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Jewellery has played an important role in people’s lives over a very long period of time. The oldest jewellery that has been found comes from graves that are perhaps 20 000 years old. Originally jewels were attributed supernatural powers, and were used as protection against evil spirits. Later they were also used as status symbols, or symbols of social class and other kinships. Today most people use jewellery as pure adornment, even though there are still a lot of traditions, and even superstitions, connected with different jewels.
There are some pieces of jewellery that are particularly connected with weddings, such as the wedding ring, the origin of which probably dates back to the Romans. This essay will deal with some of the most well-known jewellery associated with weddings, and also with some of the most appreciated gemstones, since pearls, diamonds and other stones have always been popular in jewellery, both for weddings and for other occasions.
The essay will include a historical presentation of each jewel or stone, as well as some superstition that is connected with it. In some cases I will also include other facts, such as how to handle some of the precious stones.
I have also looked at the etymology, that is the history of the actual words, or rather the names of the jewels or stones, as opposed to the history of the jewel or stone itself. The English language has often borrowed its names for the precious stones from Greek, via Latin and French. Most of the names of the stones originally referred to the colours or to different qualities that were attributed to the stones, e.g. the ruby that was named after its red colour, or the amethyst that got its name from the belief that it could cure or prevent intoxication.
Ring
The jewel that is most strongly associated with weddings is of course the wedding ring, which the bridegroom puts on his bride’s third finger on her left hand during the wedding ceremony, as the sign of their union. Nowadays an increasing number of brides give their groom a ring as well.
* History
The unbroken circle is an age-old symbol of eternity, and rings have functioned both to adorn the body, and as symbols of authority, fidelity, or social status, for a very long time. The earliest existing rings have been found in the tombs of ancient Egypt. These were primarily signet rings, which the wearer could use to authenticate documents with. The ancient Greeks used rings simply for decoration, while the Romans often used them as symbols of social status.
The wedding ring is thought to have its origin in Roman culture, where they used rings to show formally that they had arrived at an agreement, for example about marriage. The Catholic church introduced the ring as a symbol of fidelity in the Middle Ages, and later the wedding ring was introduced into the Protestant wedding ceremony as well.
Interestingly, the custom of wearing the wedding ring on the third finger of the left hand seems to be almost universal. Unfortunately I have not been able to find the reason for this. All that I have found is that the early Egyptians thought that the "vein of love" connected this finger to the heart, while the early Romans wore their wedding rings on the fourth finger of the left hand, since they believed that love’s vein ran through that finger. An Anglo-Saxon betrothal ring was moved from the third finger of the right hand to the third finger of the left in the wedding ceremony, so that engagement and wedding ring were one. This ritual is still used by Roman Catholics today.
* Sayings
(My own translations from Swedish; Folklig Spĺdomskonst, by C.H. Tillhagen)
* Etymology
The modern English word ring has developed from the Old English hring, meaning a circular band. This meaning was recorded about 725 in "Beowulf". The year of its earliest recorded appearance with today’s meaning was probably before 1200; ring, (in Layaman’s "Chronicle of Britain"), earlier it appeared in the surname Ringstan (1167).
Old English hring corresponds to Old Frisian, Old Saxon and Old High German hring. Other cognates are: Middle Dutch rinc (modern Dutch ring), Low German ring,rink, (modern German Ring), Old Icelandic hringr (modern Icelandic hringur, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish ring).
The origin of the word is Proto Germanic *hrengaz, *xrengaz, or *hrengos, from Indo European *krengh-, *krongh-, *krngh-. The e of Germanic *hrengaz etc. is preserved in the Finnish word for ring, rengas, which is an early loan-word from Teutonic.
Outside Germanic possible cognates are found in Old Slavic krogu meaning circle, Russian krug(e), meaning a ring or a circle, and Umbrian krenkatrum or cringatro, meaning belt.
back to main page Crown
A bridal crown can be worn by the bride at the wedding ceremony.
