Birthstones and Worthy Subsitutes for your Trollbeads creations
A customer came into the store on Friday asking for a bangle similar to the one we had put together for her daughter’s birthday in January. Her second daughter had admired the bangle and my customer wanted to give her one for her birthday, which was March 11th. This presented some issue.For, as you may know, Trollbeads only has a small array of semi-precious and precious stones and the birthstone for March ( a Aquamarine) is not one of them. As I explained this to the woman she appeared crestfallen. Not to worry though, this story has a happy ending and it inspired a blog post! After working together and talking about her daughter the customer and I wrapped a lovely silver bangle with The Diamond Bead in Ice Blue and 2 gold stoppers for her daughter. Is it exactly her birthstone? No. Is it an awesome birthday present, inspired by her birthstone? Yes, and to me the thought that went into it is even better then just popping a birthstone on something. Her mom took the time to look at things and ask questions, we talked about this woman and her likes and dislikes, this is what Trollbeads is all about.
So with that as a preamble let me introduce you to our topic for the day! Birthstones and worthy substitutes. There are many beautiful ways to celebrate a birth or an anniversary with a bead, and you may not even like the bead assigned to your month by… well whoever made the birthstones a popular thing.
January
If you have read the Facet Fanatic post you know I love the Hessonite Garnet. It also happens to be my birthstone (swoon). But this is not the only garnet in the collection. Pure Passion is a lovely substitute for a birthstone on your bracelet and it comes with pearls (double swoon). Also, in Autumn of 2013 Trollbeads released the Flowers of the Month silver collection and I have suggested them to any one interested in something for a birthday since. I think they make especially great gifts if you aren’t sure what color theme someone is going for on their bracelet.
Pictured Above: Pure Passion, Hessonite Garnet Bead, Snowdrop of January
February
While I do love my own birthstone, Amethysts are maybe my favorite stone. I am a sucker for purple and there are so many variations in color from this bead when sent by Trollbeads that you could have 12 of the same bead and none the same color. For example, the photo shown below has a much brighter Amethyst bead on a darker Amethyst Fantasy Necklace. They don’t have to match to be interesting in my book.
There are some people who aren’t crazy about faceted beads, and as much as I feel differently about that I can appreciate it. For those February birthdays I suggest the Red Hematite (which always looks purple to me) or the Violets of February.
Pictured Above: Red Hematite, Violet of February, Amethyst on a Fantasy Necklace with Amethyst
March
Ahhh, the month that inspired the whole post! Like I had said before, there is no literal birthstone option in the Trollbeads collection for this month, but there are several color perfect options like the silver trace- turquoise or the Diamond Bead in Ice Blue. There is also the Daffodil of March, which is one of the prettiest flowers of the month beads, in my opinion if the light blue color is not your thing. I really like using gold stoppers with this color for a somewhat Cinderella inspired look.
Pictured Above: Silver Tace Tourquoise, Daffodil of March, The Diamond Bead- Ice Blue in between 2 gold stoppers on a silver bracelet with a gold flower lock
April
April is an interesting month for Trollbeads and birthstones because the birthstone for April is Diamond and as any Trollbeads collector knows there are many Diamond Bead color options. To stay “true” to the color palate of the birth month I picked The Diamond Bead with Gold Core or the Diamond Bead, White. I really love the difference the gold core makes in any bracelet design and I think if it is in your budget it is a must have item for any bracelet that you really want to give a rich tone to.
Pictured Above: Flowers, Silver and Gold, The Diamond Bead with a Gold Core, Daisy of April, The Diamond Bead in White between gold stoppers on a gold bangle
May
May is a month that has a birthstone for it’s month, however I often find that people are thinking of a deeper green when they are looking for an emerald. So probably 7 times out of 10 I will show them the Malachite and that will be what they end up packaging up. I, personally love them both, but I also think of that really deep green when I imagine an Emerald.
Pictured Above: Malachite,Buckthorn of May, Emerald on a Malachite Fantasy Necklace
View Your Birth Month Flower Here
June
June birthdays are so lucky! There are so many pearl options in the Trollbeads line that it was hard to pick what to photograph. Between all these items and the pearl tassel and the fantasy necklaces in both the white pearl and the rosa pearl it is clear to see that the folks at Trollbeads are big pearl fans ( and who can blame them?).
Pictured Above: Pink Pearl, Rose of June, White Pearl, Triple Pearl– white between silver stoppers on a silver bangle
July
July, like May is a month with an actual birthstone in the collection, but people seem to sway on this month for similar reasons to the May birthstone. When I say Ruby you are probably picturing something more like the bead pictured on the right, but that is actually a Red Tiger Eye! Another thing that makes the July birth month so interesting is that the flower of the month is a water lily and there are now many water lily options (even a lock) that you could use to represent a birth month. We, of course, had to do a whole themed bracelet once we started pulling beads.
Pictured Above: Single Water Lily Spacer, Ruby with silver core, Water Lily of July, Water Lily Spacer, Red Tiger Eye on a silver bracelet with Water Lily Lock
August
August is a tricky month for Trollbeads- as it has neither a Peridot (the birthstone for August) or a lime green Diamond bead (yet) to substitute for Peridot. We find that the closest match to the true birthstone color is the lime prism, and on the off chance we have the retired Lime in stock, that one is also a very nice match. I also put a Seabed on this bangle because I really like this particular green with the lime color and copper.
Pictured Above: Lime Prism, Poppy of August, Seabed, Oxidized Stopper and Copper Bangle
September
September birthday girls have nothing BUT selection! As you probably know there are so many royal blues in the collection and it is a favorite of many collectors. For birthday celebrants I really like to stick with the Sapphire this month, I find that it is an under-rated bead and really not used as often as it should be- I love that soft gray-blue- it makes me think of my favorite pair of perfectly worn in jeans. For those wanting the more punchy sapphire blue color you can always opt for a Lapis Lazuli or a Diamond bead in blue, which are both fan favorites.
Pictured Above: Sapphire, Bindweed of September, Lapis Lazuli, The Diamond Bead in Blue
October
I am a big fan of pink, but like so many others I do tend to shy away from bright pink in my wardrobe so along with the Diamond bead in Pink I added some “softer” color options for October birthdays. The Rose Quartz in shown here in a facet style, but it also comes as a faceted drop bead or a smooth round Rose Quartz. Let’s not forget the pink pearl could be an easy addition, and the Rosa Pearl Fantasy necklace would make any birthday girl smile.
Pictured Above: Rose Quartz, Calendula of October, The Diamond Bead in Pink on a Rosa Pearl Fantasy Necklace
November
When I first pulled these beads for the November bracelet I thought they were pretty un-inspiring- but on this leather bracelet they just pop! I made such a turn around in my opinion of these beads that I wore this bracelet for the rest of the day and am seriously considering adding this whole thing to my collection!
Pictured Above: Honey Dew, Luminous Delight, Chrysanthemum of November, on a light blue and green leather Bracelet
December
These icy blue beads will certainly get you in the mood for a winter birthday celebration! While we do not have a blue topaz in the Trollbeads collection, there is the Diamond Bead in Ice Blue, which is a perfect match for the blue topaz color and we also really like the blue hematite for those who are a bit hesitant towards pastels and favor the deeper hues.
Pictured Above: Narcissus of December, Blue Hematite, The Diamond Bead in Ice Blue, Silver Stopper on a twisted bangle
So what do you think? What is your birthstone and do you wear it? Are you a fan of the birth month flowers? Did this post give you any ideas on a worthy substitute for your birthstone?