Sapphire is a precious gemstone that is a type of corundum, consisting of aluminum oxide (α-Al2O3) with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. 
 Sapphires are typically blue, but can also be in fancy colors like purple, pink, yellow, orange and green. Some even have two colors and called "Parti" sapphires.

This month though, we are talking black star sapphires, stones that due to their unique crystal structures reflect light in the shape of a star. This stone’s black color is a result of iron and titanium traces present in the mineral.

Susan's Pick of the Month, has it all - An original necklace featuring black star sapphire, crazy lace agate, freshwater pearl, coconut druzy geodes, black onyx, faceted quartz crystal - all captured in a sterling silver "Circle of Life" design.


Where Found: Sapphires have been found in Kashmir, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, the world leader for the source of sapphires for over 2,000 years. Black Star Sapphire is mostly mined in Thailand, West Africa and India
Legend and Lore: depending on the color, sapphires can symbolize different things, sincerity, truth, faithfulness and nobility. Black Star sapphire symbolizes strength and confidence, and brings calm in stressful situations. 
Care: Because Sapphire is a hardness of 9 on the Mohs scale it is an excellent choice in jewelry. Warm, soapy water is always a safe choice for cleaning the September birthstone.

When we  travel many times we look for that special something that reminds us of our journeys. So. if you are visiting our great state of Arizona consider our state gemstone and also the birthstone for August. May we suggest something in Peridot?  It is a brilliant lime green gem when used in jewelry creates an excellent eye catching choice. Touchstone gallery has many selections in peridot from loose bagged stones, and as it is found in basalt matrix to wonderful jewelry made from the vivid green gemstones.
Although peridot can be found in several locations across the world, the bulk of it is found in Arizona,   from the San Carlos Indian Reservation in Southeastern part of the state. This deposit is on the Apache Indian Reservation and is mined by freelance tribal miners. Peridot Mesa is comprised of a huge basalt flow. Primarily by use of hand tools, tribal miners break the basalt/olivine rock and screen out the larger fragments of gem material.

A few areas in Arizona are well known for ant hill peridot. Where ants remove them when they are building or repairing their ant hills. People will collect them by picking the rough stones up by hand after the ants have excavated them out of their colonies. I would suggest doing this in winter when the ants are dormant. As you know how the saying goes "stirring a stick in an ant hill" can cause all kinds of ruckus!
Legend and Lore: The Native Americans discovered them long ago and marveled at their color and beauty. They regarded them as special and sometimes sewed them into ceremonial rattles or gave them as tokens of appreciation.
Care: To clean Peridot jewelry at home, soak pieces briefly in a solution of warm water and gentle dish detergent. Use a soft brush to clean around the setting and restore the gem's luster. Be sure that Peridot is never subjected to ultrasonic or steam cleaning, as these methods can easily damage the gemstone.

The most fascinating fact that I find about rubies is that they do not contain silica, the most abundant mineral on the planet! Just think of all of the sand in the world to wrap your head around this notion. Rubies do not contain silica so how did this happen? To this day geologist are still unsure. 
There are several theories on how rubies were formed but it remains a mystery today as there is no definitive answer. Some geoscientist think that they may have formed when the tectonic plates of two continents colided, India and Asia smashing into each other, in turn rising the mountains of the Himalayas over 40 to 45 million years. Tremendous preassures played upon an inland sea between the two continents, the Tethys Sea. The minerals in the sea contained the elments that are in ruby, alumina which is thought to have been separated out from the silica. For the next 40 million to 45 million years, the two continents slowly squeezed together, raising the Himalayas. Erosion eventually exposed a necklace of ruby deposits along the scar where the two plates collided.
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Color: Rubies range in color from pink to red with tints of blue or orange depending on which impurities play into the coloration.
If you were to shine an ultra violet light on Rubies they would ignite with color! This radiance is from a rare mineral, corundum, which is  made up of tightly packed aluminum and oxygen atoms which is normally colorless. When these minerals are replaced with aluminum then you get bright colors that emerge. 



Legnd or Lore: Rubies quality was determined to the first two drops of  blood from a pidgeon's beak.  Today we look for quality by looking for clarity, color, transparency and inclusions. Other factors like facets and the country of origin can also play into the determination of quality. The rubies from Burma are known for their surperior quality as they have the best "Pidgeon Blood" red color.

The ruby jewelry that touchstone gallery offers has a natural flare that is fun to wear on any occassion and is at price points that make it accessible for our customers to own this rare gemstone.

Care: Rubies are the second hardest gemstone after diamonds which makes them a durable gemstone for jewelry.
​ Just know to  avoid heat, household cleaning solutions, ultrasonic cleaning, repairs; they can cause damage, as this treatment is not considered permanent or stable. Ruby is a durable gemstone and like all gemstone jewelry with attention to care will last forever.

