Indian astrologers, however, count only nine gems or navaratna, while relating each to a planetary body that influences the destiny of a person at the time of his/her birth. At the centre lies the ruby, the powerful sun, in relation to which other heavenly bodies are placed in cardinal or intermediary points.

So, there are diamonds (impacted by Venus in the east), pearls (by the moon in the south-west), blue sapphire (by Saturn in the west), yellow sapphire (Jupiter in the north-west), emeralds (Mercury in the northeast), zircon (Rahu, the ascending node of the moon), cat’s eye (Ketu, descending node of the moon) and coral (Mars, south).

Of these, five are called Maharatnani or greater gems-diamond, ruby, emerald, sapphire and pearl. They are supposed to be the most powerful in terms of their healing and magical properties and far more versatile than zircon, cat’s eye or coral in application.

For all believers, here’s a ready reckoner on what each of the greater gems holds:

Diamond: As the "king" of all stones, diamonds are hardest and most expensive of all gems, primarily because they are supposed to bestow all heavenly powers on the wearer. Their unique ability to refract light had made the ancients believe that the stone was lightning frozen on ground.

Till the 18th century, India was the only known source for diamonds, mined mainly from the quarries of Golconda in Andhra Pradesh. Some of the world’s largest and most famous stones, including the Kohinoor (Mountain of Light") that adorns the British crown, have originated from Golconda.

Ruby: Associated with the sun, the gem is valued for its rich red warmth Indeed, the best rubies are those which "hold at their heart the deepest and truest red like the colour of a drop of blood shed on the white neck of a wounded dove"...or so the scriptures say.

Rubies are said to have been first discovered in the fabled mines of Burma (now Myanmar) and entire communities of merchants, such as the Chettiars of Tamil Nadu, had made their fortunes by trading in this beautiful Burmese gem.

Emerald: The gem of "eternal spring", the emerald was a great favourite of the Mughals. Its antiquity though, could be traced back to the times of he Rig Veda and Mahabharata. Geographically, its earliest source is supposed to be the Aswan mines of Egypt, which held a monopoly on the stone for centuries.

The monopoly was broken by the Spanish conquest of what is now known as Colombia. From the 16th century onwards, Colombian emeralds were sold to wealthy Indians and the nobility. Even today, India imports emeralds worth millions of dollars.

Sapphire: As a "gem of the heavens", sapphires have been cherished for their mystical properties for thousands of years. The Persians even believed that the earth lay upon a giant blue sapphire, which reflected the sun’s rays and gave the sky its colour.

In India, the most ‘astrologically potent’ sapphires are the mayor neelams (peacock blue) obtained from Kashmir. A far earlier source was Sri Lanka, whose stones are prized for the variety of shades, ranging from deep purple to midnight blue.

Pearl: A cooling gem of the moon, the pearl is the most widely and lavishly used gem in traditional Indian jewellery. There were two early sources-the Persian Gulf which yielded the famous Basra pearls and the Indian fisheries in the Gulf of Mannar. Traditionally, the best pearls remained in the custody of the royalty, which controlled the fisheries and trade in the gem. MF