* History
The custom of wearing a bridal crown is connected with the Middle Ages, with the crown as a symbol of virginity, purity, innocence and chastity.
* Sayings
(My own translations from Swedish; Folklig Spĺdomskonst, by C.H. Tillhagen)
Etymology
The word crown is of Greek origin, and was introduced into English via Latin and French. It was first recorded in the English language as the form coronan, with the meaning "royal crown". Later, probably before 1200, it appeared as crune, meaning a diadem, a wreath placed on the head of a victor, or a royal crown. In the 14th century it was recorded as croune.
In Middle English the word appeared both as corone or coroune, and in the contracted form crune, croune, as mentioned above. The contracted form was common at a very early period, and was also the only form that survived after the 16th century.
The word was borrowed into English from the Anglo French coroune, which comes from Old Northern French curune (the Old (South) French form was corone). The French word curune had the same meaning as modern English crown, and was a normal development of the Latin word coro:na, meaning a wreath or a garland, which was borrowed from the Greek word koro:ne, applying to anything bent or curved.
Examples of cognates are Gaelic cruinn and Welsh crwn, meaning round or circular, modern French couronne, Swedish krona, all with the same meaning as modern English crown.
Coronet
A small crown.
* Etymology
The word coronet probably appeared in the English language before 1400, in the form crownet. In Fabyan's Chronicles of England and France, the word appeares as: "with coronettes upon theyr heddes" 1432.
The word is an adaption of the Old-French word coronet(t)e, couronnette which is a diminutive form of Old French corone, crown. -et is a suffix forming diminutives from substantives, representing (Old) French -et (masc.), -ette (fem.), which has developed of Roman *-ittoo, *-itta, *-e:tto, -a, of unknown (perhaps non-Latin) origin.
back to main page Tiara
An ornamental headband, like a small crown, often of gold, jewels, or flowers.
* Etymology
The word tiara was borrowed into English from Latin tia:ra, which in turn is an adoption of Greek tia:ra:, tia:ra:s. The origin of the word is not clear, but it is believed that it comes from Persian. The modern word in Persian is ta:j, and means a crown, a diadem or a crest.
When the word first appeared in the English language it referred to the headdress of the Persian kings, but also to the headdress worn by men of rank and distinction. The form tiar for the Persian headdress was first found in English in 1513, and in 1660 the word tiar was more closely associated with the crown worn by a religious personage. The sense of an ornamental headband worn by women was first recorded in the English language in 1718.
People have used and loved precious stones for at least 7 000 years. Because of their beautiful colours the stones were thought to have supernatural powers, and they were used as amulets to protect against evil spirits or sickness, or to bring happiness, wealth or long life to the wearer etc. Coloured gemstones are often believed to symbolise different qualities even today, e.g. the ruby that is said to represent love, and the emerald that is said to symbolise faithfulness.
The range of precious stones is very wide, so it would be impossible to present all of them in this essay, therefore, since the so called "birthstones" are popular in the wedding or engagement ring today, I will only describe the 12 birthstones from the modern American tradition, according to the list found in Schumann, included below. This list seems to be widely accepted, since I have found more or less exactly the same list on several occasions on the Internet.
The tradition with birthstones seems to come from the breastplate of Aaron (Exodus 28: 15-21), which was set with twelve gemstones that represented the twelve tribes of Israel. These stones were: ruby, topaz, beryl, turquoise, sapphire, emerald, jacinth, agate, amethyst, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, most of which are also included in both the American and the German list of birthstones today. Later the birthstones were arranged so that a certain stone was supposed to help and protect someone born in a certain sign of the Zodiac, and still later this was somewhat simplified, so that the stones are now connected to certain months, instead of signs of the Zodiac.