Thinking back to my childhood, I was around twelve years of age at the time when my first awareness of the value of pearls occurred to me. It was during the summer, we had a young Japanese college student who came to live with us. Her name was Masako. Masako was from Osaka. At the time of having entered the US, she was only allowed to bring in but a limited amount of money and she did not want to return home. She had asked my mother if she would help to sell some pearls that her family had sent with her to the US ? Masako took down from the shelf in the bedroom closet a box which from which she pulled out a folded cloth. Unwrapping the cloth there were several very large egg - sized pearls. They were as my mother said the largest pearls that my mom had ever seen or would she ever see again! (I think the reason that I remember this detail is because I heard her retell the story a few times to her friends.) Masako told her that they were handed down through her family who were descendants of Japanese royalty. My mother looking at the pearls and then folding them up into the cloth, took a long pause, then said to her, put these away and N-E-V-E-R sell them. Don't worry about the money, I will help you. I relay this story because it must have left an impression on me to remember this small event out of the many things over my life time. I only wish now that I had been more inquisitive about the pearl's history and if they could talk the stories they could tell?

 Pearls from the South Seas are the most valued of pearls. 
The pearl trade in Japan has a rich history of female Japanese divers (Ama) who are renowned for how long they are able to hold their breath - up to two minuets under water while collecting mollusks and placing them in netted purses worn on their chest.  The Ama free dive into the ocean depths up to 100 to 150 times a day. There are about 2,000 "Ama" left today down from when there were once around 15,000. Currently, over time due to their deep search for pearls later wore white protective diving suits and helmets.

China: Early woodcuts recorded pearl divers in 1637 in the encyclopedia of technology. 

Persian Gulf: Once a leader is exporting pearls but is now replaced with exportation of oil. 

Things you may ask about pearls:
Pearls are a sustainable gem as the oysters are not killed when the pearl is removed. Pearl farmers take care as the older oysters produce the better quality pearls.

Kokichi Mikimoto, considered the father of the cultured pearl industry was successful in cultivating a method to produce a perfectly round pearl called the Akoya Pearl and granted a patent in 1916. 

Natural pearls are more organic looking than cultured pearls. You can test if a pearl is real by rubbing it against your front teeth side-to-side. Real pearls have a gritty texture from the layers of nacre. Fake pearls will be smooth and could be made from glass or plastic. Real pearls have a luster produced from layers of calcium carbonate other wise called nacre.

One last very important thing to note: Please, wear your pearls! Pearls benefit from wear against the skin to keep them from drying out. Keep them in a soft cloth or pouch but not in an air tight container as pearls need to breathe.

You can not go wrong when wearing pearls as there  is no set rules when to wear them. Pearls are  "okay" to wear with casual jeans and perfectly Devine with dressier evening attire. Pearls make a heartfelt wedding gift from mom to daughter.
 So all said, enjoy your pearl jewelry! We invite you to see our latest collection of pearl jewelry featuring freshwater pearls, baroque, and some are combined with other gemstones see pictured below.. 

 This year the festival will be held virtually due to the pandemic. But not to worry, there will be plenty of enjoyment to be had with lilac themed window decorations and a walking tour map showing locations of lilacs. The maps can be obtained at local downtown businesses.
​ At Touchstone Gallery our 'natural art experts' have had tons of fun decorating the gallery for the joyous event welcoming in Spring. They will be there to answer your questions and to introduce you to some of the most fascinating natural art ever created by "Mother Nature".  We are fully stocked with many more new items including amethyst, the star of this year's event as we have many wonderful affordably priced amethyst in jewelry, geode hearts, cathedrals, amethyst portals, wings and an array of amazing crystals.  We also have many new fossils, natural home décor items, and minerals. We invite you to stop by the gallery and to take a walk around the plaza to view the window displays all the while taking in the intoxicating perfume of lilacs. Yay, Spring!

Do you have someone in mind who has a May birthday or a twentieth and thirty-fifth wedding anniversary? Why not present them with a lovely emerald specimen from Touchstone Gallery? 

​ Emerald is a type of beryl with Chromium, vanadium, and iron are the trace elements that cause emerald’s color. The presence or absence of each and their relative amounts determine the exact color of an emerald crystal. 

Emerald Jewelry offered by Touchstone Gallery

Touchstone Gallery for the month of April is offering a fun to wear line of Herkimer Diamonds. Herkimer is not a diamond but gets the name from its locality in Herkimer County, NY. It is a quartz with 7.5 on the hardness scale. The really special thing about this stone is that it is double terminated, in the metaphysical world double terminated crystals with its pure, crystal light, clears the chakras, opening channels for spiritual energy to flow. The double terminated quartz also lends itself to making beautiful settings with a point at the bail end and the drop. Our customers really love the BoHo look of this line of jewelry with its casual style that can be dressed up or down.

Care: Although as before mentioned Herkimer Diamonds are a durable stone, it is advised to take your jewelry off when doing things like gardening or other physical activities that might knock against the settings. A gentle cleaning with a soft brush and a mild soap or glass cleaner is all you need to keep your crystals sparkling and your chakras humming. OMM. Namaste!

