Here's our alphabet of gemstones, each usually available on the Fire Mountain Gems and Beads website. Oddly, Q and U are covered-thank goodness for quartz and Unakite! These names did not always line up-a complication even more potent today, as old gemstones shed their inaccurate trade names and receive new, more scientifically accurate, labels.Įven then, there are gaps in the standard English alphabet: finding gemstones that start with W, X and Y is difficult (although, 'wood' will do for 'W' in a pinch). With the transition to England, there was a shift to using English names of gemstones. The Alphabet of Gemstones When the French of Napoleon's time spelled out French words in gemstones, they used the French names of the stones as the basis of their words.

Acrostic jewelry is making a comeback, with personalizable pieces available from well-known fashion outlets and design houses such as Lulu Frost, Jessica McCormack and Chaumet. In our modern times of public everything, the idea of secret messages in our jewelry is an enticing idea. Over the course of the long war against Napoleon's forces, the idea of spelling messages using gemstones crossed the English Channel into London, spreading up and down the British Isles from the Regency period up through the Victorian Age. Each letter was spelled using a gemstone ('A' by Amethyst, etc.).

To that end, her jeweler-the famous Jean-Baptiste Mellerio-created a set of bracelets that spelled out each of their names and the dates of their courtship and marriage. His empress, Josephine, wanted a unique way to celebrate their courtship and marriage. By Barbara van Look, Content Development Group, Exclusively for Fire Mountain Gems and Beads®

Names of gems