| Month | Modern German Tradition | Modern American Tradition |
| Jan. | garnet, rose quartz | garnet |
| Feb. | amethyst, onyx | amethyst |
| March | aquamarine, heliotrope | bloodstone (=heliotrope), aquamarine |
| Apr. | rock crystal, diamond | diamond |
| May | chrysoprase, emerald | emerald |
| June | moonstone, pearl | pearl, moonstone |
| July | cornelian, ruby | ruby |
| Aug. | aventurine, peridote | sardonyx, peridote |
| Sept. | lapis lazuli, sapphire | sapphire |
| Oct. | opal, tourmaline | opal, tourmaline |
| Nov. | tiger eye, topaz | topaz |
| Dec. | turquoise, zircon | turquoise, lapis lazuli |
The garnet is the January birthstone, and there are many ancient traditions and legends about this stone. According to Christian tradition the red variety of the garnet can be a symbol of Christ’s sacrifice, and according to the Koran the garnet illuminates the Fourth Heaven of the Moslems.
The stone is said to symbolise the qualities of truth and constancy, and it has also been said to give its wearer the ability to see in darkness. According to love-story.com (May 20, 1999) legend has it that Noah used a large garnet to illuminate his ark, and the Egyptians apparently believed that the garnet could be used as an antidote for snakebite and food poisoning.
Colours
This semi-precious stone exists in many different colours, but in everyday language "garnet" refers to the red carbuncles almandine and pyrope. The pyrope is red with a tinge of brown, and was a fashionable stone in the 18th and 19th centuries. The almandine is red with a tinge of violet.
Etymology
The Middle English word for garnet was gernet or grenat, and was probably borrowed from the Middle Dutch gernate, garnate, an adaption of Old French grenat, granat which, according to Barnhart, was originally an adjective meaning "of a dark red colour".
The Old French form was borrowed from medieval Latin gra:na:tus, which may have developed from a transferred use of the Latin word for pomegranate, gra:na:tum. According to Skeat, it says in Webster (Webster, N., International Dictionary of the English Language) that the late Latin garnet, gra:na:tus is "so called from its resemblance in colour and shape to the grains or seeds of the pomegranate".
Garnet meaning pomegranate is recorded in Middle English before 1400, and reference to the red colour is made as early as 1325 (gernet).
back to main page Amethyst
The amethyst is the February birthstone. It is a lucky stone, symbolising sincerity, peace, protection and tranquillity, and it is also said to have supernatural qualities, such as the ability to bring fortune and perseverance, keep bad magic away and protect against homesickness.
The ancient Greeks thought that an amethyst amulet or chalice could prevent intoxication. It is also believed to protect the wearer against baldness and improve his/her complexion, since it protects against treason and deceit.
* Colours
Amethysts always have different shades of violet, often pale red-violet.
* Etymology
The Middle English form amatist(e), ametist, from the Old French word amatiste, ametiste, is found in the English language in the 13th century. In the 16th century the word was remodelled with -th-, after the Latin model.
The Old French form is an adaption of Latin amethystus. The Latin word is borrowed from Greek améthustos, a compound of a- (not) + methyskein, meaning "make drunk", referring to a remedy against intoxication, and therefore also to the amethyst, since it was thought to prevent intoxication. Methyskein is in turn derived from Greek méthy, méthu which means "strong drink" or "wine", and is related to the English word mead. The Indo-European etymon is *medhu, which means honey, from the adjective *medhus, meaning sweet.
back to main page Bloodstone
The Bloodstone represents courage, and is one of the traditional birthstones for March.
In English "bloodstone" refers to the heliotrope, while in (at least) German and Swedish bloodstone refers to hematite. In the Middle Ages the heliotrope was believed to have special and magical powers, since the red spots were associated with the blood of Christ.
* Colour
The heliotrope is an opaque dark green stone with red spots.
* Etymology
The word heliotrope was first recorded in the English language in the 16th century. It was borrowed into English from Latin he:liotrópium, medieval Latin also had the forms eliotropus, -tropius, which were formerly used in English. Latin took the word from Greek he:liotropion, which was formed on hé:lios, meaning "sun" + -tropos, turning, from trépein, turn. Apparently the stone has got its name because if it is thrown into water "it changeth the raies of the Sun by way of reuerberation into a bloudie colour".
