Tis the season to be thankful!

I’d like to take this opportunity to fulfill the purpose of this lovely holiday by giving thanks for the many blessings in my life.

1. Black Friday
My favorite holiday is the day after Thanksgiving — Black Friday!

2. Birthstones
I’m so glad I finally learned how to love opals!

3. Jewelry Designers
This year, I was able to meet some really cool jewelry designers — Rita Chung, for example (check out our interview of her: Part I, Part II, Part III).

4. Jewelz
Blogger Jewelz has been a great addition to our team here at WooMeOver! Check out her latest post!

5. WooMeOver
Writing for this blog has been such a great opportunity for me to learn so much about jewelry!

For more details, please click here.

Thankfully,
Olivia

If your birthday is in November, then your birthstone is the topaz!

Topaz is a mineral made of silicon, aluminum, and fluorine. In its purest form, it’s clear, but most topaz is colored by impurities (I guess you could say that it’s beautifully flawed). It can range in color from the straw-yellow typically associated with the gem to sky blue or white or even pink!

It’s got a nice Mohs rating of 8, which makes it tough, but still feminine. Yes, it’s tough, but it’s not tough to find!

Affordable Accent

Kohl’s 10k White Gold Blue Topaz Heart Pendant, $89.99 at kohls.com.

This vivid blue pendant shows how the wearer feels about love — she loves it! And accenting the blue topaz is an army of diamond accents, chiming in, “And WE love YOU!”

The Investment Piece

Bounkit for Vivre BiColor Drop Earring, $460 at vivre.com.

While blue topaz is bright and brash, gray topaz is seductive and sultry. These earrings start with lemon quartz and graduate on down to the smoky depths of the topaz. The allure is well worth the investment.

Living in Luxury

JudeFrances Jewelry Cinnamon Topaz Ring, $3,240 at neimanmarcus.com.

Okay, so I know that I didn’t feature any yellow topaz here, but can you blame me? I was too busy drooling over this tasty cinnamon topaz ring. Flanked by pavé diamond accents and set in 18k white and yellow gold, this ring is truly droolworthy. And, hey, if drool was money, I’d be able to afford it just by ogling it!

Topaz is a symbol of friendship, and it’s no wonder — you’d be hard-pressed to find a warmer gemstone.

So, to all you friendly November topazes out there, keep showing others your warmth and allure!

Warmly,
Olivia

Here at the Bling Blog, we have seen our share of “rock on a wire” rings. Nevertheless, I was rocked by La Pisette’s simple, yet wonderful, gemstone rings.

Concocted by designer Stacy Saunders, whose fascination with geodes began with her first rock collection at age 10, each ring is made to order, and no two stones are exactly alike.

PYRITE RING. $105.

CITRINE RING. $105.

TIGER'S EYE RING. $105.

WHITE JADE RING. $105.

x o x o
~ jewels

Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday, dear Olivia
Happy birthday to me!

That’s right, folks; the “O” in “Olivia” stands for “October Opal.”

Last month, I mentioned that I used to be jealous of my sister because my favorite color is blue, but sapphire is her birthstone instead of mine. Well, that was before I knew just how cool opals are!

The Flame Queen Opal, the world’s largest cut and polished opal.

Opals are actually not a stone, but a mineraloid gel! They’re typically about 3-10% water, but can be up to 20%, which explains its rating of 5.5-6.5 on the Mohs scale. They’re basically a form of hydrated silica. Sounds simple, but the resulting gem is intriguingly complex!

Thanks to its lattice structure, it can be iridescent (or “opalescent,” if we’re going to get technical), and just about any color under the sun! Some of them even exhibit “eye-of-opal”, in which the gem takes on an eye-like appearance when it in-fills a cavity.

The Flame Queen Opal, viewed from a different angle.

The most famous example of this characteristic is also the world’s largest cut and polished opal: the Flame Queen Opal. Not only does it exhibit “eye-of-opal,” but it also changes colors when viewed from different angles. The two pictures above are the same gem, shot from different angles!

So, I’m convinced: the opal is just as good a birthstone as a sapphire! So let’s get to some ways to show your true colors by sporting opal jewelry!

Affordable Accent

Macy’s 14K Gold Opal & Diamond Earrings, $131.75 at macys.com.

