Rebecca Zemans Jewelry Blog — Ruby

Tanzanite is a beautiful blue-violet crystal and is one of the birthstones for the month of December.  The blue color appears stronger under fluorescent light and the violet hues are more apparent when under incandescent lighting.  The mineral was first discovered in the Mererani Hills of northern Tanzania near Mount Kilimanjaro in 1967 and is extremely rare to find outside this region.  The mineral was named by Tiffany & Co in a campaign advertising that tanzanite could now be found in two places: "Tanzania and at Tiffany's". The tanzanite is predominantly blue gemstone, and is an affordable alternative to sapphire for...

Special occasions call for personalized design.  Jewelry is often a gift given to commemorate significant times in our lives - engagements, weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, push presents, and other milestones.     Without needing to go fully bespoke in design, the Family Jewelry Collection is a selection of our most popular jewelry designs showcasing birthstones.  Featuring elegant pendants and modern stacking rings, this collection has something to represent all the meaningful people of your life. All of these designs are able to be tailored to the amount and variety of stones to suit you needs, and forged in the recycled metal of your choice.  Click here...

Today is the first day of Autumn and even though we'll miss the sunny fun of summertime, we are looking forward to the striking palette that is bestowed upon us in the coming months.  Over the years we've worked with couples who have used colored stones in their engagement rings, embracing this colorful time all year long!  Inspired by these couples, we've created this roundup of some of our favorite alternative engagement rings! Colored gemstones are selected for their birthstone attributes, their historic and cultural meanings and their unique beauty.  Any stone can be set in an engagement ring, or...

What a wonderful Autumn we are having in Chicago! I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful fall weather as much as I am. I love to see the leaves change and get cozy on my couch with a nice cup of tea after a long day of work. Because this time of year brings a sense of change and reflection, I decided to dedicate this post to everything that is new at Rebecca Zemans Jewelry. Of course if you see something that you like, but you would like to add your own personal touch, then we are, as always, available...

The word ruby comes from the Latin word "ruber" which means red. The ruby is a red variety of the mineral Corundum, which is one of the hardest minerals known to us and is found in metamorphic rock. Unless the gem is the color red, which it gets from traces of chromium, it is considered a sapphire. The ruby stands for heat and power and was often used as bullets for blowguns, to heat water or as a cure for indigestion. The ruby, which in Sanskrit is called "ratnaraj" meaning "King of Gemstones", was in ancient Indian thought to protect against misfortune...