Whether it’s a class ring, a mother’s pendant, or something else altogether, birthstones are a classic way to personalize a piece of jewelry. Herman Hiss & Co. has worked with thousands of Great Lakes Bay Region families to create beautiful jewelry featuring every birthstone.

JANUARY
Garnet is a group of minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gems and abrasives. Garnets are most often red, but are found in a variety of colors.

MARCH
Aquamarine (Latin aqua marina, meaning “water of the sea”) is a gemstone-quality transparent variety of beryl. It has a delicate blue or turquoise color, suggestive of the tint of seawater.

FEBRUARY
Amethyst is a violet or purple variety of quartz often used as an ornament. The name comes from the Greek “a,” meaning “not,” and “methuskein,” which means “to intoxicate,” a reference to the belief that the stone protects its owner from drunkenness.

APRIL
The gemologists at Herman Hiss & Company will tell you a diamond is the allotrope of carbon where the carbon atoms are arranged in an isometric-hexoctahedral crystal lattice. Its hardness and high dispersion of light make it useful in industry. Our customers are usually more interested in the timeless appeal of this classic gem.

MAY
Emeralds are variety of the mineral beryl, colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. The origin of the word “emerald,” is said to be a Sanskrit word meaning “green.”

JUNE
A cultured pearl is created by a pearl farmer under controlled conditions. A pearl is formed when a small object, typically a parasite or piece of organic matter, becomes embedded in the tissue of an oyster or mollusk.

JULY
Ruby is a pink to blood red gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum (aluminium oxide.) It is considered one of the four precious stones, together with the sapphire, the emerald and the diamond.

SEPTEMBER
Sapphire refers to gem varieties of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide, when it is a color other than red. Sapphire can be found naturally or manufactured in large crystal boules. Because of its remarkable hardness, sapphire is used in applications such as infrared optical components, watch crystals, and high-durability windows.

AUGUST
Peridot is the gem quality variety of forsteritic olivine. Peridot is one of the few gemstones that comes in only one color. Peridot crystals have been collected from iron and nickel meteorites.

OCTOBER
Opal is amorphous hydrated silicon dioxide. Opal hues range from clear through black. Of these hues, red against black is the most rare. Whites and greens are most common.

NOVEMBER
Citrine, also called citrine fortz, is a variety of quartz. It ranges in color from a pale yellow to brown. Citrine has ferric impurities and is rarely found naturally.

DECEMBER
Tranzanite is a blue/purple variety of the mineral zoisite discovered in northern Tanzania in 1967. It is a popular and valuable gemstone when cut, although its tendency to break sometimes precludes use as a ring stone. Tanzanite is noted for its ability to appear sapphire blue, violet and sage-green.

Color, Clarity & Cut

The color of a gemstone is its most significant characteristic, and many jewelers consider it to be the most vital evaluation criterion. Gemstones are found in all the colors. Color of a gemstone depends on following three characteristics: hue, saturation, and tone.

Hue is the basic or unique color of the gemstone. It is described as the shade, tint or sensation of a color. While almost all gemstones have some shades of other colors, the most valuable gemstones are those that exhibit a pure color.

Saturation is a measure of the intensity or purity of a gem’s hue or color. A gemstone that is free of gray or brown hues is considered to be strongly saturated and is more valuable than a gemstone with lower saturation. Saturation often decides the cut of a gemstone. A high-quality gemstone cut delivers an even color throughout the stone and exposes the fewest inclusions.

Tone represents the depth of a gemstone color, ranging from colorless to black. In other words, tone is described as the relative lightness or darkness of a hue. Gemstone tone is described as “light, medium-light, medium, medium-dark, and dark. Medium-light to medium-dark tone is considered as most valuable range.

All the above three characteristics are associated with each other. Each plays a crucial role in determining the gemstone’s color. The more intense the color, the higher the value.

CLARITY
Clarity is a term used to describe the absence or presence of flaws inside or on the surface of a gemstone. A flawless gemstone is rare and usually expensive. Most gemstones have inclusions, or tiny mineral flaws, that can be seen under magnification or by the careful eye. A gemstone may have inclusions, cracks, spots, clouds, or any other blemish or imperfection.

