Birthstones Chart by Month: Modern and Traditional Stones

A birthstones chart by month matches each month of the year with a gemstone, so that a ring, pendant or small crystal can carry a quiet reminder of when someone was born. The idea sounds simple, yet most months turn out to have more than one stone, and the stone you are given depends on whether you read a modern American list, an older European one or the British version. This guide sets those lists side by side, explains where they came from, and then walks through each month’s colors, traditional meanings and care, so the chart becomes something you can actually use.

The Birthstones Chart by Month at a Glance

Here is the modern list most jewelers in the United States follow today. The first stone in each row is the one people usually mean when they say “my birthstone”; the others are recognised alternates that have been added over the past century.

If you want to go deeper on color alone, the companion piece on colors for birthstones by month treats each shade in more detail. For now, keep in mind that a birthstones chart by month is a convention agreed by people, not a law of nature, which is exactly why the lists differ.

Where Birthstones Came From

The custom has deep but tangled roots. In the first century, the historian Josephus drew a connection between the twelve stones set into the breastplate of the high priest described in the Book of Exodus, the twelve months and the twelve signs of the zodiac. The trouble is that nobody fully agrees on which gems the Hebrew text names; translations vary widely, and Josephus himself gave two different lists.

Later, early Christian writers linked the twelve foundation stones of the New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation to the apostles. By the medieval period, some people kept a set of twelve stones and wore a different one each month. The habit of wearing a single stone tied to your own birth month is far younger, a matter of a few centuries. Historians disagree on where it began: one account places it in Germany in the 1560s, another in eighteenth-century Poland.

In English-speaking countries, short verses pairing each month with a stone circulated in the nineteenth century and were printed in 1870 by a jeweler, credited to an unknown author. Those poems helped fix the “traditional” stones many older charts still show.

The modern lists

The modern American list dates to August 1912, when the national association of jewelers met in Kansas City to standardise birthstones. It has been revised several times since:

• 1952: alexandrite was added for June, citrine for November and pink tourmaline for October. Zircon replaced lapis lazuli for December, and March’s primary and alternate stones swapped places, putting aquamarine first.
• 2002: tanzanite joined December.
• 2016: spinel was added as a further August stone.

Britain’s national goldsmiths’ association published its own standard list in 1937, and Japanese industry groups added ten new birthstones in 2021. One writer on the subject even dismissed the 1912 list as salesmanship. That is worth remembering, not to spoil the fun, but to give you permission to choose freely.

Other cultures approach birth gems differently. Hindu tradition links nine gems, the Navaratna, to celestial bodies rather than months, and an astrological chart drawn at birth guides which stones a person is advised to wear. If the zodiac interests you more than the calendar, the journal’s guide to zodiac birthstones by month covers that system.

Modern vs Traditional Birthstones: How the Lists Differ

This is where a birthstones chart by month can confuse people. A friend born in March may wear aquamarine while a grandmother’s March ring holds bloodstone, and both are “right”. The table below compares an older European list (drawn from customs between the fifteenth and twentieth centuries), the 1912 American list, the British list and today’s American list.

Two patterns stand out. First, January, February and April barely change across the centuries. Second, the older lists lean towards opaque stones that crystal lovers know well, such as agate, jasper, onyx and carnelian, while modern lists favour transparent faceted gems. If you prefer raw or tumbled stones (tumbled means rolled in a barrel with grit until smooth and glossy), the traditional column often gives you a more crystal-friendly option. Many of those stones live in the journal’s Quartz & family section.

Birthstones by Month: Color, Meaning and Care

The notes below describe what each stone looks like, what traditions say about it and how people tend to use it. Meanings are beliefs and folklore handed down over time, not proven effects. Where a month has its own deep-dive article in the library, it is linked.

January: garnet

Garnet is a family of related minerals rather than a single one, which is why it appears in deep wine red, orange, green and other shades. Folklore links it to friendship and constancy, and travelers were once said to carry it for safe return. It is durable enough for everyday rings. Read more in January’s garnet, colors and lore and its hardness ratings.

February: amethyst

Amethyst is purple quartz. Its name comes from a Greek word meaning “not intoxicated”, and old lore held that it kept the wearer clear-headed. In crystal traditions it is a favourite for calm and meditation, often kept as a cluster (a group of crystals grown together on a shared base) or inside a geode (a hollow rock lined with crystals). Long spells in strong sunlight can fade its color, so display it out of direct sun.

March: aquamarine and bloodstone

Aquamarine is pale blue to blue-green, named for seawater, and sailors’ lore tied it to calm voyages. Bloodstone, the older choice, is dark green with red spots and is traditionally linked to courage and vitality. Aquamarine suits faceted jewelry; bloodstone is usually polished smooth and carried as a pocket stone.

April: diamond and rock crystal

Diamond stands for endurance and commitment in modern custom, which is why it dominates engagement rings. The British list also allows rock crystal, colorless quartz, which is far more affordable and popular for meditation and crystal grids. See April’s diamond and rock crystal and the quartz hardness guide.

May: emerald, agate and chrysoprase

Emerald’s rich green has long symbolised spring, renewal and love. Many emeralds contain natural inclusions, so jewelers advise against harsh cleaning methods. Older lists gave May agate, and Britain adds apple-green chrysoprase. More in May’s emerald, agate and chrysoprase.

June: pearl, moonstone and alexandrite

June has three stones with very different personalities. Pearl is organic, grown inside a mollusc, soft and sensitive to chemicals. Moonstone shows a floating milky glow and is linked to intuition and the moon in crystal traditions; it sits in the library’s Moon & light section. Alexandrite changes color under different lighting and is associated with change and balance. See June’s pearl, moonstone and alexandrite.

