June's Birthstone

The birthstone for June is a pearl. Pearls can be both natural and cultured, and grow in fresh and salt water. They are soft and rank from a 2.5 to a 4.5 on the Mohs scale. Storing pearls in a soft bag is important, as is having them restrung periodically (body oils can damage the silk stringing material). Pearls come in colors ranging from white to black, but can also be dyed. I've recently been reading about dying pearls using clothing dye and I might give that a shot in the near future.

The Red Sea, The Gulf of Manaar and the Persian Gulf are all places to find natural perals, while the Australian and Polynesian coasts produce cultured pearls.

Folktore tells us that pearls are tears that fall from the sky. It's nice to think of someone's pain or sorrow at least ending up as an attractive fashion accessory but that might be a little too close to Project Runway to be believable.

Pearls are believed to offer love, wisdom and luck to the wearer and to strengthen engagments and romantic relationships. They are also believed to keep children safe, which is why I like the idea of using them in Mother's bracelets (bracelets created using pearls, crystal birthstone beads and a choice of charms at the clasp (a baby shoe, a heart, an alphabet letter for the baby's first name, etc.). I need to get started on one of those, for that matter. There's always more beading work to be done, folks. Good accessorizing waits for no man (or woman).