In one biblical episode, the Lord ordered Moses, the great Jewish lawgiver, to arrange 12 precious stones in four rows on the gown of his brother, the chief priest Aaron. The names of 12 family branches of Israel were to be encrusted on each stone in the following order: Reuben - on the sardion, Simon - on the topaz, Levi - on the emerald, Judah - on the ruby, Dan - on the sapphire, Naphtali - on the jasper, Gad - on the amber, Asher - on the agate, Issachar - on the amethyst, Zebulun - on the garnet, Joseph - on the beryl and Benjamin - on the onyx. When Aaron performed the service in church, all Jacob's twelve branches would appear symbolically before God through these precious stones, thus establishing a mystical contact between the Lord and His selected nation.
   The IV century Byzantine author, St. Epiphanies of Cyprus deals with this matter in his work “The Gems”. He examines these biblical precious stones not only in terms of their liturgical and mystical significance, but also from the mineralogical and curative perspectives. It appears that already in the early medieval ages, certain scientific observations already existed on the bioenergetics of precious stones. This has become particularly relevant in contemporary biomedicine, as it has been proven that precious stones possess their own curative energy: they either reflect or absorb negative charges, thus protecting their owner from evil forces or certain deceases. This is reflected in their changing color.
   It should be noted also that the most comprehensive version of “The Gems” by St. Epiphanies of Cyprus has been preserved in the Georgian language and is included in one of the most important manuscripts of the Georgian culture - “The Shatberdi Collection” (X century). Furthermore, each of the 12 precious stones of the Old Testament is associated with one of the 12  Apostles of Christ and zodiac signs.

Sardion

   According to St. Epiphanies, sardion - the precious stone correlated with Jacob's first son, Reuben - is found in Babylon and Mesopotamia. Its color is purple and it has been named after the blood-colored “sardion-fish”. This gem is distinguished by its natural brilliance. It is used to cure ulcers, pimples and to heal injuries inflicted by a sword or an arrow. First the gem is rinsed in water and then passed over the injury. According to Epiphanies, the sardonyx and sardakad stones belong to the sardion family, of which the first is considered by the author to be green in color and the second  white. Sardonyx cures stomachache and sardakad makes a person calm.
   In the East, people have termed sardion the petrified drops of blood. Traditionally, it is considered that sardion endows people with matrimonial love, health and courage, helps them to remain composed during an argument and stops them when they start to use their vital energy rashly. Sardion protects a man from the perfidy of an enemy and from perishing in an earthquake. Apart from stopping bleeding, it also cures headaches and spiritual injuries. From the mystic properties of sardion, an awakening of the quest for greatness is particularly noted. Sardion drives a noble person towards heroism and victories and brings happiness and love to ordinary people, replenishing their strength. This gem protects its master from evil spells and mean souls. Sometimes, however, it demonstrates the opposite qualities: it strengthens the hostile cruelty of its owner and can even become transformed into an evil demon by merging with him.
   From Christ's 12 disciples, sardion corresponds to Apostle John, who is the apostle of Virgo (August 23 - September 22). Correspondingly, sardion is the precious stone of this sign of the zodiac. Various biomedical observations demonstrate that sardion also cures many other deceases, such as those of the nervous system and gastrointestinal tract, cancer, nightmares and impotence. It can help strengthen teeth (if put into the mouth together with silver), make child delivery easier, cure tonsils, headaches, rheumatism, thyroid glands, sterility, feminine diseases, diabetes, bronchitis, injuries, gout, hypertension and many more.

Topaz

   Topaz is the precious stone that corresponds to Simon, Jacob's second son. According to St. Epiphanies of Cyprus, the color of topaz, like that of sardion, is purple. When it is polished, however, it loses its original color and becomes milk-colored. Topaz particles are used to fill many vessels and it is applied for curative purposes as often as necessary. Interestingly, when polished, topaz loses neither weight nor shape. Such is Epiphanies' observation of this precious gem.
   According to another definition, in ancient times when very little was known about the properties of minerals, all transparent yellow stones were termed topaz. Pliny the Elder refers to topaz as a green-colored noble stone.
  Topaz is not considered a rare gem. Pink, yellow, blue and cherry-red are variations of its color. Blue-white topaz is anomalous. The thick yellow-colored topaz stones have been termed “royal” and varieties with lesser brightness - “Oriental”. It was believed in the past that this precious stone could free a person from dangerous and uncontrollable passions and relieve fits of asthma.
 According to contemporary biomedical studies, energy produced by topaz protects a person from the evil eye, helps to treat various chronic deceases (the gem is soaked in water and honey solution), regulates the pulse, aids mental illnesses, strokes, stutters, rheumatism, anemia, gastrointestinal tract, insomnia and other maladies.
   From Christ's 12 apostles topaz matches Apostle Andrew who is the apostle of Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21). According to Georgian apostolic chronicles, St. Andrew preached Christianity in western Georgia.

Emerald

   This noble stone corresponds to Jacob's third son, Levi. According to the Bible, Levi's descendants were granted the honor of priesthood. Moses and Aaron, as well as John the Baptist, were Levis.
   The emerald, which in old Georgian was also known as “zmuri”, is green in color. All inner secrets and future events are reflected in it like in a mirror. According to a legend, angels cut out the Holy Grail used by Christ at the Last Supper from the emerald, which dropped from Lucifer's forehead when he fell.
   The emerald was considered the sailors' talisman. It was believed that along with multiple other merits, the emerald could endow its owner with the skill of foretelling. The emerald is the guardian of love. It also possesses various curative and medical properties: it cures eye deceases, epilepsy and leprosy and has antidotal qualities. According to Pliny the Elder, no matter how tired the human eye may be, it relaxes when looking at the emerald. Tradition has it that Emperor Nero used to watch gladiator fights through an emerald lens. According to the Indian mystical belief, the emerald can contact the world of spirits, allowing a person to read his past and future from the secret green depths of its facets. According to Islamic cosmology, the emerald mountainous ridge of Quaff embraces the terrestrial world - the earth. These mountains, glowing with an unearthly light, are inhabited by angels and genies. Simourg, the mystical bird, and symbol of God, also lives there. The emerald mountains are the pillars of the seven skies.
   According to another legend, the crusaders brought to Europe the sacred bowl made of a single emerald belonging to King Solomon and, was kept in ancient Genoa from the XII century. Of the 12 apostles, the emerald matches Christ's disciple Bartholomew. He is considered the apostle of the zodiac sign Cancer (June 22 - July 22). According to the tradition of the Georgian church, St. Bartholomew is considered to have preached Christianity in Georgia.
   The emerald protects its owner from the evil eye, strengthens the nervous and cardiovascular systems, improves memory, cures stutters, chronic pain and paroxysm in the liver and gall bladder. It can improve skin color, cure sterility, female diseases, infectious illnesses, sepsis, diabetes, kidney diseases and more.