Clarity is a key factor in determining quality and the value of a gemstone. Inclusions not only distract the eye, but interfere with the behavior of light in the gem, and have a significant affect on brilliancy or sparkle. Generally most minerals contain inclusions and spots but if they do not affect the durability of colored gems then these inclusions or spots will not devalue much for the gems except diamond. Colored stones are classified into three ‘Types’, which are defined as under:

Type I colored stones include stones with very little or no inclusions. This category can include Aquamarine, Blue Topaz, Zircon, Morganite, Tanzanite, etc. Clarity in the Type I group is classified as VVS (minute to detectable), VS (minor), SI1 (noticeable), SI2 (obvious) or I (included)

Type II colored stones include stones that often have a few inclusions. This category can include corundum, garnets, iolite, peridot, quartz (amethyst, aitrine, ametrine), ruby, sapphire, spinel, etc. Clarity in the Type II group is classified as VVS (minor), VS (noticeable), SI1 (obvious), SI2 (prominent), or I (prominent, affecting appearance).

Type III colored stones includes stones that usually always have inclusions. This category can include emeralds, tourmaline, etc. Clarity in the Type III group is classified as VVS (noticeable), VS (Obvious), SI1 (prominent), SI2 (more prominent), or I1 (affecting appearance or durability).

CUT
A good cut is something that may give a gemstone beauty and brilliance. A gemstone’s cut refers to its proportions and symmetry. The stone should be symmetrical in all dimensions so that it will appear balanced and so its facets reflect light evenly. Even light reflection provides good brilliance. A well-cut faceted gemstone reflects light back evenly across its surface area when held face up. If the stone is too deep and narrow, surface area will be dark. If it is too shallow and wide, parts of the stone will be washed out and lifeless.

The process of cutting and polishing gems is called gem cutting or lapidary. A person who cuts and polishes gems is called a gem cutter or a lapidary (sometimes lapidarist.) Few gemstones such as pearls and coral (usually referred to organic minerals) are not cut at all and many times left in their natural state. However, it is customary to polish these items, as with all gemstones. The quality of a gemstone’s cut can have a dramatic impact on how it looks but only a small impact on the price per carat.

While cutting, color of a gemstone should also be taken into account for optical efficiency. If a stone’s color is highly saturated, a shallow cut will allow it to pass more light, while a deeper cut may increase the vividness of a less saturated gem. There is no generally accepted grading system for gemstone cut.

Cabochon Cut
In the cabochon cut, the upper surface of the stone is smoothed and rounded into a simple curve of any degree of convexity; the lower surface may be concave, convex, or flat. All the remaining cuts have flat facets.

Table Cut
In the table cut, the facets of the natural octahedron are ground to smoothness and polished; one facet, the table, is ground much larger than any other and made the top of the gem, while the opposite facet, the culet, is left quite small.

Rose Cut
The rose cut consists of a flat base and (usually) 24 triangular facets—resembling a cabochon with facets.

Brilliant Cut
The brilliant cut is scientifically designed to bring out the maximum brilliancy of the stone. The crown of a brilliant consists of a table and 32 smaller facets, of which 8 are quadrilaterals and 24 are triangles; the base, a culet and 24 larger facets, of which 8 are quadrilaterals and 16 are triangles. The base and crown are separated by a girdle. The brilliant cut has certain proportions—in general, the depth of the crown is one third the depth of the stone and the width of the table one half the width of the stone.

Other Cuts
In addition to the above defined cuts, stones are also cut in a variety of square, triangular, step, emerald, and trapezoidal faceted cuts. The use of such cuts is largely determined by the original shape of the stone. Large rubies, sapphires, and emeralds are often cut square or rectangular with a large table facet surrounded by a relatively small number of supplementary facets.

CUT
Similar to diamonds, a gemstone’s weight is also measured in carats where one carat equals 200 milligrams. However, in the case of gemstones, this may not give an accurate idea of its size. Different types of stones have different densities. Two gemstones of the same carat weight may be different sizes. For example, a 1 carat sapphire or ruby will be smaller than a 1 carat emerald, though they have the same carat weight, because sapphires and rubies are denser than emeralds. At the same time, a 1 carat diamond will be larger than a 1 carat ruby as a diamond is less dense than a ruby. Gemstones can also be measured in dimensions (diameter, length, and width).

Asscher
Baguette
Cushion
Emerald
Heart
Marquise
Oval
Pear
Princess
Radiant
Round
Trillion