White opal gives these earrings an antique look and feel. But the milky opalescence (well, what else would you have me call it?) gives them a hint of mystery — which will leave admirers turning back for a second look.

The Investment Piece

Annette Ferdinandsen Tiny Matrix Opal Ring with Orange Fire, $840 at ylang23.com.

Fire opal.

Sounds exotic, doesn’t it? Well, the name certainly does justice to the bright orange lick of flame showcased in this fire opal ring. The Investment Piece should always make a statement, and this ring’s statement is: “This is why I’m hot.”

Living in Luxury

Ten Thousand Things Pinned Black Opal Buttercup Bracelet, $7,745 at ylang23.com.

Once you go black, you can never go back.

Black opal is so versatile; it’s simultaneously sleek, sophisticated, and mysterious. The colors and opalescence (there’s that word again) combine to give it great depth.

October Opals (like Olivia) are cute and fun, but there’s definitely more to us than meets the eye. There’s more to us than what’s on the surface, and we’re always going to keep everybody guessing.

Mysteriously,
Olivia

If your birthday is in September, then your birthstone is the sapphire!

Blue is my favorite color and I was always jealous that my sister’s birthday is in September because sapphire is her birthstone. And it’s no wonder; with its deep blue hue, it’s one of the most popular and widely known gemstones in the world.

Sapphire is a gem-quality form of the mineral corundum. Rubies (the July birthstone!) are actually a form of the same mineral! While rubies get their color from chromium, sapphires are pure aluminum oxide. Not all sapphires are blue, however. Some contain trace amounts of iron, titanium and chromium, which can produce a whole spectrum of colors in the sapphire family!

The Star of India

The largest cut sapphire in the world is the Star of India, which is a star sapphire. Star sapphires have needle-like inclusions that cause a six-rayed “star” to appear when the gem is viewed under a single overhead light source. The Star of India weighs in at a whopping 563.35 carats.

Sapphire has such a classic feel to it, so it’s an easy choice for an accessory. Here are three ways to wear this gem of a gem!

Affordable Accent

Target Sterling Silver Genuine Sapphire and Diamond Earrings, $29.99 at target.com.

These sapphire earrings have a high-society feel at a flea-market price! Gotta love that about Target. These earrings would be the perfect touch for a special evening out; they could lend depth to a flirty cocktail dress.

The Investment Piece

Iosselliani Triple Ring, $795 at barneys.com.

This handmade ring is a great modern take on the sapphire. It’s great for adding a little edge to an otherwise tame ensemble. It shows that there’s more to the wearer than meets the eye.

Living in Luxury

Tiffany & Co. Victoria Pendant, $3,925 at tiffany.com.

If you’re going to do sapphire, do it up right. This classic design by Tiffany & Co. is sapphire as it was intended to be: the glorious centerpiece of a pendant, flanked by diamonds. You want elegance? Nobody does it better than Tiffany & Co.

So whether you’re just looking for the easiest way to represent your birth month or trying to make a loud and proud statement about it, there are plenty of ways to do it and make it your own!

Happy birthday, you September Sapphires! May your jewelry should be the only thing about you that’s blue.

Truly Bluely,
Olivia

If your birthday is in August, then your birthstone is the peridot!

Peridot is a brilliant green gem. It’s often confused with emeralds, but you can tell the difference by the shade of green. Emeralds tend to be a deeper hue, while peridots are lighter and have fewer inclusions.

Peridot is a gem quality version of the mineral olivine (so named for its olive hue). One of the best things about peridot is that much of it is mined right here in the United States!

This gemstone gets its green from the combination of iron and magnesium. The color of peridot can range from yellow to brown, depending on the ration of iron to magnesium. But the common peridot that we know and love is mostly green.

Peridot is a great choice for those with summer birthdays! Unlike emerald, which is a much heavier tone, peridot is a light green that adds a subtle glimmer of summer to an ensemble. Peridot can perfectly set off your summer tan, enhancing the golden tones of summer skin.

With that said, here are three ways to wear peridot:

Affordable Accent

Macy’s Sterling Silver Peridot and Diamond Bracelet, $50.15 at macys.com

This simple — yet elegant — bracelet, is delicate and pretty enough to wear to a garden party, but casual enough to wear to a summer barbecue. And at the sale price, you’ll have enough left over to buy a new summer frock to go with it!

