If you had to pick one December birthstone, which would it be: tanzanite, turquoise or zircon?

Victorian era (1837 to 1901): Yellow gold engagement rings and rose gold engagement rings were popular during the Victorian era.

Art Nouveau Era (1890-1914): French for “new art,” Art Nouveau was a radical departure from historic revival styles.

Edwardian era (1900 to 1915): Platinum was typically used in Edwardian era engagement rings.

Art Deco era (1920s and 1930s): We think of Art Deco as cool and sophisticated, so it’s no wonder that white metal was popular during this period.

Retro era (1940s): Warmth, boldness and colour were signatures of this period. These designs had a sculptural quality that featured bold lines and geometric shapes softened with curves.

The gold content also known as fineness is a measure of a precious metal’s purity, and it’s based on parts per thousand (ppt).

Cut refers to how well a diamond's facets interact with light.

Colour refers to the natural tint inherent in white diamonds.

Clarity is a measure of the purity and rarity of the diamond, graded by the visibility of these characteristics under 10-power magnification.

Carat refers to the weight of a diamond, not the size, because carat weight can be deceptive.

Yellow gold is naturally yellow in colour. However, as pure gold is very soft it is usually mixed with alloy metals such as copper and zinc.

A Diamond is the only gem made of a single element, carbon.

Emerald is the green to greenish blue variety of beryl, a mineral species that also includes aquamarine as well as beryls in other colours.

The name “sapphire” belongs to the mineral species corundum that’s not red and doesn’t qualify as ruby.

Ruby is the most valuable variety of the corundum mineral species, which also includes sapphire.

Perhaps the best-loved gems of all time, pearls—both natural and modern cultured pearls—occur in a wide variety of colours.

Aquamarine is the green-blue to blue variety of the mineral beryl.

Quartz is one of the most common minerals on earth.

Garnets are a set of closely related minerals that form a group, resulting in gemstones in almost every colour.