November 18, 2004

Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday
Who could hang a name on you?
When you change with every new day
Still I’m gonna miss you...
— Ruby Tuesday by The Rolling Stones

Maleeha, 35, recalls fondly waiting four hours in line at the Smithsonian Institute to view the infamous Hope Diamond, years ago while studying in Washington DC, USA.

Fariha, 28, went to a dinner party last week where the guests were divided along gender lines when a male guest (foolishly?) asked a female why women liked diamonds and then began to express his puzzlement over the matter.

Razak, 62, is a famous jeweller in Saddar. His father was a jeweller before him and today his son and grandson follow in his footsteps. The turnover in his store is very high and generations of families keep returning, especially at the time of weddings. His 15-year-old daughter is talking about getting a degree in gemology.

Sabah just opened a spa in Karachi that features a hot-stone massage. It employs a technique that uses ‘smooth, heated basalt stones which are placed on specific acupressure points on the body to melt away knots, tension and stress’.

Anya, 27, is very vocal about the bad luck sapphires have caused the members of her family. For generations, any woman in her family attempting to wear a sapphire has faced some serious tragedy and regretted that foolish moment when she dared fate.

In Pakistan, stones have traditionally represented status and wealth and their setting in jewellery is an essential part of the rites of gift-giving in marriages between families. In many parts of the world, thanks to brilliant marketing on the part of a diamond company over generations, an image of a diamond is synonymous with an engagement ring.

The film Titanic centred a large part of the storyline around a famous necklace. There is much more to stones than jewellery, however, and this earth-element has long been associated with curses and fortune, as well as a medicinal or healing tool.

When the Rolling Stones released their famous hit Ruby Tuesday, they chose the name to represent a day of hope and good fortune. On the other hand, many people blame the breakdown of the marriage between Princess Diana and Prince Charles on the sapphires she wore on her wedding day rather than the more obvious culprit, Camilla Parker-Bowles.

This scribe explores the lore associated with gems and stones including their magical and medicinal value. Their colour, properties, myths and legends all have been attributed meanings which are both varied and intriguing. Some of these traditions date to the ancient times and their folklore has been ‘revered and honoured for centuries in all cultures’.

An overview of gemstones

A gemstone is a collective term for ‘all ornamental stones that possess attributes like beauty, rarity, durability and increase the psychic powers of an individual by their curative powers’. They have been worn as amulets, incorporated in jewellery and even carried loose for luck. When used in medicine, they may be used as whole or ground to powder, if volcanic stone is used, unlike gemstone, they can be heated for treatment such as in the hot-stone massage.

The mystical and magical elements of stones were a commonly held belief in the Middle Ages. Various gems were worn for prophylactic purposes such as ‘to detect poison, to assist childbirth or to prevent epilepsy’. This was the time of cameos and intaglios, which were valued for their beauty and the supposed magic power of their images. Often the under-sides of amulets and rings were engraved with sacred or personal symbols, or in case the stone was held in a metal base, the metal was thus carved. The engraving on the inside of wedding rings of modern times is a survival of this belief that an inscription should touch the skin.

This belief that gemstones possess powers will likely strike modern readers as absurd but there are many people who continue to believe today that these seemingly inanimate objects possess vibrant life.

Shaima is a gemologist and stone expert who specialized in the “lore of stones”. She was quick to stress that it was an insult to speak of the “superstitions of stones,” stating, “the respectful and correct term was lore”. She compared stones to mother earth, ‘giving life’, explaining, “stones possess feminine energy that is balanced by the masculine external elements.”

Stones have to be protected as women were traditionally protected by men, yet stones possess incredible and impressive strength, in some ways more than the masculine elements around them.

In ancient times, the primary interest for stones was medicinal as many stones were ground into powder and added to ‘cures’. When this belief in the potency of gems diminished, occult powers were “attributed to the vibration of light imparted by the sun’s rays and given off by genuine stones.” Stones have also been long associated with the occult, and here in Pakistan, with black magic. They have been used in ‘ceremonials or rites of magic’ and purportedly have the power to destroy, in addition to the power to heal.

In the early Middle Ages, the choice of material for a particular piece of jewellery was ‘defined by its economic value, rarity, symbolism, aesthetic notions, and considerations of prestige’. Originally, ‘almandine’ was the royal gem but soon sapphire became the jewel of the kings.

The stone next prized was ruby, followed by emeralds and diamonds which were ‘held in almost the same high esteem as rubies’. These four stones were the heart of medieval jewellery, although diamonds were less used in the early Middle Ages and did not gain its current importance until the 14th century.

Often pearls were used to frame and set off the vibrant colours of the jewels and “garnets, amethysts and Scotch pearls did duty for rubies and pearls in cheaper pieces.”