The diamond is the April birthstone, and is probably the favourite stone in engagement and wedding rings all over the world. Around two thirds of British bridegrooms choose diamonds for their brides-to-be.
Cupid is said to have had diamond tips on his arrows, but it was the Archduke Maximilian of Austria that started the tradition with diamond engagement rings when he gave a diamond ring to Mary of Burgundy in 1477.
The diamond is said to represent innocence, and is a symbol of love and courage. The ancient Greeks believed that diamonds were splinters of stars that had fallen down on the earth. They have also been said to bee tears of Gods, crystallised lightning or hardened dew drops.
* Colours
Diamonds can be either colourless, yellow, brown, green, blue, red or black.
* Etymology
The word was first recorded in the English language in the 13th century, as the Middle English form diama(u)nt. The English borrowed the word from (Old)French diamant, which is an adoption of medieval Latin diamas, diamant-, an alteration of Latin adama:s, by association with other words in dia-.
Latin adamant- was borrowed from Greek adáma:s, adamant-, originally an adjective meaning invincible, formed on the preposition a- (of obscure significance) + damân, tame.
The emerald is the May birthstone, and it has been called the Queen of Gems and the gem of queens. The stone represents faithfulness, happy marriage, immortality, youth, tranquillity and safe child-bearing, and it is believed to sharpen the wearer’s eyesight and mind, and give him or her the power of predicting the future. Apparently there is a 19th-century poem that claims that the emerald's shade changes according to a lover’s faithfulness, but unfortunately this poem was untraceable.
* Colours
The most appreciated colour in emeralds is the so called "emerald-green", which has even been named after the stone, but it can also have other shades of green.
* Etymology
The word emerald probably appeared in the English language before 1300, in the Middle English form emeraude, in "Kyng Alisaunder", later (about 1413) it also appeared as emeralde.
The English form of the word is an adaption of Old French e(s)meraude, esmeralde, esmeragde (modern French émeraude) corresponding to Italian smeraldo and Spanish esmeralda. The French borrowed the word from vulgar Latin smaraldus (or medieval Latin esmaraldus) which is an easement of Latin smaragdus.
The origin of the Latin word is the Greek smáragdos, which seems to come from a combination of Sanskrit asma:, meaning a stone, and marakata(m)- emerald, so that the word really meant "emerald-stone". The Sanskrit word marakata(m), is explained to be of Semitic origin, directly derived from Hebrew ba:reqet(h), referring to the emerald (according to Partridge it means "the glistener"). The Hebrew word ba:raq means to flash or glisten. C.f. also the Akkadian word for emerald, barraqta, and the Prakrit magarada.
The pearl is the June birthstone. It is a traditional symbol of purity, modesty, chastity and health. In India it was described as a jewel of love, and today it is very popular at weddings and believed to symbolise a happy marriage in many different cultures. Traditionally though, the pearl was said to signify tears and was held to be unlucky because of its fragility.
* History
Pearls were once the most valuable material on earth, and in Ancient Rome they were the ultimate status symbol. Vitellius financed a whole war by selling one of his mother’s pearl earrings. Pearls are still among the most valuable precious stones.
Pearls have been used in jewellery for 6 000 years, and as early as 2500 B.C. there was a regular pearl-trade in China. Today about 70% of all pearls are made into necklaces. The most common length is about 40 cm, a necklace of double that length is called a sautoir. If all the pearls are of the same size, the necklace is called a choker (originally a necklace that was worn very tight around the neck), while if the pearls in the middle of the necklace are the biggest, and smaller ones are put at the ends, the necklace is graded.
