Birthstone Background

Birthstones are gemstones that are associated with each month. They may be precious stones, such as diamonds, or semi-precious, such as Lapiz Lazuli. In each case they are considered lucky for their particular months and for those who believe in such things their healing powers are heightened during their months.

So if you're born in April then your Birthstone is the Diamond and you will get the most benefit from diamonds by wearing them in April.

Of course, people might argue that wearing diamonds at anytime is a good thing!

Since each birthstone has heightened powers during its month then some people buy a set of all twelve and rotate them for each month. So where do you get a nice set of birthstones? Or even individual stones? (The Crystal Ball online store is run by some very nice people who know a great deal about stones and their mystical properties. They do some beautiful work with their birthstones. )

The Modern Birthstone List contains the official birthstone list from the American National Association of Jewelers, Jewelers of America. These gemstones were officially adopted in 1912. In the US, this is the accepted list.

The Traditional Birthstone list contains older birthstones and is sometimes combined with the modern birthstone list. These stones reflect societal birthstone traditions, heralding back to the 15th century. (Many jewelers have differing lists of traditional birthstones, but the birthstone colors will be very close from list to list.)

The Mystical Birthstone list is of Tibetan origin from over a thousand years ago.

The Ayurvedic Birthstone list is from Ayurvedic Indian Medicine - a type of medicine used for over a thousand years.

Stones listed in the "other" column were correlated by Dave Thompson and others participating on the usenet newsgroup rec.crafts.jewelry as alternative birthstones for each month. The Curious Lore of Precious Stones by George Frederick Kunz has a wonderful list of birthstones from different cultures.

Many people decide to go with jewelry that combines several birth stones into one item, a birthstone bracelet, for example. Others prefer single stones. The birthstone chart, below, will take you to either an article or a merchant site where you can get more information on that particular birth stone.

Birth Month Modern Birthstones Traditional Birthstones Mystical Birthstones Ayurvedic Birthstones Other Birthstones january birthstone Garnet Garnet Emerald Garnet Rose Quartz february birthstone Amethyst Amethyst Bloodstone Amethyst Onyx, Moonstone march birthstone Aquamarine Bloodstone Jade Bloodstone Rock Crystal april birthstone Diamond Diamonds Opal Diamond Quartz, White Sapphire may birthstone Emerald Emerald Sapphire Agate Chrysoprase, Beryl june birthstone Pearl Moonstone Alexandrite Moonstone Pearl Opal july birthstone Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby Carnelian august birthstone Peridot Sardonyx Diamond Sapphire Jade september birthstone Sapphire Sapphire Agate Moonstone Lapis Lazuli, Diamond, Chrsolite october birthstone Opal, Tourmaline Tourmaline Jasper Opal Pink Tourmaline, Zircon, Aquamarine november birthstone Yellow Topaz, Citrine Citrine Pearl Topaz Diamond december birthstone Blue Topaz, Turquoise Zircon, Turquoise, Lapis Lazuli Black Onyx Ruby