Wealth was not only associated with gems but the stones were often the source of wealth in themselves. Historically, precious stones were used as ‘a safe treasure in which to invest personal as well as public funds’. South Asian women, in particular, have kept their wealth in their jewellery and the jewels given to them as part of their bari was traditionally meant to serve as a nest egg for them.

In the West, the wealth of the church has often been concentrated in gem stones because they were relatively easy to guard and transport. Gems have often been part of treaties of peace and not that long ago, in the early days of Stanford University, USA, when the university faced financial difficulties, the widow of the founder presented her jewels to the president of the university, to be sold to meet the crisis.

Types of gemstones and their characteristics

Some of the various types of gemstones and their properties are listed below. To calculate your lucky stone based on your birthdate, go to the website:http://www.findyourfate.com/gemology/luckystones.html

Agate Used as a defence against the evil eye, it has been used to draw venom from insects and reptiles as well as to stop bleeding. It also cools boiling water and supposedly promotes fertility. Its ‘magical’ qualities allegedly include making someone lucky in love, revealing hidden treasure and turning an enemy’s sword against himself.

Alexandrite This is the June birthstone and was discovered in Russia in1830 on the birthday of Alexander II. It is named after him.

Amber Amber is generally worn on the throat to prevent infection or asthma. It supposedly protects against witchcraft and nightmares and ‘makes a woman smell more desirable to her lover.’ It is also used as a girl’s name in both Eastern and Western cultures.

Amethyst A calming stone, this purple quartz crystal supposedly wards off thieves and storms, as well as infidelity and foolish love. It is the February birthstone.

Aquamarine Used to relieve liver and stomach ailments and to cure toothaches, aquamarine supposedly brings ‘wisdom, success and popularity’ to the wearer. It is the March birthstone.

Beryl This is the ideal stone for someone looking for love, it supposedly has the power to ‘increase the wearer’s attractiveness to the opposite sex.’

Carbuncle In ancient times, carbuncle was used to reconcile quarrelling friends, attract ‘success in business’. If lore holds true, it ‘grows dim when death and danger are near.’

Carnelian Ensures popularity and gives self-confidence to the wearer.

Cat’s-Eye Was an ancient cure for asthma, cat’s-eye supposedly also ensures the wearer’s fortunes never diminish.

Coral Used to ‘ward off evil’, coral supposedly enhances wisdom in the wearer. Its various colours embody different meanings. For example, red coral ‘protects ships and houses from storms and turns pale when the wearer is ill’; white coral ‘embues modesty’; and black coral ‘embues fortitude and perseverance’.

Diamond More than just a girl’s best friend, diamonds supposedly ward off evil, bring victory and good fortune to the wearer and ‘promote constancy in a marriage.’ They have always been associated with wealth and the wealthy and derived from the Greek word ‘adamas’, which means ‘unconquerable and indestructible’. Diamonds, an April birthstone, were traditionally worn because they were thought to give a person ‘strength, invincibility, courage, and magical powers over the dark side of life’.

Emerald Considered an aphrodisiac, emeralds supposedly ensure a life of love and success. It also helps preserve chastity and keeps the wearer honest. Emeralds represented the May birthstone and in the ancient Rome were highly valued and renowned for their calming and soothing effects.

Garnet This January birthstone supposedly guarantees cheerfulness to the wearer if obtained lawfully and a curse if acquired unlawfully. As legend goes, the stone changes colour when danger approaches.

Jarcinth/Zircon This stone strengthens the heart and stimulates the wearer’s appetite. As legend states, if worn on the third finger, it can ‘bring peace of mind and a sound sleep’. The birthstone for those born in December, the legend of Zircon began when a blue hyacinth flower grew from the spilled blood of a killed Greek youth named Hyacin.

Jade This gemstone supposedly aids fertility in men and is lucky for gambling. Lore has it that ‘Jade placed on the eyelids or in the mouth of a dead person brings back their spirit to another life on the earth’.

Jasper Jasper apparently lessens pain and has been used in the past to conjure rain.

Lapis luzuli This stone is useful for strengthening friendship and fidelity.

Malachite This stone supposedly gives health, success and happiness.

Moonstone Traditionally used by travelers for protection, especially from danger by sea.

Onyx This stone promotes chastity.

Opal The colour of this stone determines its qualities. White opals are unlucky unless worn by someone born in October or with diamonds and are always very unlucky in an engagement ring. On the other hand, Black opals are lucky. In fact, if used for good, they can give ‘the power of prophecy’. According to the legend, the Romans believed opals were the ‘symbol of hope and purity’ and the Arabs believed that ‘opals fell from heaven in flashes of lightening, and that’s how they received their fiery colour’.

