Birthstones By Month

One gem per month, each one carrying centuries of meaning. There's something so special and satisfying about the idea that a stone was waiting for you before you were born.

The tradition is old. Ancient priests wore twelve stones representing the tribes of Israel; early scholars connected those stones to the months of the year; and by the 18th century, wearing your birth month's stone had become common across Europe. The modern standardised list was established in 1912, with updates since (most recently 2016, when spinel was added for August).

People come to birthstones from different directions. Some love the symbolism. Some give them as gifts because a piece chosen for a person, for their specific month, lands differently than something picked at random. And some simply just love the stone.

Birthstone Chart By Month

Curious about birthstone meanings and what they actually look like? Here's a quick look at each month:

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January Birthstone – Garnet

Most people picture one thing when they hear garnet: deep red. They're not wrong, as that warm, saturated crimson is the stone's classic form. But garnet actually exists in a far wider range than most people realise. You'll find it in orange, yellow, green, and even colour-changing varieties — none of which look anything like the classic red.

What garnet consistently has is warmth. The stone sits at 6.5 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale. It has been worn as a protective talisman since ancient times. The name comes from the Latin granatum, meaning pomegranate — after the colour and shape of its deep red seeds.

Garnet represents strength, passion, and vitality. It's one of those stones that genuinely suits a wide range of people — versatile enough in its colour range that there's something for nearly everyone.

February Birthstone – Amethyst

Amethyst gets its name from a Greek word meaning "not drunk" — a claim its wearers made rather boldly. The stone was considered a guard against intoxication, and goblets were sometimes carved from it for that reason. It belongs to the quartz family, and its violet colour comes from iron and trace elements within the crystal.

The stone sits at 7 on the Mohs scale, which makes it a solid choice for most types of jewellery. Its colour ranges from pale lilac to deep violet, and the most valued stones lean towards a rich, saturated purple.

Amethyst is associated with clarity, calm, and intuition. It has been worn by royalty and clergy for centuries — purple being historically the colour of power. Today it is one of the most available and accessible of the coloured gemstones.

March Birthstone – Aquamarine

The name is Latin for seawater, and the colour confirms it completely. At its best, aquamarine has that clear blue-green clarity that makes you think of shallow tropical water with light moving through it. The most valuable stones come from Brazil, though they're also found in Pakistan, Nigeria, and Mozambique.

Aquamarine belongs to the beryl family — the same mineral group as emerald — but tends to be considerably cleaner. It sits at 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale, making it a durable option for everyday wear.

It represents courage, serenity, and hope. Sailors historically carried it as a talisman. Its clear, calm colour makes it one of the most versatile of the coloured gemstones, sitting comfortably in both delicate and bold designs.

April Birthstone – Diamond

Diamond is the hardest natural material on earth, sitting at a 10 on the Mohs scale. That hardness comes from its structure — pure carbon arranged in a crystal lattice that resists scratching from essentially anything else in nature.

One way of thinking about diamonds is in terms of their range. They come in colourless as a default, which is what most people picture. But they also come in blue, pink, and yellow — and these naturally coloured diamonds are among the most valuable stones in the world.

Diamond represents love, purity, and clarity. As April's birthstone, it carries all of that symbolism for people born in a month that tends to arrive with something of a fresh start.

May Birthstone – Emerald

Emerald represents rebirth, growth, and wisdom. And its colour — a specific, deep, saturated green with a slightly blue undertone — has been so culturally significant that we named the colour after the stone, not the other way around.

Almost all of the world's emeralds contain inclusions — the industry calls them jardin (French for garden) — which are considered part of the stone's character rather than a flaw. An eye-clean emerald is extremely rare and commands a significant premium.

Emerald is a form of beryl, sitting at 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale. The finest stones come from Colombia. Emerald has been treasured since ancient Egypt — Cleopatra was famously devoted to it — and it remains one of the four precious gemstones alongside diamond, ruby, and sapphire.

June Birthstone – Pearl, Alexandrite & Moonstone

June has three birthstones — more than any other month. Each is distinct, and together they give June a range that few other months have.

Pearl is the oldest gem tradition. Natural pearls are rare — most pearls available today are cultured, grown inside molluscs. They come in white, cream, pink, and occasionally black. They sit at around 2.5 to 4.5 on the Mohs scale, making them softer than most gemstones and better suited to necklaces and earrings than rings for everyday wear. Pearl is associated with purity and wisdom.

Alexandrite is one of the rarest gems in existence. First discovered in the Ural mountains of Russia in 1830 and named after Tsar Alexander II, it's remarkable for its dramatic colour change — green in daylight, shifting to purplish-red under incandescent light. A fine alexandrite with strong colour change is exceptionally rare and valuable. It sits at 8.5 on the Mohs scale.

Moonstone gets its glow from a phenomenon called adularescence — a soft rolling light beneath the surface, caused by light scattering between microscopic layers within the stone. It comes in colourless, grey, and peachy tones, and is commonly associated with intuition, new beginnings, and emotional balance.

July Birthstone – Ruby

Most people picture crimson when they hear ruby, but the stone has a deeper story. The most prized rubies have what the trade calls "pigeon's blood" colour: a vivid, pure red with a very subtle blue depth, and almost no darkening.

Ruby's closest chemical relative is sapphire. Both are forms of the mineral corundum. What makes a ruby a ruby — rather than a pink sapphire — is the dominance of red, produced by trace amounts of chromium. That chromium also makes rubies fluoresce under ultraviolet light, which very few stones do.

