Braemar Gathering (Scottish Highland Games)

At Braemar, the clans gather beneath the Cairngorms for the oldest of the Highland Games — feats of strength, the pipes, and the royal family watching from the stands. Topaz, the mineral that defines hardness 8, is the stone of strength; agate and white moonstone carry victory, and citrine the glow of success. Amethyst, pearl and lapis lazuli wear the royal purple and blue of the Games' long patronage, while petrified wood keeps the ancestral memory of every clan. For its beauty, its story, and whatever meaning you give it.