“The #gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.” - Confucious

“There are three things extremely hard: steel, a #diamond, and to know one's self.” – Benjamin Franklin

Napoleon gave a necklace w/ 234 #diamonds to his wife when their son was born in 1811. ow.ly/Duexe #GemKids

10 #tips for buying #jewelry: ow.ly/Dud7W

Many #citrines have a juicy ‘lemon’ color. ow.ly/Dubip

#Topaz has a wide color range incl various tones & saturations of blue, green, yellow, orange, red, pink & purple. ow.ly/DubfL

Nov. birthstones #topaz & #citrine are often confused with one another… ow.ly/DubbM & ow.ly/Dubdo

The character for #jade – YU – is one of the oldest in written Chinese, dating to 2950 BC. ow.ly/Cokqj

#Jade has its cultural roots in the smoke-dimmed caves & huts that sheltered prehistoric humans. ow.ly/Cokmn

#Emeralds are formed when chromium, vanadium & iron are present in beryl. Iron gives the stone a bluish tint. ow.ly/CoiBJ

Opals can vary widely in appearance & quality. As diverse as snowflakes or fingerprints, they can noticeably differ. ow.ly/CfIgn

#Opal is the product of seasonal rains that drenched dry ground in regions such as Australia’s semi-desert “outback.” ow.ly/C7UPq