Peridot has a hardness of about 6.5-7 on the Mohs scale, so it can scratch. This means that you should probably wear something else to a beach party. But I recommend that you get all of your beach parties out of the way in July so that you can spend August showing off your peridot!

The Investment Piece

Rebecca Large Bronze Ring with Peridot Stone, $575 at nordstrom.com

Don’t think of it as jewelry; think of it as an investment. This cocktail ring makes a statement: it says, “I was born in August, and I’m beautiful!”

It’s another versatile piece that will go just as well with jeans and a t-shirt as it will with a sleek cocktail dress.

But the best part about this ring is that, while certain pieces may go out of style, your birthday will never change. That means that it will always be appropriate for you to wear this ring!

Living in Luxury

David Yurman Petite Albion Peridot Necklace, $2,150 at neimanmarcus.com

It’s your birthday. You deserve a little luxury.

And nothing screams “LUXURY!” like a peridot surrounded by pavé diamonds, suspended on a yellow gold box-chain.

Most of us will only own a few status pieces like this one in our lifetimes. So why not make it a piece that also showcases the month in which you were born?

You August Peridots out there are fresh-faced and light-hearted. Keep your friends green with envy — because you’re green with peridot!

Going Green,
Olivia

If your birthday is in July, then your Zodiac stone is the ruby!

Many people know that the diamond is the hardest substance on earth, but few people are aware that the ruby is the second hardest naturally occurring gemstone.

Rubies range in color from pink to blood red. They get their color from the element chromium. All natural rubies contain imperfections such as color impurities and infractions. There are various ways of cleaning up these imperfections – usually by heating the ruby and then cutting it.

When people think of rubies, the first thing to come to mind is The Wizard of Oz and Dorothy’s ruby slippers. But, much like the film, rubies are just as much for grown-ups as for kids.

Rubies tend to bring drama to a look. A single ruby surrounded by diamonds immediately draws the eye. A blood-red ruby pendant with a classic LBD (little black dress, for those of you whose fashion savvy is limited to jewelry) makes a statement – a classic beauty with a wild side.

Since rubies have such a bold hue, try using them to accent an understated outfit. In addition to a ruby pendant with the LBD, a silver cuff with a ruby inset would be a great complement to a crisp, white suit or a simple shift dress. Ruby earrings are a great way to take a simple black pencil skirt and a classic white blouse from simple to sophisticated. And a ruby brooch shaped like a ladybug would bring some style and character to even the simplest twinset.

You July Rubies out there are true gems! Keep your dramatic flair; keep wearing your hearts on your sleeves – and on your ears and your necks and your fingers.

Dramatically,
Olivia

If your birthday is in the month of June, your Zodiac stone is the pearl!

Pearls are formed in certain mollusks when an irritant enters the shell. In order to protect its soft tissue, the mollusk coats the irritant in layers of nacre, more commonly known as mother-of-pearl.

Gem-quality natural pearls are extremely rare. Most of the pearls on today’s market are cultured. Pre-formed beads are inserted into pearl oysters. The oysters coat the beads with a few layers of nacre, hence achieving the look of a pearl, but with much more consistency than in nature.

Pearls are well-known as gemstones; most fashionistas worth their salt own at least one pearl necklace, be it natural, cultured, or even faux.

A strand of pearls became a trademark for First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, a leading trendsetter of her day. Pearl necklaces have since then become representative of classic taste and style.

Pearls are a hallmark of class. There’s just something about pearls that make them so simple, yet graceful and elegant, too. It’s because of their understated beauty that they are so timeless.

But pearls are also versatile. Many women wear strands of pearls and pearl necklaces to cocktail parties, but, lately, they’ve also been cropping up as chunky cuffs, cocktail rings, and even body piercings. My sister likes to wear a faux pearl necklace with a brightly-colored polo t-shirt – with the collar popped, of course.

Pearls are fairly delicate and must be taken care of diligently. They are soft and may scratch, so they’re best stored in soft cloths. They are also extremely porous, so care must be taken not to get them wet.

The ladies of June are much like their birthstone: classy, beautiful, and precious. So happy birthday to all you pearls out there! Keep on shining!

Simply, Yet Elegantly,
Olivia