look for to recognize the historical importance of this gem ?

Aquamarine - Then & Now!

Looking at the history of aquamarine, it is evident that during 19th century sea green varieties of this gemstone had been popular. Now, in recent times, blue is predominantly popular. Richer the blue color, more is the value of the stone.

Largest Ever Aquamarine

Brazil can be considered as the land of aquamarine stone as large quantities of aquamarines are mined from this country. The largest ever aquamarine crystal has also been mined from Brazil in 1910. That stone was really huge weighing 243 pounds. This stone was then cut to yield smaller stones of weight totaling to 200,000 carats.

Aquamarine & Roman's Belief

This is one gemstone around which there are several interesting historical myths & legends. History states that Romans had believed that this gem with a frog carving on it will help to reconcile enemies and make them friends. Another Roman belief is that this lucid blue gemstone absorbs the atmosphere of young love; "When blessed and worn, it joins in love, and does great things"-is a statement by a Roman legend.

It had been a tradition for the bridegroom to give aquamarine as a morning gift to the bride following the consummation of their marriage. In medieval times this clear and transparent stone was thought to reawaken and rekindle the love of married couples.

Not only the Romans, but the greeks also believed that this gemstone were sailor`s gem that ensured safe passage of ships across the stormy seas. In ancient times, it was believed to instill courage in soldiers and render them invincible.

Aquamarine & The ancient world history

Since the ancient times people all over the world have admired this gem. Sumerians, hebrews and egyptians have adored it and valued it greatly. It was a symbol of energetic youth and unbound happiness.

During the Christian era, this gemstone was identified with Apostle St. Thomas, for he made long journey via sea even to India. "The Vision Concerning Piers and Plowman" by William Langland, of 1377 mentions this stone as an antidote for poison. This antidote was well known all through Europe for there were a lot of poisoning prevalent among the European Royalties at that time.

One special feature of this gem is that it is not necessary to pulverize this gemstone. Just a ring or a pendant with aquamarine set in it is very effective and brings prosperity to the wearer.

Even for fortune telling crystal ball carved from an aquamarine gemstone had been used in ancient times. Ancient literature points out the usage of this gem as a divining tool.

Effects of aquamarine as believed in history

Folklore says that this gem would bring victory in wars and disputes. This gemstone is believed to have healing effects for ailments related to throat, jaws, stomach, toothaches and liver.

This precious gemstone is believed to originate from the treasure chest of mermaids.

Gemstone Globes - A Brilliant Version of the World

Globes have been used as a learning tool for a long time. Unlike flat maps of the world, globes are an accurate way to depict land masses, bodies of water, mountains and valleys, and political boundaries of the world's countries. The familiar tabletop globes that we used in school and the larger floor globes we equate with libraries have been an important learning tool for decades. A typical way to assemble a globe is to attach a meticulously printed and trimmed paper map (which has taken the curvature of the earth into account) to a sphere. The sphere is then mounted in a bracket for a desktop globe or a tall stand for floor globe.

An elegant alternative to these traditional learning tools is readily available to us-a gemstone globe. To manufacture a gemstone globe, natural gemstones are precision-cut into the shapes that represent the countries of the world. These gemstone shapes are assembled like a puzzle on a sphere. Gold, silver and brass ribbons are inlaid on the globe to represent the lines of latitude and longitude. The finished globe is polished to a sheen that highlights the beauty of the natural materials.

If you're in the market for a gemstone globe, you'll find a wide variety of colors to choose from. In general, the kind of globe is identified by the color of the gemstone used to represent the bodies of water on the globe. While rich blue lapis is a natural choice for a gemstone globe, you can find them with oceans of aqua quartz, green quartz, howlite, agate, tanzanite, copper amber, rubalite, mother-of-pearl, opal, black opalite, peridot, jasper, tiger's eye, turquoise, and amethyst.

One way to tell if a gemstone globe is made of authentic materials is to carefully examine the individual pieces of stone. Because they are a natural material, expect to see some texture and irregularities in the polished surface. These natural inclusions and patterns provide character and indicate that natural stone has been used. A natural gemstone globe will polish to a high sheen. While synthetic materials can look good, they won't polish up as brightly as the real thing.

Another thing to look for in an authentic gemstone globe are miniscule seams between the pieces that represent the countries. These seams show that the gemstone pieces of the globe were assembled by hand; a globe with these characteristics were most likely was manufactured with real gemstones.

A large gemstone globe can be the centerpiece of a room's décor-its' color and craftsmanship garner attention and make it a natural conversation starter. It can also be expensive. How can you enjoy one of these brilliant works of art in your home at a good price? Consider these options:

• Select a tabletop or desktop gemstone globe. They are smaller in scale than the traditional floor globe but still display the same brilliant color and fine materials as the larger, more expensive versions.

• The cut of the gemstones can affect the price. Expect to pay more for a gemstone globe that contains materials that are triangle cut and diamond cut.

• Gemstone paperweights, clocks, world maps, book ends, even bottle stoppers and keychains can give you a touch of the real thing at a very reasonable price.

If you choose to buy the full-size gemstone globe, look for reputable names and buy from established dealers. If you want to be very sure that your choice is authentic, take the globe to a testing lab. An electro-conductivity test, like the ones used to authenticate precious stones, can verify that the materials used in a gemstone globe are authentic.

Author Jennifer Akre, owner of many sites dedicated to indoor and outdoor home decor product and information, provides online consumers with advice on purchasing a gorgeous and stunning world globe. Learn how to furnish your space in style and comfort with copper weathervanes for your home