Tanzanite – December’s New Birthstone

Tanzanite is relatively new on the gemstone market, but has left its mark. Its blue-lavender colour is rather unique and a wonderful addition to the gemstone palette.

Found in Tanzania in 1967, it has since become a well known and widely distributed gemstone. The only known source of Tanzanite is a five square mile hilltop at Merelani, ten miles south of the Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania.

It has become so popular that in October of 2002 the American Gem Trade Association announced that tanzanite had joined zircon and turquoise in the traditional list of birthstones for the month of December.

Tanzanite is associated with contentment and understanding.

To have your very own Tanzanite ring designed, contact us HERE, or view some of our beautiful Jewellery ONLINE.

Remember to find us on Facebook!

The Spring Fab Bridal Fair 2011

Hilligers Jewellery will be exhibiting at the Spring Fab Bridal Fair this year in Cape Town.

The Spring Fab Bridal Fair remains one of Cape Town’s most popular and well-supported bridal events. It has become so highly esteemed that it is now necessary to host it twice a year. The dates for 2011 have been confirmed for the 26th and 27th of November.

The Spring Fab Bridal Fair provides the ideal meeting spot for engaged couples, wedding planners and all of those important members of the bridal industry to meet one another and exchange inspirations and ideas.

Visitors will no doubt also enjoy the fashion shows at 11h00 and 15h00 on each of the days, all followed by beautiful ballroom dancing displays.

Venue:

Cape Town International Convention Centre

Opening Times:
26 November, Saturday: 09:00 – 17:00
27 November, Sunday: 09:00 – 16:30

Ticket Prices:
Day ticket – R70.00 per person
Pensioners – R65.00 per person
Students – R65.00 per person
Kids under 12 – free

Tickets can be bought at the door.

For More Information:
Carin Brynard
+27 (0)21 981 4737
www.fabbridal.co.za

WIN A WEDDING COMPETITION

One lucky couple will WIN a dream wedding worth thousands at this year’s Spring FAB Bridal Fair!

Future brides can enter the competition by visiting the show.

Details can be found at www.fabbridal.co.za

Feel free to pop in and visit Hilligers Jewellery at stand 41.

Opal - October's Birthstone

Opal is the modern birthstone for October and the gemstone gift for the 18th anniversary. Opal has been associated with hope, faith, and confidence. Opal has been a popular gem for many centuries.

Structurally it consists of tiny spheres with water filling the gaps. These spheres in most Opals are irregular in size and inconsistent in concentration. Yet in Precious Opal, the variety used most often in jewellery, there are many organized pockets of the spheres. These pockets contain spheres of approximately equal size and have a regular concentration, or structure, of the spheres. This has the effect of diffracting light at various wavelengths, creating colours. Each pocket produces a different colour, with a different intensity depending on the angle from which a viewer sees it. The multicoloured flashes of light that Opal emits gives it a truly beautiful and valuable look, called a play of light.

The Opal derives its name from the Latin word "opalus," meaning precious jewel. It has been mined for centuries, at least since Roman times when they extracted the opal from areas now within the Czech Republic. The Aztecs made use of local Mexican sources as did the Spaniards when they exported the material back to Europe.

The image above is a classic White Gold, Diamond, and Opal design by our designer Toni Rohm. The opal weight is 12.34 ct . It is a white opal with a fine play of colour. Red and orange is fairly predominate throughout the stone. If you are interested in purchasing this unique piece, please feel free to contact us.

Today most precious opal comes from Australia with significant sources from Mexico and the Western United States.

An alternate birthstone for October is Pink Tourmaline.

Visit our Hilligers Jewellery website HERE to see more beautiful Jewellery!



Sapphire - September's Birthstone

A gift of Sapphire represents sincerity and faithfulness and is second only to Diamond in hardness, making it a durable gemstone for setting into jewellery.

Named after the Greek word "sapphirus", meaning blue, Sapphires have long been a favorite among priests and kings, who considered them symbolic of wisdom and purity. Sapphires are prominent among the British Crown Jewels, and Prince Charles chose this as the engagement stone for his fiancée, Princess Diana.

 
The striking deep blue of a quality sapphire is reminiscent of a cloudless night sky and ancient civilizations believed that the world was set upon an enormous sapphire, which painted the sky blue with its reflection. 

Sapphire is a variety of the mineral corundum which is found in every color of the rainbow, with red being designated as ruby and all other hues Sapphire.  But the most prized color of Sapphire is a rich, deep blue. 

Visit our colour stones category HERE to see some of our beautiful Sapphire Jewellery or EMAIL us if you would like us to design your very own personal Sapphire Jewellery piece.

Visit Hilligers Jewellery ONLINE for more beautiful Jewellery…

Peridot - August's Birthstone

The beautiful green colour of peridot, with hint of gold, is the ideal birthstone for the month of August.

Peridot is a very old gemstone, and one which has become very popular again today. It is so ancient that it can be found in Egyptian jewellery from the early 2nd millennium B.C. Historical legend has it that peridot was the favourite gemstone of Cleopatra. The stones used at that time came from a deposit on a small volcanic island in the Red Sea, which was not rediscovered until about 1900.

Peridot is also found in Europe in medieval churches, where it adorns many treasures and shrines. During the baroque period, the rich green gemstone once again enjoyed great popularity.

Peridot is one of the few gemstones that occur in only one color, an olive green. The intensity and tint of the green depends on how much iron is contained in the internal crystal structure, so the color of individual peridot gems can vary from yellow- to olive- to brownish-green. The most valued color is a dark olive-green and was nicknamed “the emerald of the evening” by the ancient Romans. Peridot in general is a very abundant mineral, but gem quality peridot is rather rare. This makes the mineral precious.

Another interesting fact is that Peridot can be also found in meteorites.

For more information on this beautiful stone, or to have your very own peridot jewellery piece designed, feel free to contact us HERE.

You can also visit our Hilligers Jewellery Facebook Page for more information and specials.

About Us

Established in 1975, we are one of the major jewellery manufacturers in South Africa, with our design studio and workshop situated in the historical heart of Cape Town. We have also launced our very own online jewellery store, so please feel free to visit us!

 

HILLIGERS manufacture an extensive range of jewellery set with diamonds and other precious and semi-precious gemstones in 9ct, 14ct and 18ct  gold and platinum.
Our large range of designs are created by our in-house designers on an on-going basis to keep pace with market trends and to create new and innovative styling for our discerning clientele.

Gold and diamonds are sourced from refineries and diamond cutters in South Africa, thereby eliminating the middleman and supplying “from the ground to the finger”.

Our modern factory houses all the latest machinery and systems enabling us to combine the rich history and spirit of Africa with the modern world of today and to produce a fine quality product at a competitive price.

Diamonds supplied by HILLIGERS are of natural origin and do not originate from any conflict area in the world and we strictly adhere to the Kimberley process. These diamonds have not undergone any irradiation, laser drilling, colour enhancement, fracture treatment or fissure filling.

HILLIGERS is against Conflict Diamonds and supports the Kimberley Process.

For more information, click HERE to visit our website.

Thank you for visiting.