As winter settles in, the December birthstones, turquoise and zircon, bring cool shades of sparkle to the season. Their beautiful blues and greens evoke frosted landscapes and the shimmer of festive lights, making them the perfect gems to wear in the festive season.
Georgian Turquoise and Pearl Locket Ring c.1830
Turquoise
Turquoise is one of the world’s oldest known gemstones and has been used in jewellery since antiquity. It has been mined in the Nishapur district of Iran, previously known as Persia, for over a thousand years, producing some of the finest material known. Other historic sources include Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, Tibet and the American Southwest.
The name derives from the French 'pierre turquoise', meaning ‘Turkish stone’, a reference to the trade routes through which it first reached Europe from Persia in the Middle Ages. Formed through the gradual percolation of mineral-rich water in copper deposits, turquoise displays colours ranging from delicate greenish tones to the prized Persian blue.
Victorian Turquoise 3 Stone Gypsy Ring circa 1896
Across cultures, turquoise has carried spiritual significance. In ancient Egypt, turquoise adorned the regalia of pharaohs and high-status elites, with its vivid colour symbolising rebirth and divine protection. Excavations of tombs in the Valley of the Kings have revealed elaborate turquoise inlays, including those on the gold death mask of Tutankhamun and in the beaded collars of the 18th Dynasty. The Egyptians sourced their turquoise from the Sinai Peninsula, referring to the region as Mafkat or the ‘Land of Turquoise’. Miners carved dedications to the goddess Hathor, patron of miners and the ‘Lady of Turquoise’, at the entrances to the Serabit el-Khadim mines, revealing how deeply the stone was woven into religious life.
It served as both a ceremonial gem and a currency among Native American tribes of the Southwest, who used it in jewellery and amulets as a symbol of protection and strength. The stone was also regarded as a talisman in medieval
Europe, where it was worn by knights and travellers for safety and good fortune.
Art Nouveau Turquoise and Diamond Earrings c.1905
By the late Georgian period, turquoise gained new symbolic associations in European jewellery. Its bright colour made it ideal for ‘acrostic’ pieces, where gemstones spelt out hidden messages according to the first letter of each stone. Turquoise represented ‘T’ in sentimental pieces of jewellery, forming part of secret inscriptions such as ‘REGARD’ or ‘DEAREST’. Its softness made it easy to cabochon and pave-set, creating tightly clustered designs so characteristic of early 19th-century jewellery.
By the 19th century, turquoise had become a favourite of European jewellers, its popularity spurred by Queen Victoria’s own love of the gem. Romanticism and the sentimental ‘language of flowers’ associated turquoise with fidelity, remembrance and true love, its colour echoing the forget-me-not.
Edwardian Pearl and Turquoise Necklace, Mürrle Bennett c.1905
Queen Victoria famously presented her bridesmaids with turquoise brooches in 1840, a gesture that firmly established its place in the jewellery of the era. Victorian jewellers delighted in the stone’s light hue and emotional resonance, setting clusters of cabochons in gold forget-me-not motifs or pairing them with seed pearls. Turquoise found new expression in the hands of Arts and Crafts designers, who loved the gemstone for its texture and beauty, echoing the movement's connection to nature and its championing of less popular gemstones.
Turquoise is naturally porous, meaning it can absorb oils and perfumes, which may darken or alter its colour over time. With a hardness of 5–6 on the Mohs scale, it is softer than many gems and can be scratched easily, so it requires some care when wearing. Avoid contact with lotions, perfumes and household chemicals, remove it before bathing or exercising, and store it separately from harder stones to prevent damage.
Zircon
Zircon is the lesser-known birthstone of December, admired for its extraordinary brilliance and range of colours. Its high refractive index and strong dispersion give it a fiery sparkle that rivals that of a diamond, sometimes leading to confusion between the two. The origin of the name zircon is debated, possibly from the Arabic zarkun, meaning ‘cinnabar’ or ‘vermilion’, or the Persian zargun, meaning ‘gold-coloured’.
Blue Zircon Trefoil Earrings c.1950
Zircon is among the oldest known minerals on Earth, with the oldest crystals dating back over 4.4 billion years, predating much of the Earth’s crust. It was valued in antiquity and known in the Middle Ages as 'hyacinth' or 'jacinth', terms used in both Biblical and classical texts to describe reddish-orange or brownish varieties. By the 16th and 17th centuries, zircon circulated through the major gem markets of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, traded alongside spinel and sapphire. The island of Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, became an important source, yielding fine, clear stones that were polished and exported to Europe.
It frequently appeared in inventories of royal collections. The Medici, Habsburg and Tudor courts all owned reddish or honey-coloured zircons, prized for their warm glow and suitability for candlelit interiors. It was believed to carry protective and even medicinal qualities; Renaissance lapidaries claimed it could soothe grief, fortify the heart and ward off plague vapours.
Art Deco Blue Zircon & Diamond Brooch c.1930
During the Georgian and Victorian periods, colourless and warm-toned zircons were used as substitutes for diamond or topaz. The gemstone’s appeal broadened in the late 19th century, when innovations in gem-cutting revealed its exceptional fire. Heat treatment techniques developed in the early 20th century transformed brown zircons into the vivid blue hues we recognise today. This discovery coincided perfectly with the aesthetics of Edwardian and Art Deco jewellery.
Zircon became a favourite in early 20th-century design. Jewellers embraced the vivid blue stone, setting it in cocktail rings, pendants and brooches, accented by diamonds. Zircon’s rise aligned perfectly with the Art Deco movement’s fascination with light and modernity. Its exceptional brilliance and dispersion made it ideal for showcasing the bold, architectural lines that defined the 1920s and 1930s. Designers sought gemstones that could perform under artificial light, particularly in evening jewellery worn in jazz clubs or cocktail bars. Blue zircon’s saturated colour appeared almost neon under these lights, and its hardness allowed cutters to experiment with the sharper facet patterns and shapes.
Art Deco Blue Zircon & Diamond Ring c.1935
Accessibility also played a key role in zircon’s popularity. At a time when global diamond and sapphire supplies were still stabilising after World War I, zircon provided an affordable alternative for jewellers to introduce intense colour into designs. This made zircon especially popular in jewellery made in Britain, France and the United States.
Mid-century jewellers continued to experiment with zircon, particularly in the United States, where blue zircon became a hallmark of glamorous post-war cocktail jewellery. Hollywood studios embraced the stone for its sparkle on screen, pairing large step-cut zircons with platinum mountings that caught the light under studio lamps. Designers of the 1950s and 1960s produced bold, futuristic pieces that reflected space age advancements, and vintage zircon jewels from this era remain highly collectable for their saturated hues and retro elegance.
Zircon is a naturally brilliant gemstone with a high refractive index. With a hardness of 6-7.5 on the Mohs scale and a relatively brittle crystal structure, it can be prone to chipping if struck. Some zircons may also be sensitive to high temperatures, which can affect their colour. To keep zircon looking its best, remove it before exercising or doing household chores, keep it away from extreme heat and store it separately from harder gemstones to prevent scratching.
At Thomas Glover, we are delighted to offer a curated selection of antique and vintage turquoise and zircon pieces. Whether you are marking a December birthday or simply looking for something special for the festive season, we have some wonderful examples available to explore.
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