Dive into the Blue: A Guide to Blue Gemstones and Crystals

For me blue represents water – I’m a lover of swimming and fascinated by creatures of the deep (you can take a look at some of the jewellery they’ve inspired in my Sea and Shore collection here). Blue’s a heavenly colour that also reminds me that we are living on earth and only a tiny part of this huge planet.

This month I’m celebrating blue for three reasons.
-    September’s birthstone is Sapphire.
-    I’ve just added beautiful Swiss Blue Topaz as an option to my birthstone  collections.
-    I’ve just introduced a new collection of handmade engagement rings, including two that feature very special blue stones.

I’m also doing a blue inspired Instagram takeover for London jewellery gallery Gill Wing – you can take a look here.

Let me introduce you to my five favourite blue gemstones and crystals:

Blue Pollen Studs in a row from left to right: Aquamarine, Sapphire, Tourmaline, Swiss Blue Topaz and finally London Blue Topaz.

Aquamarine – March’s birthstone

A vibrant, light, true blue with just the smallest hint of green, reminiscent of the sea and clear crisp skies. What I love about Aquamarine is that it’s a very natural blue. More expensive than Swiss Blue Topaz, Aquamarine varies in colour but as a general guide the bluer it is the better quality it is. Although the intensity of the colour varies from stone to stone the shade stays consistent.  I use a beautiful intense blue Aquamarine for my birthstone jewellery.

Sapphire – September’s birthstone

Sapphires naturally vary in colour from very pale blue to darker black blues and grey blues. The most prized Sapphires, and the Sapphires I choose for my collection, are a deep cornflower blue.  They are very flattering to wear, draw the eye and are really distinctive.

Tourmaline – October’s birthstone

My favourite blue stone is a Blue Tourmaline – it has such a wonderful array of colours. For my birthstone jewellery, including birthstone necklaces and birthstone earrings, I use a distinctive blue that’s characteristic of Tourmaline. It’s an intense and distinctive green, blue teal and is a particularly lovely stone. Not only does Tourmaline come in a variety of shades of blue but also in other colours too – I use pink and green Tourmalines in my birthstone jewellery. Tourmalines range in price from very reasonable, right through to Paraiba Tourmalines, which are very expensive. The tone of a teal Tourmaline (and Topaz) also works well with warmer autumn shades.

I’ve chosen a stand-out beautiful true-blue Tourmaline that I’ve combined with a diamond for my new Couplet Engagement Ring.

Topaz – November’s birthstone

I’ve just added Swiss Blue Topaz as an option to my two birthstone earring collections – Pollen Gemstone studs and Satsuma Gemstone studs.  Swiss Topaz is light, yet bright and glistening. It’s always consistent in colour and a little brighter and more vivid than Aquamarine, but with no hint of green.

London Blue Topaz is very desirable – it’s a teal and similar to Tourmaline, but a little bluer and darker.

Blue Spinel

I’ve been making bespoke engagement rings for many, many years but it was a rare Blue Spinel along with a very special Lilac Spinel that inspired me to hand-make my first collection of engagement rings. You can discover the range here.

Blue is said to be the world’s favourite colour – it’s the colour chosen by more adults than any other as their favourite. In colour psychology wearing blue is thought to encourage people to centre themselves. Lighter tones tend to be associated with a reflective and gentler mood, whereas darker shades of blue are associated with strength and authority (which is why blue is such a popular choice for uniforms).

You can discover my jewellery with blue gemstones and crystals here and you can find out more of the meaning and forgotten history of Aquamarine jewellery here.