* How the Pearl is Created
Pearls are created in oysters or mussels, as a reaction to strange particles that have come into the mollusc. The outer skin of the mussle's mantle, the epithelium, normally builds up the mussel-shell of nacre layers and, if necessary, it also surrounds all strange particles. An encapsulation like that eventually becomes a pearl.
The principle for cultivating pearls is very simple: by inserting a strange particle, normally a piece of shell, you can make the mollusc produce a pearl in the same way as it does naturally. The oyster or mussel automatically coats the strange particle with layers of nacre, and a pearl is slowly created. As early as in the 13th century the Chinese put small Buddha figures in mussels in order to get them encapsulated in pearl, and in 1761 Carl von Linné cultivated round pearls for the first time.
* "Ageing"
Pearls consist of nacre, which is mainly carbonated limestone and a material called conchiolin. Since conchiolin is an organic material, it is subject to changes, which can cause the pearl to "age". First it becomes dull, then it cracks, and finally the layers fall off. The age of a pearl cannot be guaranteed; estimations say that a pearl can become about 100 to 150 years on average, but there are pearls that are several hundreds of years old and still perfect. Careful treatment of the pearls helps to make them live longer. Severe drought and high humidity damage them. They are also very sensitive to perspiration, cosmetics and hair-spray.
* Colours
Possible colours of pearls are pink, silver, creme, gold, green, blue and black.
* Etymology
The Middle English word for pearl was perle, and it was used before 1349. Before that the word appeared as the surname Perle (about 1258). Before 1400 the English used the modern form pearl.
Cognates are e.g. Italian, Spanish and Provencale perla, Portuguese perola, perla, Neapolitan and Sicilian perna, Old High German perala, perla, berala, berla (modern German Perle).
The word is probably an adaption of (Old)French perle, meaning a pearl or a berry, and medieval Latin perla. According to Barnhart and Partridge, both of the words come from vulgar Latin *pernula, which is the diminutive form of Latin perna meaning ham, ham-shaped or mollusc (which are sometimes yielding pearls).
Skeat, however, although he admits that it may be possible that a Latin form perula was a corruption of late Latin perna- a pearl, from Latin perna, a sea-mussel, claims that the origin was probably late Latin pirula- point of the nose, found in "Isidor of Seville" in the 7th century. According to Skeat, Diez (Diez, F., Etymologisches Wötrerbuch der Romanishen Sprachen) explains pirula as probably meaning a little pear, from pirum, a pear. (The Italian word for pear, pera, shows the change of vowel from i to e.) The change of meaning from pear to pearl may, according to Skeat, easily have been suggested by the use of the Latin word bacca, which referred to berries, any round fruit growing on trees and also to pearls. Diez also draws attention to Spanish perilla, meaning either a little pear or a pear-shaped ornament.
(Compare with Sanskrit pá:rsni(s), Greek ptérne:, pterna - heel, and therefore Gothic faírzna, Old English fiersn, Old High German fersana, Middle High German versere, verse, modern German Ferse, all meaning heel. From Indo European *pe:rsna:, *pe:rsnis)
The ruby is the July birthstone, and it is said to represent love. Other qualities attributed to the ruby are that it guards the home and provides a life of peace and health. The Burmese thought that if a warrior had a ruby sewed inside his skin, it would make him invulnerable.
The stone has been thought to contain a glowing spark from the planet Mars, from which it got its bright red colour, and it has been said that the ruby grows dull if it is neglected, or not worn or seen.
The ruby belongs to the most valuable of the precious stones, and big rubies are more rare than diamonds of the same size. After diamond, ruby is the hardest mineral of all, even though it has only 1/140 of the diamond’s hardness.
* Colours
Rubys always have different red colours.
* Etymology
The Middle English form ribe probably occurred about 1300, and about 1325 the word was recorded as ruby.
The word was borrowed into English from Old French rubi (c.f. modern French rubis, Spanish rubi, rubin, Portuguese rubim, Italian rubino), which probably comes from medieval Latin rubinus lapis, meaning red stone, or rubi:nus, a noun which was derived from an adjective formed on the base of Latin rubeus, ruber, meaning red.
