{CUSTOMER CARE}

{gemstone guide}

As a jewelry designer, I carefully select the highest quality gemstones, pearls and metals possible, while still being able to offer my designs to you at reasonable prices. My handmade jewelry is created with exquisite semi-precious and precious gemstone beads, freshwater pearls and precious metals.

After forming deep within the earth over thousands of years, these remarkable, naturally occurring minerals have been discovered and shaped by expert human hands. Beginning in civilization's earliest days, people have been fascinated by our planet's natural treasures, and used these raw materials to craft some of the most beautiful and valued human adornment throughout history. I am honored to be part of that tradition today.

As you shop, if you may feel overwhelmed by the sheer variety of unfamiliar gemstones. For your convenience, this guide lists these stones by color, as well as by birthstone month and zodiac sign. If, after consulting this guide, you still have questions or concerns about any of the materials used to make laura tanner jewelry, do not hesitate to contact Laura.

gemstone information

Most gemstones are considered semi-precious, with the exception of the precious gems: diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires. Gemstones are available in a stunning kaleidoscope of colors, as well as crystal clear to the deepest black. You will probably be familiar with many of stones listed here, such as garnet, amethyst or jade. Others may be less familiar, such as the dazzling multi-hued stones labradorite and andalusite, or vesuvianite, a beautiful moss-green stone mined near Italy's Mt. Vesuvius.
While I do my best to maintain uniformity and quality in my designs, each natural gemstone or pearl is unique. Your jewelry may not exactly match the sample pictured on the product page. You may also notice that some gemstones are not perfectly clear, and may contain small marks or imperfections. This does not mean that they are flawed.
These marks are called "inclusions," and occur naturally during the stones' formation process and are part of their unique organic beauty. Freshwater pearls may also have small imperfections that occur as they develop. Some gems may be dyed or heat-treated to enhance and stabilize their color or clarity, but you will notice that they still are not as perfectly flawless as synthetic pearls, glass or crystals.
For more information about properly wearing, storing and cleaning your gemstone jewelry, go to the jewelry care section.
For more details about gemstones, including images, facts, lore, and trends, just click below on my sponsored link to the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA). Don't forget to come back to laura tanner jewelry after consulting this helpful resource!
For pictures and more detailed information about gemstones, go to: www.gemstone.org.

gemstone color guide

Use this guide is to help identify gemstones by color. This is a helpful place to start if you are looking for jewelry to coordinate with either a special occasion dress, your wedding colors, or just to see which stones come in your favorite shade. While you shop, you can then narrow your search by entering the stones in your color into the search function, and you will only be shown the jewelry containing the stone of your choice.

{red} garnet, ruby, red jade, red coral
{pink} pink jade, pink chalcedony, pink tourmaline, pink sapphire, rose quartz, kunzite
{coral} cherry quartz, pink coral
{orange} carnelian, garnet, topaz, sunstone
{peach} coral, peach moonstone
{yellow} yellow jade, lemon jade, yellow topaz citrine
{light green} peridot, aventurine, new jade, green amethyst, green chalcedony
{dark green} emerald, green jade, tourmaline, chrome diopside, vesuvianite, tsavorite garnet
{light blue} aquamarine, amazonite, swiss blue topaz, turquoise quartz, blue quartz, blue chalcedony, turquoise, blue fluorite
{dark blue} sapphire, london blue topaz, apatite, blue goldstone, kyanite, iolite
{light purple} cape amethyst, chalcedony, purple fluorite.
{dark purple} amethyst, ametrine.

{black} jet, black onyx, black spinel
{white} cubic zirconia, rainbow moonstone, white jade
{clear} crystal quartz, rock crystal, cubic zironcia, white topaz
{champagne} cubic zirconia, topaz
{gray} labradorite, gray moonstone, gray onyx
{brown} smoky quartz, andalusite
{natural/mixed} labradorite, andalusite, opal, landscape jasper, spot jasper, moss agate, bloodstone, tourmalinated quartz, rutilated quartz, rainbow moonstone
{freshwater pearls} white, ivory, champagne, pink, lavender, peach, green, blue, peacock, purple, olive, brown, silver, black

birthstone guide

Birthstone jewelry makes a wonderful gift, either for birthdays, new mothers, grandmothers, or anyone special... including you! If you are looking for an extra special gift, please go to the custom designs page for more information about commissioning one-of-a-kind jewelry using birthstones.

January GARNET
February AMETHYST
March AQUAMARINE (substitute: blue quartz)
April DIAMOND (substitutes: crystal quartz, rock crystal, cubic zirconia)
May EMERALD (substitutes: aventurine or jade)
June PEARL (or moonstone)
July RUBY
August PERIDOT
September SAPPHIRE (substitute: lapis lazuli, pink sapphire)
October TOURMALINE (or opal)
November CITRINE
December BLUE TOPAZ (or turquoise, tanzanite)

zodiac sign guide

Aquarius (January 21-February 18): GARNET
Pisces (February 19-March 20): AQUAMARINE
Aries (March 21-April 20): BLOODSTONE
Taurus (April 21-May 21): SAPPHIRE
Gemini (May 22-June 21): AGATE
Cancer (June 22-July 22): EMERALD
Leo (July 23-August 23): ONYX
Virgo (August 24-September 22): CARNELIAN
Libra (September 23-October 23): PERIDOT
Scorpio (October 24-November 22): BERYL
Sagittarius (November 23-December 23): TOPAZ
Capricorn (December 22-January 20): RUBY

precious metals guide

sterling silver is 92.5% pure silver metal, which is why many sterling products are stamped with a .925. This standard alloy is used to assure consistent quality, and is used instead of 100% pure silver to maintain hardness, stability and durability. The silver components in my jewelry are exclusively made from high quality sterling silver.
gold-filled metal is made up of a thick outer layer of solid 14-karat gold, which is then bonded to a core of jeweler's brass with high heat and pressure. Gold-filled metal contains at least 5% solid gold and, and is usually marked 14/20 (or 12/20 for 12k gold-filled). I use 14k yellow gold-filled metal in most of my gold designs, as it looks almost indistinguishable from 14k gold and is much more affordable.
gold vermeil was developed in France in the 1700s. This material (pronounced "ver-MAY") is made from a sterling silver base electroplated with a very thin layer of high karat (20-22k) gold. Vermeil has the look of high karat yellow gold for a fraction of the cost, and its quality is much higher than other gold-plated metals. However, it is more delicate than gold-filled, and must be treated carefully to protect the plating from wearing off, or the silver base from tarnishing.
14 & 18-karat gold are the solid gold standards in the United States. 14-karat contains 14 parts pure gold, and 10 parts non-gold, which makes it 58.3% gold. 18-karat gold is 75% pure gold. These alloys are used to instead of 100% gold to maintain the hardness, stability and durability needed for wearable jewelry. Although I typically do not used them in my regular collections, some of my designs may be special-ordered in 14k or 18k yellow or white gold, and I use them in custom designs if requested.