February! When the heck did THAT get here!
By La Petite AcadienneI am soooooooo sorry, February ladies! (Including my own mother, whose birthday was on the 18th — Hi Mom! Love you!)
It’s not that I forgot about YOU, it’s that I forgot that I’ve been doing birthstone posts. My only excuse is the short-term memory loss brought about by severe sleep deprivation (ref: “Pearly Whites”).
So, if you will forgive me and still love me, I will now do my best to bring you all sorts of lovely goodness.
The irony of it is that February’s birthstone, amethyst, is actually one of my favourite semi-precious stones. I definitely share Anne Shirley’s love for them:
“I think amethysts are just sweet. They are what I used to think diamonds were like. Long ago, before I had ever seen a diamond, I read about them and I tried to imagine what they would be like. I thought they would be lovely glimmering purple stones. When I saw a real diamond in a lady’s ring one day I was so disappointed I cried. Of course, it was very lovely but it wasn’t my idea of a diamond. Will you let me hold the brooch for one minute, Marilla? Do you think amethysts can be the souls of good violets?”
Anne wound up choosing a pearl as her engagement ring. She didn’t want a diamond, because she was forever reminded of her disappointment that they weren’t purple. Pity she never saw this ring.
Gorgeous, no? I love the simple setting, letting the stone take centre stage.
Here are some other amethyst lovelies that would have turned Josie Pye a most unflattering shade of green.
I love the delicacy of this necklace and the contrasting chains. So pretty!
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These pyrite-and-amethyst earrings are so unusual, but so lovely.
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I also love the shape of these earrings with their amethyst drops.
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Of course, if our Anne really wanted to steal the show, and still wanted to incorporate pearls into her look, she could have worn this stunning bracelet:
Isn’t it all just so romantic, Marilla?
Bisous!
LPA
February 21st, 2011 at 2:02 am
w00t! I love me some Green Gables! Thanks for the opportunity to discuss Anne and jewelry, two of my favorite things.
Anne actually picked a “circlet of pearls” as her engagement ring. I am guessing that it must have looked something like this:
http://www.katehinesjewelry.com/jewelry/pearl-circlet-ring
Anne seemed to have a thing for pearls in addition to amethysts, as she wore pearl beads to recite at a charity concert, and I believe later on one of her children tries to buy her a “real” pearl necklace as a gift, only to find out it was a fake.
That might have been L.M. Montgomery speaking, though – in the book The Blue Castle, a pearl necklace becomes part of the plot.
Also, those pyrite earrings rawk.
February 21st, 2011 at 8:33 am
You’ve got it, Monica! And yes, she did like pearls — and yes, poor Jem was so heartbroken when he found out that the pearls he bought his mommy weren’t real.
Those books were just perfect, weren’t they?
February 22nd, 2011 at 9:31 pm
I love Anne of Green Gables! And those hoops with the amethyst briolettes are awesome.
February 23rd, 2011 at 12:29 pm
Man, I just looked it up, and realized that the TV miniseries (from which that image was taken) was in 1985!!! 26 years ago!
I feel so old now.
March 1st, 2011 at 12:35 pm
My engagement ring is an amethyst! I chose it because purple is my favorite color, and also because I don’t really like diamonds. I didn’t know I had something in common with Anne of Green Gables! Oh, and that pearl and amethyst bracelet is lovely. I think I “need” that.