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Welcome to our extensive antique jewelry glossary with around 1,500 jewelry related entries.If you feel you are missing an explanation, feel free to let us know and we will add it.
Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist traditions mingled with Pagan legends led to the association of certain stones with different months, astrological signs, Tribes of Israel and Apostles but also with healing powers for social, physological, metaphysical and even medical conditions.
Not that we necessarily promote or believe such claims, but we think they make for interesting conversation. We also would like to emphasize that buying a precious stone for any of such reasons is one's own responsibility and Adin can not be held accountable if the obtained result is not as desired.
A birthstone or month stone is a gemstone designated by custom, religious tradition, and superstition as being related to the month or day of one's birth.
In the 18th century the relationship of stones with months was popularized but it was based mainly on the colours of the stones. Owing to the fact that several stones have the same colours, confusion resulted, so that in 1937 the National Association of Goldsmiths of Great Britain established a uniform list (with some alternatives for the more costly stones).
While this word has also been used as synonym of birthstone or month stone, there is a separate list of assignment according to the day of the week of the recipient's birth.
A person's birthday is usually recorded according to the time zone of the place of birth. Thus people born in Samoa at 11:30 PM will record their birthdate as one day before UTC and those born in the Line Islands will record their birthdate one day after UTC. They will apparently be born two days apart, while some of the apparently older ones may be younger in hours.
Those who live in different time zones from their birth often exclusively celebrate their birthdays at the local time zone. In addition, the intervention of Daylight Saving Time can result in a case where a baby born second being recorded as having been born up to an hour before their predecessor (but the time the clock is changed back is such that the second of twins does not have an earlier birthday).
The history of Astrology encompasses a great span of human history and many cultures. The belief in a connection between the cosmos and terrestrial matters has also played an important part in human history.
The Israelites is the English name for the nation of Israel who were the dominant cultural and ethnic group living in the southern Levant in Biblical times between (1273 and 423 BCE), composing the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah after 797 BCE. According to the Tanakh, they were divided in twelve tribes, each descending from one of the twelve sons and grandsons of Jacob. Modern Jews share this common descent.
The Israelites were traditionally divided into family lines each called a shevet or mateh in Hebrew meaning literally a staff or rod. The term is conventionally translated as "tribe" in English although the divisions were not small isolated distinct ethnic groups in the modern sense of the term.
More info on the Twelve tribes of Israel
The Twelve Apostles (Greek: "apostolos" or "someone sent out", e.g. with a message or as a delegate) were, according to the Synoptic Gospels (i.e., the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke) and Christian tradition, disciples (followers) whom Jesus of Nazareth had chosen, named, and trained in order to send them on a specific mission. After the Apostle Judas Iscariot had betrayed Jesus, the remaining Apostles under the leadership of Simon Peter filled the vacancy by electing by lot Matthias, a companion of theirs ever since they themselves had followed Jesus, so that by the time of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost they actually numbered twelve again.
More info on the Twelve Apostles
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