The traditional birthstone for the month of May is the emerald, a beautiful gemstone known for its deep green color. Some of us cannot afford emeralds or might be looking for more variety in color. Chalcedony, the alternative birthstone for May, offers both. Chalcedony is a term that includes several varieties of cryptocrystalline quartz gemstones rather than one specific gemstone itself. The chalcedony is very common and can be found in all 50 United States. It also comes in a variety of colors, shapes and transparencies. The word chalcedony comes from the Latin word chalcedonius, which was first used in Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia. The earliest human records show that chalcedony was one of the first raw materials used to make weapons and tools. A little bit later in time, people started to use chalcedony as a form of adornment. The most luxurious looking items were used for special occasions (e.g. a beautiful knife was only carried at a special ceremony).
As already mentioned above, chalcedony is a group of several gemstones, which includes onyx, sardonyx, jasper, agate, bloodstone, carnelian, plasma, prase, chrysoprase, petrified dinosaur bone and many more. If you are familiar with some of these stones, you will notice that most of them look very different from each other. What links these stones together is their chemical structure, which is a silica composed of inter growths of the minerals quartz and morganite. Chalcedonies are believed to have strong healing powers. The stones have been said to promote good will and harmony between people. They absorb negative energy and transform it into positive energy and joy. It has also been said that the chalcedony helps reduce buildup in veins and increases physical energy.
What should we do with this amazing stone featured here? We often like to use chalcedony for our creations, because of the great color and pattern combinations of the stones. Some of our favorites are dinosaur bone and chrysoprase. However, we haven't been able to figure out what to do with this rose-cut aqua chalcedony for years. Do you have any ideas? If so please share them with us! Maybe we can collaborate on a design..:)
It absolutely should be made into a giant ring! :-)