If you’re suffering from the January blues this Blue Monday—said to be the most depressing day of the year—then cheer yourself up with one of these gorgeous blue gemstones!
I’ve never really understood why the colour blue is associated with sadness. To me, the word ‘blue’ conjures up the brightness of a summer sky, perfectly reflected in the light hue of a Swiss Blue topaz, or the freshness of the sea, as seen in a sparkling aquamarine.
The best-known blue gemstone is, of course, sapphire. Though sapphire comes in many different colours, deep, rich, royal blue is the most famous. As seen in Princess Diana’s engagement ring gifted by Prince William to his then wife-to-be, Kate Middleton, sapphire has since soared in popularity as a stone for popping the question. It’s a canny choice for an engagement ring, as sapphire is believed to encourage fidelity!
For those of you seeking a blue gemstone that’s a little more unusual, how about silky, blue kyanite? Increasingly seen in jewellery since reserves of excellent quality were found in Nepal, kyanite is used as a less costly alternative to sapphire. Kyanite is an interesting gem because it’s the most anisotropic of all gemstones.
Anisotropic gems are gems whose hardness differs depending on how they are cut. This phenomenon is called hardness anisotropy. All gemstones are anisotropic to at least some extent, but kyanite measures only 4.5 to 5.5 on the Mohs scale when cut parallel to the longer side of the crystal. When cut on the shorter side of the crystal, however, the hardness is 6 to 7, making it much more suitable for jewellery.
British jewellery designer Monica Vinader currently has some gorgeous and affordable jewellery featuring kyanite
If you have deeper pockets and are looking for something really special, there’s nothing like Paraiba tourmaline. Paraiba tourmaline is the most valuable variety of tourmaline and, since reserves in the Brazilian location of its original discovery have now run out, this gemstone is highly sought after. Occurring in shades of blue and green, Paraiba tourmaline’s startling colour comes from traces of copper. Arguably the most eye-catching shade is the almost neon Caribbean blue. There’s certainly nothing depressing about this colour, though a large, high-quality Paraiba tourmaline could easily set you back as much as a 5* Caribbean holiday, or two!
London jeweller David Morris has some particularly striking Paraiba tourmaline pieces that will certainly blow the dreariness of Blue Monday away! Canadian-born Jeweller Kat Florence has some blue gemstones that are equally as impressive too.
Gemstone Detective
Be sure | Be smart | Buy with confidence