Mazaher on Monnot Street

A few minutes away from the bustling Fouad Chehab “ring” intersection, in the residential district of Achrafieh, lies Monnot Street, an urban historical gem. Lined with orange blossoms this charming Street has known countless changes over the past half-century. Sometimes written with one “n” sometimes two, Monnot Street is a mobile entity like most of Beirut’s urban planning that knows no respite since the 1990s.

This narrow and sloping street of 640m long once served as a demarcation line between East and West Beirut during the civil war. After the war it became a recreational hot spot for Beirut’s golden youth, with pubs, theaters and clubs packed with party-goers every night of the week.

Today, the orange trees decorating the street’s sideways infuse the air with the fragrant smell of orange blossom. Passersbys can be seen chatting and picking the sweet white flowers from the trees, inhaling their exhilarating smell.

Orange Blossom Water

The flowers of these bitter orange trees, are picked and distilled to make “Mazaher” orange blossom water, used to flavour many Lebanese food or drinks. It is said Mazaher was promoted with the invention of the alembic during the Umayyad caliphate (AD 661-750), and rapidly became widespread. The famous Lebanese “white coffee” is made by adding a drop of orange blossom water to a cup of boiling water, a soothing drink that is known to help with sleep and digestion.

An artistic encounter on Monnot Street

Noor, a young Lebanese artist showing us one of her latest etchings on Monnot Street. It depicts a woman hanging from a bouquet of strawberries. “The strawberries are keeping the woman safe, despite everything she is going through” explains Noor.

Noor wearing our fraise pendant.

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Sunny Citrine

Quartz which includes the citrine gemstone, have been used for thousands of years and were very popular ornaments during the Hellenistic Age and throughout the Roman period. They resurfaced during the Victorian era. It is said Queen Victoria was particularly fond of citrine as it could be found locally in the Scottish Highlands. Citrines during that time were often used in Scottish shoulder brooches and kilt pins. The gemstone then grew extremely popular again in the 1930s and 1940s during the Art Deco movement where they were used as decorative ornaments on jewellery, clothing and even household items!

Citrines just like amethysts belong to quartz family. Not only is quartz one of the most abundant minerals on the earth’s continental crust, it is a robust and ideal gemstone to use in jewellery as it does not present any “cleavage” and has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale. There are two main varieties within the quartz family: macro-crystalline quartz that form large distinct crystals which includes citrine, amethyst, prasiolite and amétrine; and micro-crystalline quartz that is composed of minute crystals gathered together such as jasper, agate and chalcedony.

The citrine’s name derives from the latin “citrus” meaning “lemon tree” due to its natural yellow to brownish-orange shades. The gemstone was officially named in 1556 by Georg Bauer, the father of mineralogy, and was long confused with yellow topaz a completely different gemstone with a higher reflective index and hardness. Most citrines come from Brazil, but they can also be found in Zambia, Bolivia, Canada and Uruguay. The most valuable citrine is called Madeira citrine after the fortified Portuguese wine from the Madeira Islands which shares the same golden-brown colour.

Citrines are sometimes referred to as the “merchant’s stone” as they are said to bring prosperity and abundance to those who wear it. It is a stone that helps in the manifestation of certain goals or objectives. It is considered to boost confidence, courage and encourages decision and risk taking - a great stone for entrepreneurs as it also fosters optimism and concentration.

The citrine is the birthstone for the month of November, it’s a delightfully warm stone, that’s beautiful to wear in summer on bright sunny days or autumn as leaves turn golden-orange, a romantic and fascinating stone that evokes vitality and happiness.

SOME OF OUR PRE-OWNED CITRINE RINGS