Birthstone Gems by Month: Chart, History, Lore and Care

Birthstones, gems by month that give every birthday its own stone, run from January’s deep red garnet to December’s sky-blue turquoise, and the lists behind them are older, stranger and more flexible than most charts let on. Below you will find the modern chart, the older stones that came before it, how the lists were made, the lore attached to each gem and some practical advice on choosing and caring for yours.

One thing worth knowing up front: there is no single “correct” list. American and British trade groups each publish their own, older traditions differ again, and several months now have two or three accepted stones. That is good news, because it means you have real choice.

Birthstones Gems by Month: The Full Chart

Here are the birthstone gems by month as they stand on the current American list, alongside the stones that appeared on traditional lists between roughly the fifteenth and early twentieth centuries. The modern stones are what most jewelers mean by “your birthstone”; the traditional ones are worth knowing because many are affordable and carry centuries of lore.

The British list differs in a few places. It pairs April’s diamond with rock crystal (clear quartz), May’s emerald with chrysoprase, July’s ruby with carnelian, September’s sapphire with lapis lazuli, and puts tanzanite first for December. If you want the colours laid out on their own, our guide to colors for birthstones by month goes deeper.

Where Did Birthstones Come From?

The story starts with a garment. The Book of Exodus describes a breastplate worn by Israel’s high priest, set with twelve stones in rows, one for each of the twelve tribes. In the first century, the historian Josephus suggested a link between those twelve stones, the twelve months and the twelve signs of the zodiac. Even he gave two different lists for which stones were on the breastplate, and translators have argued about the original gem names ever since.

Christian writers picked up the thread. St. Jerome, drawing on Josephus, pointed to the twelve foundation stones of the New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation as fitting for Christians. In the eighth and ninth centuries, religious texts tied particular stones to particular apostles. The custom that grew out of this was to own all twelve stones and wear one each month, rotating through the year.

From twelve stones to one

Wearing a single stone linked to your own birth month is far more recent. Historians do not agree on exactly when it started: one older account places it in eighteenth-century Poland, while a modern gemological source places it in Germany in the 1560s. Either way, it is only a few centuries old.

In 1870, a New York jeweler printed a set of anonymous poems matching each month to a stone, which helped fix the idea in English-speaking households. Then, in August 1912, the American national jewelers’ association met in Kansas City and adopted an official list to standardize things. That list has been revised several times:

• 1937: Britain’s goldsmiths’ association published its own standard list.
• 1952: an American industry council added alexandrite for June, citrine for November and pink tourmaline for October, replaced December’s lapis lazuli with zircon, and swapped which March stone came first.
• 2002: tanzanite was added for December.
• 2016: spinel joined peridot and sardonyx as an August stone.
• 2021: Japanese trade associations added ten new stones to their own list.

Some historians are blunt that the modern lists owe more to taste, trade and muddled translation than to the breastplate. One writer dismissed the 1912 list as salesmanship. That does not make birthstones meaningless; it just means the meaning is something people have built together over time. Our pieces on the original 1912 list and traditional birthstones trace these changes in more detail.

Other cultures took a different route. Hindu tradition links gems not to months but to nine celestial forces, the Navagraha, through a set of nine gems called the Navaratna. An astrological chart drawn at birth guides which stones a person is advised to wear.

January to June: Stones and Lore

Each entry below covers what the stone looks like, where it sits in the history of birthstone gems by month, and how people traditionally use it. Meanings are described as beliefs and folklore, which is how this journal approaches every stone (our editorial page explains why).

January: garnet

Garnet is the most consistent stone in the whole story: it has held January on every major list we know of. It is best known in deep, wine-red tones. In crystal traditions garnet is associated with loyalty, warmth and safe travel, and many people wear it as a ring or pendant they keep on through the coldest month. See our January birthstone guide for more of its lore.