The sardonyx is the August birthstone, and it represents married happiness.
* Etymology
The word sardonyx, "the Sardian Onyx" was first recorded in the English language in the 14th century. The word was borrowed from Latin sardonyx, an adaption of Greek sardónux, presumably formed on sárdios (the capital of Lydia in Asia Minor) + ónux ONYX
Onyx: The word for onyx was oniche when it first appeared in the English language, in the 13th century. It was borrowed from Old French oniche, onix which in turn had been borrowed from Latin, accusative onycha, nominative onyx.
The Latin word is an adoption of Greek ónukha, ónux referring to a claw or nail, and also to the onyx stone, from its resemblance to the colour of the finger nail. The Greek word ónukha, ónux has also developed into the word nail. It is related to Sanskrit nakha-, Russian nogote and English nail.
The sapphire, which is a symbol of purity and wisdom, is the birthstone for September. It is believed to protect against dark spirits such as envy, and some ancient writers claimed that the Ten Commandments were written on sapphire.
Since the sapphire reflects six rays of light, and six is the number sacred to Venus, it used to be a love amulet. It is also said to change colour or refuse to shine when worn by an unfaithful mate. Moreover, the sapphire is said to be an antidote against poison and to be able to stop bleeding and cure illnesses of the eyes. It is believed to be so powerful that it continues to protect the original owner even after it has been sold.
* History
The name sapphire was used earlier for different kinds of stones. In ancient history, and partly into the Middle Ages, sapphire usually referred to today’s lapis lazuli. About 1800 they noticed that ruby and sapphire are precious qualities of corundum. At first it was only the blue variety that was called sapphire, while all the other corundums, except the red ones, were given special names, which were often misleading, e.g. "oriental peridot" for the green variety, or "oriental topaz" for the yellow corundum.
Nowadays the word sapphire refers to all the corundums of precious quality, except the red ones which are called rubies, and the sapphire’s different colours are specified by adding the colour to the name, e.g. green or yellow sapphire. If the word is used without a prefix to the name, it always refers to the blue corundum.
* Colours
Sapphires can be different shades of blue, colourless, pink, orange, yellow, green, violet or black.
* Etymology
The word was first recorded in the English language in the 13th century, as the Middle English form saphir, safir. The word is an adaption of Old French safir (modern French saphir), which in turn was borrowed from Latin sapphi:rus, sapp(h)ir, directly derived from Greek sáppheiros, probably referring to lapis lazuli.
Greek took the word from Hebrew sappi:r, referring to a sapphire, which had borrowed it from Sanskrit sanipriya(m), literally meaning "dear to Saturn", sanis being the name of the planet Saturn. The word sanipriya(m) also came to refer to the sapphire, since gems were often connected with names of planets.
The Opal is the October birthstone. It represents hope, innocence and purity, and is believed to dispel melancholy. In the Middle Ages the opals were thought to protect the blond colour of fair-haired girls, if they were worn in the hair.
The ancient Romans believed that the stone was the king of gems, since it contained all the colours of the rainbow. However, the fact that the opal changes colour so easily has also led to the belief that the stone represents inconstancy, and is often thought unlucky unless the wearer has an October birthday.
In the 19th century the stone was considered an unlucky stone in Europe, while it was a symbol of fidelity and hope in the Orient.
* Characteristics
What is characteristic of the opal is its opalescent change of colour; a gleam in all the colours of the rainbow, that changes according to the visual angle. Opals always contain some water, from very little up to 30%, and with time the stone can lose its water, and therefore become cracked and lose its changing of colour. By moistening the stone with oil or water the cracks will disappear, but only for a while. By keeping the stones in damp cotton wool you can prevent them from ageing and enhance the opalescent change of colour. The opal is also sensitive to pressure and shocks.
* Colours
Opals can be either white, grey, blue, green, orange or black; with opalescent changing of colour.
