Birthstones are a part of today’s culture. While very few can list off the gems connected with every month, most of us at least know the gem connected with the month of our birth. The “official” list kept by the Jewelers of America has just been modified to include spinel as a birthstone for August. The inclusion of spinel in the list is long overdue as it is both durable and beautiful!

The origin of the birthstone list is unclear, but it seems likely that the twelve stones found on the breastplate of Aaron in the Bible were matched up with the twelve months of the year. In the first century, Flavius Josephus wrote about the vestments of the high-priest, “And for the twelve stones, whether we understand by them the months, or the twelve signs of what the Greeks call the zodiac, we shall not be mistaken in their meaning.” In his book, “The Curious Lore of Precious Stones” George Kunz writes “This pas-sage…undoubtedly laid the foundation for the later custom of wearing one of these stones as a natal or birth-stone for a person born in a given month, or for an astral or zodiacal stone for one born under a given astrological sign.”

Even though we have a list of twelve stones in the book of Exodus, that doesn’t necessarily mean we know what those twelve stones were. Since it is not clear what the proper translation from the original manuscripts should be for these twelve stones, historians have been left with the task of trying to offer their best interpretation.

In addition, it is clear that early lists of stones actually began with March instead of January. To further

complicate matters, the Bible contains another list of twelve foundation stones in Revelation. The list found there was obviously based on the stones found in Aaron’s breastplate and they were inscribed with the names of the twelve apostles. In the eighth or ninth century Bible commenta-tors began finding analogies between these stones and the traits of the apostles.

By the eighteenth century, people were more likely to wear specific birthstones for their supposed powers than for the month of their birth, frequently wearing a different stone every month or wearing stones for specific maladies. Somehow Poland became the epicenter for the idea of wearing gemstones for the month of one’s birth. It is suggested by Kunz that this was prob-ably due to the influence of Hebrew gem traders.

In 1912 the American National Association of Jewelers, now known as Jewelers of America, standardized the list that we still use today with slight modifications. The list has now been updated three times – once in 1952, again in 2002 and this year when spinel was added as an alter-nate for peridot in August.

Spinel is a durable and brilliant stone that comes in a variety of colors. It is 8 in hard-ness and singly refractive. Most spinels are left untreated since heating and radiation offer little or no improvement to their natural beauty. Traditionally, dealers have focused on the bright red spinels found mostly in Burma, but many of today’s consumers prefer the muted grays, mauves and browns that have traditionally been overlooked. Spinels are found in many different locations including Burma, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and Tanzania.

Veberod BulletinNovember 2016

Gray SpinelSpinel now an August birthstone, but great for everyone!

Veberod Gem Gallery13019 Ridgedale DriveMinnetonka, MN952-595-8338www.vgems.net

Spinel, jade, dinosaur bone in white and yel-low gold $3200

Spinel and diamonds in white gold $2800

Spinel and diamonds in 18KT gold $2200

Spinels in platinum filigree earrings $1900

Spinels in white and yellow gold bracelet $5500

All day Saturday December 10, make custom pendants and earrings as gifts

using our tools and with our help! Free co� ee and snacks!

All ages welcome with supervision. No experience necessary.

Invite your friends and family - we get lots of positive feedback every year from

new customers!

Family & FriendsJewelry Classes

If you have any interest in creating a class for you with your family or friends, the weeks before and after Christmas are open and waiting for you! If you think it might be fun and want to talk about options, let us know. � is is a great opportunity to get a couple of friends you met in class together to take that class you’ve all wanted to take, or to bring in out of town guests that have never made a thing in their lives. Sky’s the limit! (sort of ).

Live music!Enjoy shopping and creating jewelry as the Travis Anderson jazz trio livens things up.

11AM-4PM December 10.

Christmas Party