Using Birthstones in Wholesale Jewelry Making

Birthstones will be a major part of many of your original handcrafted jewelry creations. Unfortunately buying birthstones is not exactly cheap. A jewelry wholesale source for birthstones is required to buy the stones at an affordable price. Wholesale prices are much lower than retail, especially when buying in bulk. We should apply this principle when buying birthstones to save money.

Jewelry with embedded birthstones are a perennial favorite. They make ideal birthday gifts and Christmas gifts. Birthstones run the whole range of gems, some of which are quite inexpensive such as opals, while others like rubies, diamonds, and emeralds are very expensive.

A cheaper alternative are simulated stones, however your customers have to be notified of the fact that the stones on a particular piece is not real. While the lower cost of the simulated stones are reflected on the final cost of the piece, some customers will still want the real thing regardless of the higher cost they have to pay. In such situations you will have to buy the real stones.

A large number of wholesale jewelry companies do business online and often compete head to head with each other. Such competition has the beneficial effect of lowering prices across the board, making the Internet the ideal place to look for birthstones. Be sure to check the reputation of the company you are buying from and to make sure the gems you are buying are the real deal and are of a good quality.

Be sure you use the right stone for the piece you are making. Depending on the tradition that is followed, each month has different gems associated with it. Check with your client that the stone you are using is what the client wishes, notifying them of the different traditions that exists when it comes to birthstones.

Birthstones are also known as zodiac stones and have four main traditions associated with them; these being traditional birthstones, modern birthstones, mystical birthstones and Ayurvedic birthstones. It is interesting to note that modern birthstones have their origin in 1912 with the Jewelers of America, the national association of jewelers in the United States. The modern tradition is most widely used in the U.S.  and many other countries. Tanzanite was added as a birthstone for December buy the American Gem Trade Association as late as 2002.

Traditional birthstones have their origin from a number of different traditions, but it is mostly based on the Gregorian calendar. Mystical birthstones date back thousands of years and can trace their origin to Tibet. Ayurvedic birthstones belong to the Ayurvedic School of medicine and philosophy that is still practiced today and has its roots in ancient India circa 1500 B.C.

There are also so-called birthday stones, which are unique from birthstones. Where birthstones depend on the month one was born, birthday stones depend on the day of one's birth. Using birthstones or birthday stones in your jewelry is a great way to interact with your clients as it requires you to find out about their backgrounds, birthdays and personal beliefs. The more you learn about your clients, the more unique your creations will be.

Here are some Internet resources on birthstones:
http://www.about-birthstones.com/birthstone-list.html
http://www.gems4friends.com/birthstones.html
http://www.americangemsociety.org/birthstones.htm