February: amethyst

Amethyst is purple quartz, and the journal files it under Quartz & family. Older lists sometimes offered hyacinth or pearl as well. Amethyst is linked in folklore with clear thinking and calm, and it is a favourite for meditation: people hold a tumbled stone (one smoothed and polished in a rotating barrel) or keep a raw cluster, a group of crystals still growing from their base rock, on a bedside table or desk. Clusters of amethyst often come from geodes, hollow rocks lined with crystals inside.

March: aquamarine and bloodstone

March is a good example of how lists shift. Bloodstone, a dark green stone flecked with red, led the older lists alongside jasper. Pale blue aquamarine was a second choice in 1912 and moved to first place in 1952. Aquamarine is traditionally tied to the sea, calm and courage; bloodstone to strength and vitality. Bloodstone is also the traditional stone for Aries.

April: diamond

Diamond has been April’s stone on almost every list, with sapphire as an older alternative and rock crystal on the British list. Clear quartz makes a sensible budget pairing for anyone who loves the idea of a colourless April stone. In lore, diamond stands for endurance and commitment.

May: emerald

Emerald’s rich green has long been linked with spring, renewal and love. Older lists paired it with agate, and the British list adds chrysoprase, a soft apple-green stone. Agate, another quartz-family stone, is a lovely, affordable way to mark a May birthday.

June: pearl, moonstone and alexandrite

June has the widest spread. Pearl and moonstone appeared together in 1912, and alexandrite joined in 1952. Older lists gave cat’s eye, turquoise and agate. Pearls and moonstone share a soft, glowing look, which is why they are tied in tradition to the moon, intuition and gentleness. You can read more about moonstone in our Moon & light collection.

July to December: Stones and Lore

July: ruby

Ruby has been July’s stone since 1912, though older lists named turquoise and onyx, and the British list adds carnelian. Ruby is linked with passion, courage and protection. If ruby is out of reach, carnelian’s warm orange-red or onyx’s deep black both have long July pedigrees. Our July birthstone article covers all three.

August: peridot, spinel and sardonyx

August has collected stones over time. Sardonyx, a banded stone, is the old favourite; peridot, with its bright yellow-green colour, now leads; spinel was added in 2016. Older lists also offered carnelian, moonstone and topaz. Peridot is associated with brightness and good fortune in folklore. See the August guide for details.

September: sapphire

Sapphire’s deep blue is tied to wisdom, truth and loyalty. Older lists named chrysolite for September, and the British list pairs sapphire with lapis lazuli, the deep blue stone flecked with gold that December lost in 1952. Our September guide explores both.

October: opal and tourmaline

Opal is the long-standing October stone, prized for flashes of shifting colour; older lists sometimes paired it with aquamarine. Pink tourmaline joined in 1952, and tourmaline in general is now accepted. Opal carries mixed folklore, seen by some as lucky and creative, by others as unlucky, a reminder of how much birthstone meaning depends on who is telling the story.

November: topaz and citrine

Golden topaz is the traditional November stone, with pearl as an older alternative. Citrine, a yellow quartz, was added in 1952. Both are linked in crystal traditions with warmth, optimism and abundance, which suits the darkening days of late autumn.

December: turquoise, zircon and tanzanite

December began the twentieth century with turquoise and lapis lazuli. Zircon replaced lapis in 1952 and tanzanite arrived in 2002. Older lists named bloodstone and ruby. All three modern stones lean blue, and turquoise in particular is linked across many cultures with protection and good fortune.

Zodiac Stones, Exact Dates and the December 22nd Question

Some people find that a month-based stone does not quite fit them, especially if they were born near a month’s edge. That is where zodiac stones come in. They run on the dates of the signs rather than the calendar month, so they can add a second layer on top of birthstone gems by month.

Take a worked example: someone born on December 22nd. By month, their stones are turquoise, zircon or tanzanite. By sign, December 22nd is the very first day of Capricorn in this table, so their zodiac stone is ruby. A thoughtful gift might pair a small turquoise pendant with a ruby accent, honouring both. Sign dates vary by a day in some sources, so a person born right on a cusp may prefer to choose for themselves. Our zodiac birthstones guide covers each sign.

