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At a craft show, someone asked if my mosaic pendants were symbolizing different birth months, and that gave me the challenge to do one for each birthstone color.  I started with July.

I am partial to ruby because I was born in July.  I had a birthstone ring with a glass ruby in the center and a glass diamond on either side.  I loved that ring–even then I liked sparkly glass!  One day I was swinging in the back yard, and the ring kept clanking with the chain on the swing, and I decided to take it off, and since I didn’t have a pocket, I carefully tucked it into the waistband of my shorts.  Unsecured, it slipped through and I couldn’t find it.  I couldn’t believe it could disappear so quickly.

A few years later, I was planting sunflower seeds by the side of the house, and dug up my ring, caked with dirt, and corroded in places, but I was thrilled to have it back.  I kept it in my jewelry box, since it didn’t fit anymore, and I still have it.

I used to pore over the Sears Catalog, which had a convenient birthstone chart, and ponder the different gem for each month of the year.  My sister was garnet for January, which was red like mine, but much darker.  I was somewhat disillusioned to find that this chart probably originated with the Association of Jewelers of America. . .There are many different charts.  For the history, mythology and chemistry of each stone, check out the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.  Ruby is second only to diamond in hardness, which I didn’t know.

Feel free to contact me if you are planning ahead for a birthday month, and check out my Nutmeg Designs Etsy Shop for current stock.