July: ruby

Ruby’s red has long been tied to passion, vitality and protection. It is tough enough for daily wear. The British list adds carnelian, a warm orange stone popular as a tumbled pocket stone, and older lists named onyx and turquoise. Read July’s ruby, carnelian and onyx and the ruby hardness article.

August: peridot, spinel and sardonyx

Peridot is a bright lime green associated with light and warding off gloom in folklore. Spinel, added in 2016, comes in many colors and was often mistaken for ruby in the past. Sardonyx, the oldest of the three, shows red-brown and white bands and is linked to strength and courage. More in August’s peridot, spinel and sardonyx.

September: sapphire

Blue sapphire symbolises wisdom, truth and loyalty in tradition, though sapphires come in other colors too. Britain also lists lapis lazuli, the deep blue stone flecked with gold-colored specks that was December’s stone in 1912. Lapis is porous, so keep it out of water soaks. See September’s sapphire and lapis.

October: opal and tourmaline

Opal flashes shifting colors and is associated with imagination and hope. It is softer and more delicate than most birthstones and can react badly to heat, sudden temperature changes and knocks. Tourmaline, especially pink tourmaline, is the sturdier alternate. Read October’s opal and tourmaline and the opal hardness guide.

November: topaz and citrine

Golden topaz and citrine share warm, sunny tones and are linked to warmth, cheer and abundance in crystal traditions. Topaz also comes in blue and other colors; citrine is yellow to orange quartz. Topaz’s durability is covered in the topaz hardness article.

December: turquoise, zircon and tanzanite

Turquoise is an opaque sky blue stone with a long protective reputation across many cultures. It is porous and can discolor from oils, lotions and water. Zircon is a natural gem with strong sparkle; it is not the same as cubic zirconia, the lab-made diamond imitation. Tanzanite is a violet-blue gem added in 2002.

How to Choose Your Birthstone

Because a birthstones chart by month offers options, choosing becomes part of the pleasure. A simple process helps:

1. Find your month on more than one list. Check the modern, traditional and British columns above.
2. Decide how you will use the stone. A daily ring needs a tough stone; a meditation stone or bedside crystal does not.
3. Look at color first. Most people end up choosing the color they love rather than the “official” first stone.
4. Read the traditions. If a stone’s folklore speaks to you, that can be a lovely deciding factor.
5. Consider care. Be honest about whether you will take off a pearl ring before washing up.

A worked example

Imagine you are buying a gift for someone born in October who gardens daily and wants something to wear every day. Opal is the headline stone, but its sensitivity to knocks and temperature makes it a poor match for muddy hands. Tourmaline is also on the modern list, comes in pink and many other shades, and handles wear better. A tourmaline ring for daily life plus a small opal pendant for evenings covers both the meaning and the lifestyle. The same reasoning helps for June: a moonstone pendant may be easier to live with than a pearl ring.

If you collect raw or tumbled stones rather than jewelry, an older-list stone can be the friendliest choice: bloodstone for March, agate for May, carnelian or onyx for July, sardonyx for August. To browse crystals as a collector, the journal’s own shop is Spirit Magicka.

Caring for Birthstone Jewelry and Crystals

Hardness matters for care. Mohs hardness is a scale from 1 to 10 that ranks how well a mineral resists scratching; a harder stone can scratch a softer one. It does not measure toughness, meaning resistance to chipping or breaking, so a hard stone can still chip if struck. The table groups the birthstones roughly by how much care they need.

Many crystal lovers like to cleanse stones energetically, for example by leaving them in moonlight or passing them through incense smoke. Avoid water-based methods and salt for pearl, opal, turquoise and lapis, and never make drinks or “elixirs” from stones; some minerals are fragile or contain substances you should not ingest. Keep small tumbled stones away from young children and pets, as they are a choking hazard.

Common Mistakes When Reading a Birthstone Chart

• Treating one list as the only truth. Every birthstones chart by month reflects a particular country and era. If two charts disagree, both may be correct.
• Confusing zircon with cubic zirconia. One is a natural mineral, the other a man-made imitation.
• Ignoring wear. Choosing pearl or opal for a ring that will be knocked daily often ends in disappointment.
• Mixing up monthly and zodiac stones. Zodiac lists run on sign dates that cross months, and their stones differ; older lore even assigned stones to days of the week.
• Expecting proof. The meanings are folklore and belief. Enjoy them as stories and personal symbols, a stance the journal explains in its editorial approach.
• Assuming color tells you the stone. Red could be garnet, ruby or spinel; blue could be sapphire, tanzanite, zircon or glass. Identification needs more than a glance.

Using Your Birthstone Day to Day

Once you have chosen, there are plenty of gentle ways to live with your stone. Many people wear it as a pendant close to the heart, pair it with a partner’s or child’s stone in stacked rings, or keep a tumbled version on a desk as a small personal reminder. Some set a crystal on a windowsill (out of direct sun for amethyst and other fade-prone stones) or hold it during a few quiet minutes of meditation. Families sometimes build a “birthday bowl” with one stone for each member, an easy way to make a birthstones chart by month feel personal rather than abstract.

If you want to explore further, the full crystal library holds articles on hundreds of stones, and the Earth treasures section covers many of the gems above. For month-by-month history in a different format, see birthstones by each month. And when you are ready to add a stone to your own collection, Spirit Magicka is the journal’s crystal shop. Whichever list you follow, the best birthstone is the one you will reach for, wear and enjoy.