Pearls are the birthstone of June. Formed inside a living organism, pearls possess a life-energy unique in the world of gemstones. Pearl’s iridescent, milky color often led to its association with the power of the moon.
A symbol of purity and innocence, pearl is one of the oldest known gems and was thought to be formed from heavenly teardrops. References abound in religious texts describing pearl’s value and high esteem among many cultures around the world. Pearl’s are an unmatched sign of elegance, class, and distinction, and are rare constants in fashion.
An alternate birthstone for June is moonstone. Thought to be frozen rays of moonlight by the ancient Romans, moonstone’s calm, milky sheen has been associated with lunar deities for thousands of years. Also known as adularia from one of its first deposits found in the Mt. Adular region of Switzerland, moonstone gave rise to the term adularescence to denote the optical phenomena of a gentle, drifting white and blue hue. Moonstone is renowned as a
symbol of fertility.
Alexandrite is yet another birthstone for June, and is a variety of chrysoberyl. A rare, color-changing gem, alexandrite is an emerald green in daylight, but takes on a deep red hue when seen under incandescent lighting. Chromium ions in the crystal structure intensely absorb yellow light, causing the unique and impressive shift in the color spectrum. According to popular legend, alexandrite was named in honor of Tsar Alexander II of Russia by Finnish mineralogist Nils Gustaf Nordenskiöld, after re-examining a sample from the Ural Mountains.