If you were born in May, your birthstone is emerald. And it's held that spot for so many centuries that it's easy to forget it was ever assigned at all. It just feels like it belongs there. The color does something that's hard to fully explain in writing, but it feels like spring: new leaves, first growth, the specific green of things starting over. May has a couple of secondary stones too: agate, in older traditions, and chrysoprase in some modern lists. But neither has displaced emerald.

May birthstone jewelry has become such a popular gift category. Probably because it says something about the exact person wearing it. Not just jewelry, but her jewelry, tied to the month she was born or the person she always wants to carry with her.

What is the May birthstone?

Emerald is the May birthstone. It's the modern one, and, as it happens, one of the oldest.

Birthstones as we know them today actually trace back to a list published by the Jewelers of America (then the National Association of Jewelers) in 1912, which standardized what had previously been a looser, more regional set of traditions. Before that, the idea of a stone-per-month wasn't really fixed. It borrowed loosely from ancient sources (including a much older idea tied to the twelve gemstones on the breastplate of the biblical high priest) and different cultures assigned different stones to different months for centuries before anyone wrote it down as a chart.

Emerald, though, didn't need the 1912 list to find its place. It had already been associated with May going back to Roman times, tied to the goddess Venus and the arrival of spring. The name itself comes from the Greek "smaragdos", meaning green gem, filtered through Old French as "esmeraude" before it became the word we use now.

So when people ask whether emerald is the "traditional" or the "modern" May birthstone — it's both.

Emerald birthstone meaning & symbolism

Ask five people what emerald means and you'll get five overlapping answers: love, rebirth, wisdom, fertility, good fortune. All of them show up in the historical record, and really, none of them cancel each other out.

The love association goes back to Venus. The rebirth association comes from the color itself. Wisdom and foresight show up more in medieval belief, when emerald was thought to sharpen the mind and even grant the wearer a kind of clarity about the future. Whether or not you believe any of that, it's a nice thing to have attached to a stone someone gives you.

There's also a long thread of belief around emeralds and healing. Historically, jewelers and wearers valued the stone for its connection to emotional clarity and balance.

What color is the May birthstone?

Emerald's color is a saturated, slightly blue-leaning green, more forest than grass, with a depth that catches the light rather than just reflecting it. That's the shade most people picture when they hear "emerald," and it's definitely the most prized.

Not every emerald hits that exact note, though. Some lean lighter, closer to a yellow-green, especially in stones with lower chromium content. Others go darker, almost bottle-green (moodier, and sometimes at the cost of a little brilliance). The most desirable emeralds sit in the middle: vivid, saturated, not so dark that the stone looks murky in low light.

Emerald is almost never flawless, and that's normal. Nearly all natural emeralds contain visible inclusions (gemologists actually have a French term for it, "jardin", meaning garden, because the internal texture can look like foliage under magnification). And that little internal "garden" is proof the stone is real and natural. Total transparency in an emerald is rare enough to be exceptional, and priced accordingly.

The history of emerald

Emerald's history starts, for most people, with Egypt. Cleopatra was famously devoted to the stone. She's said to have claimed the emerald mines near the Red Sea as her own, and emerald became so tied to her image that it's still one of the first associations people make with her name, thousands of years later.

The Greeks and Romans carried that reverence forward and attached it specifically to Venus, goddess of love and beauty, which is where a lot of emerald's romantic symbolism actually comes from. It wasn't a poetic flourish added later. It was baked in from the start.

By the medieval period, emerald had picked up a second reputation as a healing and protective stone. It was believed to cure ailments, sharpen memory, and (this part is oddly specific) help the wearer see the future more clearly. Physicians and mystics alike prescribed it.

Emerald's real turning point, in terms of the trade itself, came after the 16th century, when Spanish colonization brought Colombian emeralds into European circulation for the first time at scale. Colombia's Muzo and Chivor mines produced some of the finest emeralds the world had seen, and European royalty took notice almost immediately. Emerald became a fixture of crown jewels, ceremonial pieces, and royal portraiture across multiple centuries and countries. It's a stone that has been worn by empires.

Emerald birthstone facts

Emerald belongs to the beryl family, the same mineral group as aquamarine and morganite, distinguished by its chromium-and-vanadium green. It's mined primarily in Colombia, Zambia, and Brazil, with smaller but meaningful production out of Zimbabwe and Afghanistan.

It sits at 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs hardness scale. That sounds tough, and structurally, it is; but emeralds are more brittle than their hardness number suggests, because most natural stones contain internal fractures.

Most natural emeralds are treated with oil or resin to fill surface-reaching fractures and improve clarity, and that's a widely accepted, industry-standard practice, as a natural, treated emerald is still a natural emerald.

May birthstone jewelry ideas

Emerald birthstone jewelry wears well across almost every category (necklace, ring, earrings…) which is part of why it's such a popular gifting stone, and why, of all the May birthstones and their alternates, it's the one people actually shop for.

For an emerald birthstone necklace, our Birthstone Charms Necklace is the one. If you're looking for rings, the Large Starry Emerald Ring is one of our most requested emerald birthstone rings — an emerald-cut stone set on a unique band of pavé diamonds. The Cobra Emerald and Diamonds Ring is a bolder option that brings personality to any ring stack. If bracelets are more your thing (or theirs), the Wrapped in Emeralds Bracelet is a beloved design that goes with pretty much everything.

It's worth knowing that emerald happens to be the traditional gemstone of the 20th wedding anniversary, which makes it a fitting choice for anniversaries as much as birthdays, (and it's the obvious pick for a May baby's push present or first-birthday keepsake).

How to care for emerald jewelry

Clean emerald jewelry with warm water, a mild soap, and a soft-bristled brush. Do so gently, and not too often. Skip the ultrasonic cleaner and skip steam, as both can worsen the internal fractures most emeralds already have, and steam specifically can affect the oil treatment used to enhance clarity.

Store emerald pieces separately from harder stones like diamonds, which can scratch a softer surface even through incidental contact. A fabric-lined compartment or a soft pouch normally suffices. For daily wear: take it off before the gym, before cleaning with harsh chemicals, before the pool.

Full care instructions for every stone we carry (emerald included) live on our Jewelry Care page.

May birthstone frequently asked questions

What is the May birthstone?

The May birthstone is emerald, which is a green variety of beryl. It's been associated with May since Roman times and appears on both the historical and modern birthstone lists.

What does emerald symbolize?

Emerald is traditionally linked to love, rebirth, wisdom, fertility, and good fortune, with roots in Roman associations with Venus and Egyptian ideas about renewal and growth.

What color is the May birthstone?

Emerald's signature color is a saturated, slightly blue-leaning green. Stones range from lighter yellow-green to deep forest tones, with medium-to-vivid saturation generally being the most coveted.

Can emerald be worn every day?

Yes, with some care. Emerald is durable enough for regular wear but more prone to chipping than diamonds or sapphires, so it's worth removing before workouts, housework, or swimming.

Where is emerald found?

The major sources are Colombia, Zambia, and Brazil, with smaller but notable production in Zimbabwe and Afghanistan. Colombian emeralds are historically the most famous; Zambian emeralds are prized for their depth of color.

What makes emerald so valuable?

Color is the primary driver of emerald's value, and saturation and hue matter more than clarity, since nearly all natural emeralds contain visible inclusions. Size, origin, and treatment level also factor in.

What zodiac signs are associated with emerald?

Emerald is most commonly linked to Taurus, whose sign runs from late April through May 20th. Since May goes into Gemini season too, some traditions associate emerald with Gemini as well.