People born in June are lucky to have 3 birthstones, as are those born in August and December. The birthstones for June are Pearls, Moonstones and Alexandrites. With so many options there are beautiful pieces for every mood and budget.

Pearls

Coming from waters all over the world pearls have fascinated our ancestors. The Middle East believed that they were teardrops fallen from heaven and the Chinese believed that pearls were the brain from a dragon. Pearls are an organic gem that grows inside a living saltwater or freshwater mollusc. Natural pearls form when the mollusc secretes a substance around an irritant that has entered its shell. A cultured pearl occurs through human intervention, with the irritant being implanted inside the mollusc. Pearls are associated with purity, humility and innocence. For this reason pearls are usually given as a wedding gift. Pearls are a 2.5 to 3 on the mohs scale of hardness, so are a fairly soft gem. They should be kept separately from other gemstones and metals to prevent scratching and should not be kept in a plastic bag as this can damage the surface. Any cosmetics should also be applied before putting on pearl jewellery. A damp cloth should be used to clean pearls after every use or you can purchase one of our Precious Jewellery Cleaning kits.

Moonstone

Moonstone comes from the feldspar mineral. It is associated with the Roman and Greek lunar deities. It is also associated with love, fertility, passion and luck. The best places to find moonstone are India and Sri Lanka, but it can also be found in the USA, Brazil and Madagascar to name a few. Moonstone is a 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale of hardness.

Alexandrite 

Alexandrite is a rare variety of the mineral chrysoberyl. This mineral is interesting as it changes colour in different lighting. The best Alexandrite examples show a vivid green in daylight and then an intense red to purple in an incandescent light. The gem was named after Alexander II heir to the throne of Russia and caught the attention of the country as the stones colours matched the military colours of the country. Sometimes there are certain inclusions which run parallel to each other which can create a cats eye effect or chatoyance . The deposit in the Ural mountains has been exhausted, so now most Alexandrite is from Brazil, Sri Lanka and East Africa. The gems from these new deposits do not have as much of a colour change as the ones that came from Russia in the 19th century. For this reason, a good quality alexandrite can be one of the more expensive gems out there and is at an 8.5 on the Mohs hardness scale. 

At Allum & Sidaway we have a selection of all these stones, giving you the choice to choose something special for someone born in June. Visit one of our stores or purchase from a beautiful range of jewellery from our online store.