​To find out more about Herkimer Diamonds we encourage you to speak with one of our natural art experts. We invite you to see this line of jewelry either for yourself or as a unique and affordable gift.
Taos, Sedona, Santa Fe

​Aquamarine, even the name conjures up the mystery of the gemstone that ancient mariners believed would protect them at sea and bring calm waters. The beauty of this gemstone is the green-blue to blue variety of the mineral beryl, usually a clear gem with no inclusions. The crystal formation is hexagonal and can grow into large crystals big enough to cut into jewelry. 
Origins: 
Brazil: The most abundant source for Aquamarine is from Brazil,  in the state of Minas-Gerais, where it is found in pegmatites.
Siberia: First documented discovery in 1723 where abundant sources were mined. The most being in 1796. More than seventy kilograms of gem-quality aquamarine was mined that year. 
United States: Early in the 20th century Individuals could hike the mountains and find fragments on the ground without digging. Colorado had an abundant source of deposits at one time but with mining and tourism, not so much. 
​California has some small veins that don't produce high yields and now have become tourist attractions where one can go and see old mine camps and play prospector for a day. 

Amethyst is our most popular purple mineral at touchstone. There are so many products to enjoy this gemstone mineral and not just made into jewelry. But, as Décor too! I Like to think of it as 'jewelry' for a room. 

Origin: Most of the amethyst that we offer to our customers comes to us from Southern regions of Brazil, Bolivia or Uruguay where it is mined deep under ground. The Brazilian amethyst is known for its larger crystal forms. While the amethyst from Uruguay is known for its deeper, richer purple. From Bolivia comes the large clusters, better yet the Bolivian Bouquets that we carry.
​ Amethyst is formed in volcanic "vugs"  that were formed from bubbling lava gases that when cooled left behind voids. Within these voids mineral rich solutions then washed/seeped through leaving behind layers of minerals that over millions of years then formed quartz along the walls of the empty spaces. Amethyst is a violet form of quartz, which is a silica, the most abundant mineral on earth. The colors of these mineral rich solutions contained iron and other transitional metals which when exposed to irradiation cause the violet color we see in amethyst. Amethyst comes in a variety of colors from lavender/lilac to shades of pink to deep purple. 

Pictured below shows how amethyst is mined in 

Prasiolite is a  yellow - green variety of quartz. It is a heat treated amethyst that turns from purple to green. It can be heated in a laboratory oven or it can also be found naturally in rock bearing amethyst next to younger lava flows.  When quartz containing iron impurities is heated by lava and turns to purple. Then, at a later time that lava flow is covered by another younger lava flow that heats up the amethyst and turns it to natural prasiolite.
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* "Green amethyst" is a misnomer (an incorrect name) that some people use for prasiolite. Amethyst, by definition, is a purple variety of quartz. That makes "green amethyst" an incorrect name, just as "yellow emerald" and "red emerald" are misnomers for "heliodor" and "red beryl," respectively.
Read more on * Geology.com

Care of prasiolite and amethyst: Prasiolite and amethyst should be stored in darkness and not exposed to strong sunlight or some types of artificial light over long periods of time, as it can fade. Which makes sense when you think of how it was created.

New Item: "Portals" Were these portals cut from once large stalactites? Or were they crosscuts from geodes? Imagine the size that they must have started out as? Touchstone offers these vertical presentations of large amethyst  slices on stands. They make for very attractive décor items. Notice that the centers are hollow with wonderful  toothy crystals forming around the void. 

 ​​Although you may think of garnets as a red gemstone they also come in so many more colors depending on what elements influence it. Garnets are made of several closely related minerals and come in many variations. They are divided into two subgroups groups, those containing aluminum and those containing calcium. 

Garnet Names that you may see in our jewelry descriptions:
Spessartite garnet is an orange to red gemstone. This type of Garnet contains aluminum as the second element. 
Hessonite (Grossular Group) Garnet Due to its orange-brown color, as well as its historic connection to the spice-producing country of Sri Lanka, this garnet is also known as “cinnamon stone.”
Tsavorite (Grossular Group) is an emerald green variety of garnet, discovered in Africa along the Kenya border in 1967 and then marketed by Tiffany and CO. in 1974. It is the most expensive form of garnet due to its rarity. 
Uvarovite (Grossular Group) is a green garnet that usually occurs as crystals too small to cut. It is sometimes set as clusters in jewelry. It is a rich bright green color as seen in the pendant.
Perhaps surprise your January birthday loved one with a colorful garnet that is unexpected in green uvarovite? 
Raspberry Garnet (Grossular Group) New for touchstone gallery. 

How to tell garnet from ruby? Have you ever wondered how to tell the two red gemstones apart? Red garnets can have hints of orange or pink while rubies are vivid red with occasional purple or blue secondary hues. Hold a garnet in front of a light until you can spot its spectrum reflected in the stone. If you see two rainbows with no yellow or green bands, you're likely looking at a ruby. Rubies are more rare of the two gemstones due to the way they are formed without any influence of silica which is the most abundant mineral on earth.