SILVER
Silver has been known since ancient times. It is mentioned in the book of Genesis, and slag heaps found in Asia Minor and on the islands of the Aegean Sea indicate that silver was being separated from lead as early as the 4th millennium BC.
Silver has been used for thousands of years for ornaments and utensils, for trade, and as the basis for many monetary systems. Its value as a precious metal was long considered second only to gold. In Ancient Egypt and Medieval Europe, it was often more valuable than gold.
Associated with the moon, as well as with the sea and various lunar goddesses, the metal was referred to by alchemists by the name luna.

GOLD
Gold has been known and highly valued since prehistoric times. It may have been the first metal used by humans and was valued for ornamentation and rituals. Egyptian hieroglyphs from as early as 2600 BCE describe gold, which king Tushratta of the Mitanni claimed was as "common as dust" in Egypt. Egypt and Nubia had the resources to make them major gold-producing areas for much of history. Gold is also mentioned several times in the Old Testament. The south-east corner of the Black Sea was famed for its gold. Exploitation is said to date from the time of Midas, and this gold was important in the establishment of what is probably the world's earliest coinage in Lydia between 643 and 630 BCE.
The European exploration of the Americas was fueled in no small part by reports of the gold ornaments displayed in great profusion by Native American peoples, especially in Central America, Peru, and Colombia.
Gold has long been considered one of the most precious metals, and its value has been used as the standard for many currencies (known as the gold standard) in history. Gold has been used as a symbol for purity, value, royalty, and particularly roles that combine these properties.
There is an age-old tradition of biting gold in order to test its authenticity. Although this is certainly not a professional way of examining gold, the bite test should score the gold because gold is considered a soft metal according to the Mohs' scale of mineral hardness. The purer the gold the easier it should be to mark it. Painted lead can cheat this test because lead is softer than gold.
Gold in antiquity was relatively easy to obtain geologically; however, 75% of all gold ever produced has been extracted since 1910. It has been estimated that all the gold in the world that has ever been refined would form a single cube 66 fta side.
The primary goal of the alchemists was to produce gold from other substances, such as lead — presumably by the interaction with a mythical substance called the philosopher's stone. Although they never succeeded in this attempt, the alchemists promoted an interest in what can be done with substances, and this laid a foundation for today's chemistry. Their symbol for gold was the circle with a point at its center, which was also the astrological symbol, the Egyptian hieroglyph and the ancient Chinese character for the Sun.
During the 19th century, gold rushes occurred whenever large gold deposits were discovered, including the California, Colorado, Otago, Australian, Witwatersrand, Black Hills, and Klondike gold rushes.
Because of its historically high value, much of the gold mined throughout history is still in circulation in one form or another.

TITANIUM
Titanium was discovered in England by Reverend William Gregor in 1791. At around the same time, Franz Joseph Muller also produced a similar substance, but could not identify it. The element was independently rediscovered several years later by German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth in rutile ore. Klaproth confirmed it as a new element and in 1795 he named it for the Latin word for Earth (also the name for the Titans of Greek mythology).
The metal has always been difficult to extract from its various ores. Pure metallic titanium (99.9%) was first prepared in 1910 by Matthew A. Hunter by heating TiCl4 with sodium in a steel bomb at 700–800 °C in the Hunter process. Titanium metal was not used outside the laboratory until 1946 when William Justin Kroll proved that titanium could be commercially produced by reducing titanium tetrachloride with magnesium in the Kroll process which is the method still used today.
In 1950–1960s the Soviet Union attempted to corner the world titanium market as a tactic in the Cold War to prevent the American military from utilizing it. In spite of these efforts, the U.S. obtained large quantities of titanium when a European company set up a front for the U.S. foreign intelligence agencies to purchase it. Indeed, titanium for the highly successful U.S. SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft was acquired from the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War.

BIRTHSTONES

A birthstone is a gift of a precious material that symbolizes the month of birth (in the Gregorian Calendar).
It is sometimes also called birthday stone (cf. infra; but that word is, confusingly, sometimes used as a synonym for an anniversary gift, which is related to the recipient's age, i.e. year of birth).
There have been many different sets of birthstones used throughout history and in different cultures, but in 1912 the American national association of jewelers, Jewelers of America, officially adopted the following list; it is currently the most widely used list in the United States and many other places, including Australia (a jeweler's 'modern' list states they are selected for bright colors) and Thailand:
January: garnet, colour: dark red
February: amethyst; colour: purple
March: aquamarine; colour: pale blue
April: diamond; colour: white (clear)
May: emerald; colour: bright green
June: pearl (the only non-gem) or moonstone; colour: cream
July: ruby; colour: red
August: peridot; colour: pale green
September: sapphire; colour: deep blue
October: opal or tourmaline; colour: variegated
November: topaz; colour: yellow
December: turquoise or blue topaz; colour: sky blue