Pearl Pearls are very unlucky for brides and if used in an engagement ring will supposedly bring tears to the marriage. On the other hand, they can be used in love potions and can bring health, wealth, long life, and good luck to its wearer. According to the legend, sleeping with a pearl beneath the pillow will help childless couples conceive.

Peridot Interestingly, this birthstone for the month of August has been used to cure speech impediments and supposedly protects against evil spirits and nightmares. It is traditionally associated with King Soloman and the granting of his wisdom.

Ruby/odem These famous red stones bring love, preserve chastity and accordingly to legend, change colour according to the health of the wearer. They are good for women experiencing childbirth difficulties and ‘consumed with food and drink, is good for fertility’. They are the birthstone of July and are thought to become darker when the owner is in danger. Furthermore, it is ‘a common belief that dreaming of rubies meant the coming of success in business, money matters, and love’.

Sapphire This blue stone is the birthstone of those born in September and is used to enhance wisdom and for protection against the Evil Eye. Although many people blamed Princess Diana and Prince Charles’s woes on the beautiful sapphires she wore on her wedding day, lore has it that sapphires protect ‘royal personages from envy’ and maidens in particular.

In addition, white Sapphires protect travelers and are worn by women to preserve their chastity. Egyptians associated the clear sapphire with the eye of Horas and even to this day, clear sapphires, like diamonds, are the guardians of love. Traditionally, they were used to banish envy and jealousy, promote chastity in maidens and ensure fidelity in marriage. The Greeks identified white sapphire with Apollo and it was by the Oracles at Delphi to tap into the ‘third eye’ and ‘superconscious’ mind.

Sardonyx This lesser known stone supposedly ensures ‘a happy marriage, helps make lawyers more eloquent and lessens the pain of childbirth’.

Topaz This stone protects against the Evil Eye and supposedly brings riches to the wearer. It also is known to turn sadness into joy and is good for loyal and faithful friendships. It is the birthstone for those born in November and in the past, peridot and olivine were called topaz and all three stones were used to make ‘the wearer become invisible, through meditation and rituals’.

Turquoise This stone helps protect against accidents, especially falls while riding. It brings courage and love and protects against the Evil Eye. It ‘prevents quarrels between married couples, removes animosity between giver and receiver, renews friendships and increases sexual passion’.

Tips on buying gemstones

The price of a gemstone is usually determined by size, cut, quality (colour/clarity/treatments) and type. When making a purchase, here are some basic questions you should ask about the stone’s quality:

Is the stone natural or synthetic?

Are there any noticeable scratches, chips or inclusions?

Is there evenness of colour throughout the stone?

How good is the quality or vividness of the stone’s colour?

If you are buying the stones for a pair of earrings or a set of cufflinks, are the stones well matched?

Has it been treated?

Dealers often treat gemstones and it is important to know if the stone(s) has been treated before making a purchase. Treatment can make an otherwise mediocre stone look far more valuable. Some methods of treatment include:

Irradiation: It is common to irradiate stones such as aquamarine, London blue topaz, emeralds and diamonds. The process of irradiation freshens colour and removes imperfections. Dealers usually know if the stones they are selling have been irradiated and an honest dealer will tell you if you ask.

Heat treatment: Amethyst, aquamarine, ruby, tanzanite and topaz are often heated at high temperatures to enhance colour.

Dye: It is very common for stones to be dyed and it is very important for a prospective buyer to be on the lookout. Lapis, rose quartz, amethyst and citrine are often dyed, and black onyx is permanently dyed in normal processing. Savvy buyers can often tell if a stone has been dyed. On clear stones, dye may be ‘visible in cracks that are darker than the rest of the stone’ and occasionally dye ‘appears as a residue that rubs off or as white patches’.

Coatings: Stones are often coated to enhance colour and shine. For example, turquoise is waxed, emeralds are oiled and jasper is often dipped in petroleum products.

Fake stones: Today, there are fake stones for most of the gemstones on the market. Many dealers will try passing off fake stones as natural ones. If a stone looks too perfect, it may be fake, irradiated or dyed.

The world of gemstones is far wider and more comprehensive than one might initially suspect. This article, however, only touches upon a few of the basic elements and properties of some of the more popular stones. If you would like to learn more about gemstones, two very well-written and informative books are The Curious Lore of Precious Stones by George Frederick Kunz and Gemstones of the World by Walter Schumann.