* Etymology
The word was first recorded in the English language in the 16th century. It is an adaption of French opale or Latin opalus, both referring to the opal. The Latin borrowed the word from Greek opallius, which apparently comes from Sanskrit úpala(s), meaning a stone, especially a precious one, c.f. taparna-upalas, meaning a fabulous gem, and rasa-upalas, meaning a pearl.
The Topaz is the November birthstone. It represents fidelity and is traditionally held to be a cure for sleeplessness. Passion, long life, beauty and intelligence are other associated attributes. The topaz is also the stone with the widest range of attributed curative powers; it has been said to cool tempers, cure asthma, protect against sudden death and to cure insanity, among other things.
* Colours
Topaz stones can be colourless, yellow, red/brown, pale blue, rose-red or pale green. The most common colour of the topaz is yellow or colourless, but the sky blue shade is the most popular today.
* Etymology
The Middle English word was topace, tupace, whence Chauser’s Sir Topas; spelt tupace, and was an adaption of Old French or Middle French topace, topase (modern French topaze).
The French borrowed the word from Latin topazus, topazon, tupazion, meaning a topaz, which in turn was borrowed from Greek tópazos, topázion, referring to the yellow oriental topaz. The Greek word for the topaz probably comes from an island in the Red Sea, which the Greeks called Topazas or Topazos. The Chrysolites, not unlike topaz, were discovered on that island. It is probable that the name is of eastern origin, c.f. Sankskrit tapas, meaning fire, tap, or "to shine".
The turquoise is the December birthstone, and it is believed to represent harmony. Deposits in Sinai were quarried as early as 4000 B.C. The turquoise was then used as decoration or as amulets.
* Colours
The turquoise can be sky-blue, blue/green, apple-green; often with brown or black spots.
* How to Take Care of the Stone
The colour of the turquoise may change under the influence of light, sweat, oils, cosmetics etc., and also if the stone loses its natural dampness. Rings with turquoise stones should be removed when you wash your hands, and the colour is enhanced by polishing.
* Etymology
The word was borrowed into the English language from Middle French, and was first recorded in English in the 14th century. The Middle English form was turkeis, later turkes, turques (15th century), turkoise, turquoise (16th century).
The Middle French word Turc, meaning Turk, had the adjective turqueis, turquois, turcois, (the feminine forms added an -e at the end) so that la pierre turquoise (-queise etc.) meant the "Turkish stone". The stone got its name either because it was first found in Turkey, or because it reached Europe through Turkey.
Jewels and precious stones have been used both as adornment, status symbols, and symbols of social class and other kinships for a very long period of time. Originally they were thought to have supernatural powers, and there are still a lot of traditions and superstitions connected with different jewels.
This essay has dealt with some pieces of jewellery that are particularly connected with weddings, such as the wedding ring and the bridal crown, and also with the so-called birth-stones, since they are a very popular choice in e.g. engagement and wedding rings today. The essay has included a historical presentation of each jewel and stone, as well as some superstition that is connected with it. In some cases other facts, such as how to take care of some of the gemstones, have been included. Furthermore, I have looked at the etymology the name of each jewel and stone.
Erika Lokander
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Ädelstenar och prydnadsstenar. Walter Schumann. translated into Swedish and revised by Florence Vilén. P A Norstedt & söners förlag 1980. Original title: Edelsteine und Schmucksteine. BLV Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, München, 1976.
Smycken, guld, silver och ädla stenar, sanning och sägen. Karin Hemtke. Kommuntryckeriet (Huddinge municipality) 1988.
Planeten Jorden, Ädelstenar, by Paul O’Neil and the editorial staff at Time-Life Books. translated into Swedish and revised by Björn Sundquist. original title: Gemstones. 1985 Time-Life Books B.V., Amsterdam. original U.S. edition 1984 Time-Life Books Inc.
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www.atlantabridal.com/html/planning/rings/birthstones.html