ZODIAC STONES

There is an astrological version of the birthstones using the twelve zodiac signs instead of the twelve calendar months. Listed below are the corresponding dates for the tropical sun signs and their associated birthstone.
Aries (March 21 - April 20) Diamond
Taurus (April 20 - May 21) Sapphire
Gemini (May 21 - June 20) Spinel
Cancer (June 21 - July 22) Emerald
Leo (July 23 - August 22) Ruby
Virgo (August 23 - September 22) Opal
Libra (September 23 - October 23) Peridot
Scorpio (October 24 - November 21) Aquamarine
Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21) Topaz
Capricorn (December 22 - January 21) Garnet
Aquarius (January 20 - February 18) Amethyst and moonstone
Pisces (February 19 - March 20) Diamond

BIRTHDAY STONES

While this word has also been used as synonym of Birth stone (see above), there is a separate list of assignment according to the day of the week of the recipient's birth:
Monday : Pearl (again the only non-gem)
Tuesday : Garnet
Wednesday : Cat's eye (Chatoyant Chrysoberyl)
Thursday : Emerald
Friday : Topaz
Saturday : Sapphire
Sunday : Ruby

PROTECTION
Always protect your jewellery from sharp blows, scratching, chemicals, sunlight and heat/cold. Ideally, store your jewellery in a soft lined box or pouch. Try to keep pieces apart, so that they don't rub together or tangle up.
• Wear jewellery for appropriate tasks, avoid wearing rings when cleaning, gardening or performing sports activities.
• Don't let your jewellery come into contact with nail polish removers, perfume and hairspray
• Clean your jewellery regularly, use a professional jewellery cleaning product (always read the manufacturers instructions)
• When washing your hands (away from home) - don't place your rings on the wash basin - remove them and place them onto your necklace or place in a pouch in your handbag/purse
• Never go swimming in your jewellery, chlorine in swimming pools can cause damage

STORAGE
Protect your jewellery when it is not being worn by separating it from other jewellery, using a separate compartment in your jewellery box.

Gems and gem quality items, improperly stored, can damage each other. Diamonds, for example, may scratch rubies, sapphires, or emeralds, and in certain situations, each other. To be on the safe side, be sure that gemstones and jewellery do not touch.

Because of their softness, cultured pearls need special care. Clean and dry them prior to storing your pearls in a special chamois pouch safe from potential harm.

TITANIUM
To refresh titanium jewellery you should use a scotch-brite.The scotch-brite can be found as one of the layers in most of the kitchen sponges. The scotch-brite should be adequately rough.
By moving the scotch-brite forward and back on the titanium surface (be careful with gold) refresh your jewellery.

MAINTAINING YOUR GEM'S COROLFUL SPARKLE
Retaining the finish and value of your gemstone jewellery is quite easy. It's simply a matter of knowing what and what not to do.
• The best single piece of advise we can give you is to wipe your precious stone jewellery with a clean, soft damp cloth after wearing. This little habit will ensure that your jewellery is always looking its best.
• When your gemstone jewellery is not being worn, storage in a soft pouch is recommended.
• There are some things to avoid. Salt water and harsh chemicals such as chlorine bleach or detergents can cause damage. The chemicals erode the finish and polish of the gems leaving them dull. Hairspray, perfume and perspiration can also cause dullness if not regularly cleaned off.
• Because gemstones differ so much, so do their cleaning procedures. It really is best to have your jeweller advise you on them individually.
Keeping silver bright and shiny.
As with most precious metals, in time silver will oxidize. Properly maintained silver actually improves with age. It develops a lush patina when treated well.
• Simply clean with a mild soap and water solution. Pat dry with a soft cloth. If dirt is more stubborn a silver cleaner is appropriate. But don't rub silver with anything other than a polishing cloth or fine piece of felt. Tissue paper or paper towels will cause scratches.

• Like other jewellery, avoid wearing silver in chlorinated water as this will discolour it.

• Store your silver jewellery in a cool, dry, dark place. A tarnish preventative bag is a good idea, or wrapped individually in a soft piece of felt or cloth.

• As air and light cause silver to tarnish, the less of them the better when stored.

Keeping your gold jewellery in mint condition.
Retaining the finish and value of your gold jewellery is quite easy. It's simply a matter of knowing what and what not to do.
• To help protect against scratching, it's good practice to separate your gold jewellery in a compartmentalised jewellery box.
• Because soap tends to cause a film that can make gold appear dull and dingy, it's worthwhile removing your jewellery when you shower or bathe.
• The gold in most jewellery is an alloy. That is, it is a mixture of different metals. The inclusion of these other metals enable gold to be practical in every day usage. However because of these same inclusions, your jewellery can tarnish. This tarnishing can be caused by many things: perfume, after shave, fluoride in water or even the acidity in your skin. However this doesn't present you with a problem.
A soft jewellery polishing cloth with tarnish preventive will help you keep the gold pieces lustrous and shining. These solutions and cloth are available through your showcase jeweller.

Warning!
The procedures for cleaning gold should not be used if your gold jewellery contains any precious stones, pearls or opals. To clean these requires careful and expert attention.