There is even a third system: stones for the day of the week you were born. Sunday is topaz or diamond, Monday pearl or crystal, Tuesday ruby or emerald, Wednesday amethyst or lodestone, Thursday sapphire or carnelian, Friday emerald or cat’s eye, and Saturday turquoise or diamond. It is a lovely detail for a baby gift if you know the day.

How to Choose and Use Your Birthstone

Because the birthstone gems for each month were never fixed in one list, choosing is part of the fun. A few practical ways to decide:

1. Start with the modern stone, then look sideways. If the modern stone is costly, check the older column of the chart. A March baby can wear bloodstone, a July baby carnelian or onyx, a May baby agate.
2. Choose by colour. Many people simply want their month’s colour. A purple stone reads as February whatever its exact identity.
3. Choose by meaning. If the lore of an alternate stone speaks to you more, that is a perfectly good reason to choose it.
4. Think about how it will be worn. A daily ring takes knocks that a pendant or earrings do not, which matters for softer stones.
5. Consider raw versus polished. A raw (uncut, natural) piece shows the mineral as it formed; a tumbled or faceted stone shows off colour and sparkle.

Beyond jewelry, people use birthstones in quieter ways. Some keep their stone in a pocket or a small pouch as a personal token, others place it on a windowsill or desk, and many hold it during a few minutes of quiet breathing or meditation on their birthday as a ritual of reflection. A family can build a little display with one stone for each person’s month, which children often love. For small pieces suited to this, the Mini Gemstones and Pouch Kits collections at Spirit Magicka are a place to start browsing.

If you are drawn to the amethyst geode idea for a February birthday, the Clusters & Geodes collection is worth a look. To explore individual stones before deciding, our crystal library and the Earth treasures section cover dozens of birthstone alternates.

Caring for Birthstone Gems and Common Mistakes

Birthstones range from very hard gems to soft, delicate ones, so a single cleaning routine does not suit them all. Gemologists rate scratch resistance on the Mohs hardness scale, which ranks minerals from 1 (softest) to 10 (hardest) by which can scratch which. Diamond sits at the top. Stones lower down are scratched more easily, including by grit and by other gems in the same box.

Simple care that suits most stones

• Wipe pieces with a soft, dry cloth after wearing to remove skin oils and lotions.
• Store each piece separately in a soft-lined box or pouch so harder stones cannot scratch softer ones.
• Put jewelry on after perfume, hairspray and creams, not before.
• Take rings off for cleaning, gardening, swimming and the gym.
• For deep cleaning of a valuable faceted piece, ask a jeweler, who can tell you what that particular stone tolerates.

Mistakes people often make

• Treating all twelve stones the same. Pearls, opal and turquoise are far more delicate than sapphire or ruby, and household cleaners, soaking or heat can dull or damage them.
• Making crystal water or elixirs. Some minerals are soft, porous or contain substances you should not drink. Do not soak stones in drinking water, and never put small stones where children or pets could swallow them.
• Assuming one list is the only true one. Choosing an older stone is not “wrong”; it simply follows an earlier tradition.
• Mixing up names. Old gem names do not always match modern minerals. “Chrysolite” and “hyacinth” on early lists did not necessarily mean the stones sold under those names today, so treat old lists as lore rather than precise mineral labels.
• Expecting a stone to do medical work. Birthstone meanings are traditions and personal symbols. They can be a comforting part of a ritual, but they are not a substitute for medical or mental-health care.

Bringing It Together

The chart of birthstone gems by month we use today is a mix of ancient scripture, medieval devotion, jewelers’ poems and twentieth-century trade decisions, still being revised in this century. That layered history is exactly what makes it personal: you can wear the modern stone, reach back to an older one, add a zodiac or weekday stone, or simply pick the colour that feels like you.

If you want to go month by month, our birthstones and flowers guide pairs each stone with its birth flower, and the month pages linked above go deeper on individual gems. Whichever you choose, the best birthstone is the one you will actually wear, look after and enjoy for years.