Ruby sits at 9 on the Mohs scale, making it one of the hardest gemstones available. It represents passion, vitality, and courage. The finest rubies have historically come from Burma (Myanmar), and they remain among the most valuable coloured gemstones in the world.

August Birthstone – Peridot, Spinel & Sardonyx

Peridot takes the lead — its distinctive lime-green colour comes from iron within the stone (it's one of the few gems that only comes in one colour). It sits at 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale and represents strength, protection, and renewal.

Spinel was added to the official list in 2016 — long overdue. Some of the world's most famous "rubies" were actually spinels, including stones in British and Iranian crown jewels. Spinel comes in a wide range of colours: red, pink, orange, purple, and even black. It sits at 8 on the Mohs scale and deserves far more attention than it typically receives.

Sardonyx is the oldest August stone. Popular in ancient Rome as a protective talisman and associated with strong memory and eloquence, it's a banded stone — alternating layers of red-brown and white — with a long history of use in seals and signet rings.

September Birthstone – Sapphire

Sapphires hold their presence, which is part of what makes them the engagement stone of choice for many buyers. The most famous modern example: Princess Diana's oval Ceylon sapphire ring, now worn by Princess Catherine.

The stone comes in a deep electric blue at its most classic. The most prized examples come from Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), Kashmir, and Burma. A Kashmir sapphire — deep cornflower blue with a velvety texture — is one of the most desirable gemstones available.

But sapphire isn't only blue. It comes in pink, yellow, orange, green, and white. A star sapphire shows a six-rayed asterism caused by needle-like crystal inclusions. Sapphire sits at 9 on the Mohs scale — only diamond is harder. It represents wisdom, loyalty, and truth.

October Birthstone – Opal & Tourmaline

Opal is October's primary stone for its extraordinary light-reflecting quality. What you get from an opal depends on how it has been cut and how it moves in the light — fire opals glow with orange and red, white opals play across the full spectrum. No two opals are the same. They represent hope, creativity, and protection.

Tourmaline pairs beautifully with opal. It comes in virtually every colour in the world, including bi-colour gems and the striking watermelon tourmaline — green on the outside, pink in the centre. That range is part of what makes it such a versatile stone for jewellery design.

November Birthstone – Topaz & Citrine

Both of November's stones are warm-toned, sharing a palette of golden yellows and rich ambers. Topaz is the primary stone — at its finest, imperial topaz is a warm orange with pink undertones, highly valued and quite rare. Blue topaz is also well known, though it's almost always the result of treatment.

Citrine is a yellow-to-orange variety of quartz, frequently chosen as an accessible alternative to topaz. It's more available, more consistently priced, and carries much the same warmth. Both stones represent warmth, abundance, and confidence.

December Birthstone – Turquoise, Tanzanite & Zircon

Turquoise is the oldest. It appears in Egyptian jewellery from around 3000 BCE and has been used in Chinese art for at least as long. Its sky-blue to blue-green colour comes from copper mixed with iron. It sits at 5 to 6 on the Mohs scale and is best suited to pendants and earrings rather than rings for everyday wear.

Tanzanite is unusual — it's only found in one small area of Tanzania, and was only discovered in 1967. It has a trichroic quality, meaning it can appear blue, violet, or burgundy depending on the angle and the light. A fine tanzanite under the right light is a remarkable thing.

Zircon is frequently mistaken for cubic zirconia, but the two are completely different. Zircon is a natural mineral — one of the oldest on earth. Blue zircon in particular has a brilliance that rivals diamond, at a fraction of the cost.

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What Do Birthstones Mean?

If you're thinking about it, the meaning always comes down to personal significance. But because of history, stones carry genuine associations.

The oldest source goes back to ancient biblical tradition — specifically the breastplate of Aaron described in Exodus, which held twelve stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Early scholars connected these stones to the months of the year and to the zodiac, and across different cultures and traditions, each stone accumulated its own attributed qualities.

The modern system is rooted in something more concrete: the idea that a stone, worn during its associated month, was said to carry greater effect. The standardised birth-month list we use today was formalised by the American National Retail Jewellers Association in 1912, and has been updated a few times since — most recently in 2016, when spinel was added for August.

For most people, the meaning is simpler: a stone chosen specifically for a person, tied to their month, carries a weight of intention that a randomly chosen piece doesn't.

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How To Choose Birthstone Jewellery

The most important question is whether this piece is for yourself or as a gift — it changes how you think about durability, style, and setting.

Rings: if you're choosing for everyday wear, hardness matters. You'll want a stone at 7 or above on the Mohs scale — garnet, amethyst, aquamarine, sapphire, ruby, and similar. Opal and moonstone are beautiful but softer, so they're better suited to occasional wear or protective settings. Emerald, while iconic, is also best treated with care in rings worn daily.

Necklaces and earrings: softer stones work well here because they're not being knocked against surfaces the way a ring is. This is where opal, moonstone, and pearl really come into their own.

Metal: don't overlook how much the setting changes the stone. An opal in yellow gold has a completely different personality than the same stone in silver. If you're buying for someone else, consider what metals they already wear.

For gifts: birth month is a strong starting point, but it isn't the only one. Consider their relationship to colour, how they wear jewellery day-to-day, and whether they'd appreciate the symbolism or simply want something beautiful.

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Birthstone Frequently Asked Questions