Like the deep waters of the Amazon river, Amazonite holds captivating shades of turquoise green. A feldspar mineral that forms in tabular crystal structures, usually cut as cabochon due to its fragile nature. It has a vitreous lustre, its colour sometimes revealing spider web like details. This colourful gemstone is often cut as beads and looks wonderful juxtaposed with lapis and gold.

Taken from the Greek word “amethystos”, meaning sober; amethyst quartz has illustrious calming properties, protecting wearers with a sense of tranquillity and soberness. Famed for its regal deep purple colour, February’s birthstone is said to enhance your focus and open your mind to critical thinking and clarity, and to also protect from inebriation. It is often worn by bishops set in a ring. Most are sourced from alluvial deposits in Brazil, Madagascar, Zambia and Uruguay, and Cassandra likes to juxtapose their splendour with rubies and aquamarine, or even green African garnets.

Traditionally aquamarine, meaning ‘sea-water’, is believed to protect seafarers on voyages far away, as a gemstone saturated in the mystical blue and green colours of the ocean. Synonymous with the month of March and the surge of spring; it embodies hope, good health and new friendships. Suffused with iron, the beryl crystal lattice varies the intensity of their colours, from sky blue to colourless hues, with the most important deposits being found throughout Brazil and Africa.

A deep green stone with a crimson red flowing through this healing stone, it is sourced predominantly from India. In the middle ages, bloodstone was attributed with special powers, the red splashes symbolising the blood of Jesus Christ. Bloodstone is often used in signet rings and cufflinks where it can be die sunk or carved with initials or crests.

A rarely known gemstone, chrome diopside gleams in brilliantly vivid, bright green hues, a feature caused by the chromium element within it. A calcium magnesium silicate, with a relatively low hardness, it is best set as a pendant or earrings to avoid being scratched. Some stones have mesmerizing chatoyancy and asterism, as well as being magnetic.

The Greek for golden apple, Chrysoprase is found in Australia. With its bright green body
colour, caused by nickel, Chrysoprase is a highly sought after Chalcedony for its unique colouration and its rarity to obtain large crystals. This colourful gemstone can be cut in cabochon or as beads, where the vivid apple green hue is very striking.

Precious coral, in a palette of soft oranges and reds, ranges from opaque and waxy to translucent and vitreous. Originating from marine environments, this is one of the most ancient of gems, with its unique concentric structure like a spider’s web. Found in Celtic tombs from the Iron Age, one of the seven treasures in Buddhist scriptures, and thought to be a powerful talisman, it has a rich and fascinating history.

Cassandra favours lustrous blue kyanite shades for her designs, but this interesting stone also comes in shades of greens, yellows, whites, and pinks, all gleaming with a bright, vitreous lustre. Many of the stones have a central band of strong colour and are typically found as blade-like crystals. Like apatite, kyanite has perfect cleavage and should be handled carefully, best made into necklace pendants and earrings.