The Hope Diamond

Like the Koh-i-noor with its rich, historical background, the Hope Diamond is a very beautiful and highly valuable gemstone that is 45.52 carats in size, VS1 quality, a rare dark blue in colour and its size is 21.78 mm wide, 25.60 mm long, 12.00 mm deep. What makes this famous stone even more unique is that after exposure to ultraviolet light, it phosphoresces red (most other blue diamonds phospheresce light blue). It is further surrounded by 16 white diamonds and then an additional 45 white diamonds in the necklace chain.

However, even more than for its incredible beauty, it is known for its famous curse. According to legend, the stone was cursed when it was stolen by a man named Tavernier from the forehead of an idol of the Hindu goddess Sita in India. The curse not only foretold bad luck and death for the owner but for anyone who touched it! Soon after he sold the jewel, Tavernier was, accordingly to legend, attacked and mutilated by wild dogs in what was the first horrendous death attributed to the curse.

A less fanciful version of the tale has French jeweller, Jean Baptiste Tavernier, visiting India in 1642 and purchasing the larger blue stone when it was 112 3/16 carats from the Kollur mine in Golconda, India. The diamond was over the years was reduced in size because it was cut down at least twice in the past 300 years, once to enhance the appearance of size, and later to enhance its brilliance. According to this version of the story, in 1668, King Louis XIV bought the diamond along with many others, from Tavernier, who then made the jeweller a noble. Tavernier went on to live to the ripe old age of 84 when he died in Russia.

Although we do not today know for certain which version is true, many experts concur that the shape of the Hope Diamond is unlike one that would have been on the forehead of an idol. However, since the diamond has been cut at least twice, this does not tell us much. The lore of the curse, on the other hand, continues.

It is certain, for example, that the Hope Diamond was stolen from Louis XV’s grandson and his wife Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution. According to this legend, Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI were beheaded during the French Revolution because of the blue diamond’s curse! For many years, the diamond was missing before resurfacing supposedly in 1813 in London with a new cut and smaller size. It is thus uncertain whether what we currently believe to be the Hope Diamond is the actual stone Tavernier obtained in India.

Eventually, it was bought by King George IV of England and upon his death was sold to pay off his debts. However, when it reached the hands of Henry Philip Hope in 1939, it assumed his name and that is what we call it today. However, it was perennially unlucky for the Hope family and in their hands, the legend of the curse was reinforced. Soon, the once very wealthy Hopes were bankrupt and eventually his nephew’s descendant, Francis Hope, who inherited the stone sold it to an American jeweller Simon Frankel in 1901.

After changing hands many times, it came to the possession of Pierre Cartier, the famous jeweller. Some people believe it was Cartier who started the legend of the curse because his buyer Evalyn Walsh McLean believed unlucky stones turned lucky in her hands. So, he emphasized the Hope Diamond’s curse in order to make it more attractive for her.

Certainly, according to most research, the concept of the Hope Diamond’s curse did not appear in print until around that time. However, once it was in McLean’s hands, the curse really seemed to come to life. McLean’s eldest son Vinson died in a car crash when he was only nine and her daughter committed suicide at age 25. If that was not enough tragedy, McLean’s husband was declared insane and confined to a mental institution until his death in 1941.

In 1949, two years after McLean’s death, the Hope Diamond was put on sale to settle debts and was bought by New York jeweller Harry Winston. Winston offered the stone to be worn at balls to raise money for charity before donating it to the Smithsonian Institute in 1958, to be the focal point of a newly established gem collection. Although this donation was officially done to help inspire others to donate, many people believe he donated the Hope Diamond to rid himself of the curse. Today, many interested parties travel far and wide and wait long lines to see the infamous stone. —T.U.D.

How to Look After Stones

All stones should be protected carefully from ‘scratches, sharp blows, harsh chemicals, extreme temperature and sunlight’. Here is a quick checklist you should always follow:

Store stones so that they don’t touch one another or one stone may scratch another. The less hard a stone is the more vulnerable it is to scratches, and coral, lapis lazuli, opal, pearl, and turquoise, in particular, are easily scratched.

Remove rings when doing household tasks.

First apply hairspray and make-up then put on jewellery. Hair spray in particular can dull stones.

Remove all jewellery before swimming, particularly in chlorine pools. This is very important because chlorine can damage stones and may even make settings loose so that stones fall out.

Keep having your jeweller ‘retip’ prongs of rings to fix loose mounts so that you don’t lose stones.

Sunlight fades gemstones so always store in a cool, dark place. The following stones in particular are easily damaged by sunlight:

Amethyst, aquamarine, aventurine, celestite, chrysoprase, kunzite, pink apatite, rose quartz and smokey quartz. Ametrine, beryl, citrine and fluorite may change colour.

If looked after carefully, stones can last not only years, but generations! —T.U.D.

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