Abcde’s necklace

I collected so many gemstones for the Mohs project that I nearly had the whole alphabet anyway, so the step into making acrostic jewellery wasn’t a big one.

The Victorians were big fans of what they called the ‘language of gemstones’ - using the first letter of a gem’s name as a way to spell out words and phrases in jewellery.

These were usually discreet declarations of their emotions, with words like ‘dearest’ being popular (Diamond, Emerald, Amethyst, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, Topaz).

The word ‘regards’ (Ruby, Emerald, Garnet, Amethyst, Ruby, Diamond) was also very popular as an engagement ring acrostic gemstone setting, though I should note that the word had a much more passionate and loving tone than it does nowadays.

Personally, I only ever use ‘regards’ to sign off an email to someone who has really annoyed me and does not deserve my usual ‘cheers’ or ‘thanks v much’.

Getting it eXactly right

Jewellers often found it difficult to manage all the letters of the word they wanted, so often finagled it a little, using things like ‘fine opal’ for F.

The idea for acrostic jewellery originated in France, so there are translation considerations, plus some gems were known under different names in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; so decoding Victorian acrostics can involve a little guesswork.

Also, the names do seem to thin out in the usual areas of the English alphabet; it is slim pickings for the likes of ‘X’ and some of the other ‘goth letters.’ However, given that I managed to collect over 100 gems for the Mohs necklace, I was undaunted and could feel my brain doing that tingly thing it does when it has detected a delicious cerebral snack.

Now I know my A, B, C…

I spent a while looking through historical gem alphabets online and having a little think, and soon collated my own alphabet to use for secret shiny messages. Of particular importance was finding something other than diamond for ‘D’ because I unfortunately need to spend most of my money on boring things like ‘being able to eat and pay the mortgage’, and not shiny rocks. Ugh.

I have ended up with more than one option for several of the letters, so can mix and match depending on how the colours work for individual words. The main string is called ‘Abcde’s necklace’ as I saw it on the r/tragedeigh sub and it made me laugh (apparently it’s pronounced ‘ab-siddy’…).

Anyway, see below for my personal gem alphabet, and the necklace I made for myself to test the concept. It which was a bit of a labour of love, and it spells ‘Sheena Loves Gavin Rascal Dolly! ❤

• Amber

• Amazonite

• Anhydrite

• Aragonite

• Aventurine

• Amethyst

• Andalusite

• Beryl

• Calcite

• Carnelian

• Celestine

• Charoite

• Chrysoberyl

• Chrysoprase

• Citrine

• Cubic zirconia

• Dumortierite

• Emerald

• Fluorite

• Garnets

• Haematite

• Howlite

• Iolite

• Jet

• Jadeite

• Kunzite

• Kyanite

• Lapis lazuli

• Larvikite

• Labradorite

• Mother of pearl

• Moonstone

• Nephrite jade

• Onyx

• Opal

• Pearl

• Peridot

• Prehnite

• Quartz

• Rhodonite

• Rhyolite

• Ruby

• Sodalite

• Serpentine

• Snowflake obsidian

• Sunstone

• Sapphire

• Thulite

• Tourmaline

• Topaz

• Tanzanite

• Unakite

• Vesuvianite

• Wood (petrified)

• Xanthic opal

• Yellow sapphire

• Zircon