Birthstone colors by month are: deep red for January, purple for February, pale blue for March, clear for April, green for May, white for June, red for July, light green for August, deep blue for September, multicolor or pink for October, golden yellow for November and blue for December. Each comes from the month's best-known gem, and many of those gems occur in other colors too.
Birthstone color chart
| Month | Birthstone color | The stone behind it | Other colors for the month |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Deep red | Garnet | Orange, yellow, purple and green garnets |
| February | Purple | Amethyst | Pale lilac to deep purple |
| March | Pale blue | Aquamarine | Dark green with red spots (bloodstone) |
| April | Clear, or white | Diamond | Colored diamonds |
| May | Green | Emerald | Bluish to yellowish green |
| June | White or cream | Pearl | Green-to-red alexandrite; blue-sheened moonstone |
| July | Red | Ruby | Orangy to purplish red |
| August | Light yellowish green | Peridot | Red, pink and blue spinel; banded sardonyx |
| September | Deep blue | Sapphire | Pink, yellow, orange, green and purple sapphires |
| October | Multicolor; pink | Opal; pink tourmaline | Tourmaline in green, blue, red |
| November | Golden yellow to orange | Topaz, citrine | Pink and blue topaz |
| December | Blue | Turquoise, tanzanite, zircon | Sky blue to violet-blue; blue topaz |
There is no official color list. Jewelers' associations name stones, not colors, and the colors in any chart, this one included, are simply the typical shades of those stones as described by the Gemological Institute of America and others.
Want the stone for one particular birthday? Enter the date and the tool shows it with a color swatch, the birth flower and the zodiac sign.
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Birthstone colors month by month
January: deep red. Garnet is best known as a dark red gem, but it is a whole family of minerals. Spessartine garnets are orange to yellow, and tsavorite and demantoid are vivid green.
February: purple. Amethyst, a quartz, ranges from light lilac to deep purple. Strong light can fade some stones over time.
March: pale blue. Aquamarine is a light, slightly greenish blue, like clear seawater. March's older stone, bloodstone, is dark green with red spots.
April: clear. Most diamonds used in jewelry are colorless to near-colorless, so April's color is usually shown as clear or white.
May: green. Emerald sets the standard for green, from pure deep green to slightly bluish or yellowish.
June: white. Pearls are typically white or cream, though they also occur in black, gray, silver and gold. June's other stones break the pattern: alexandrite turns from green to red, and moonstone is colorless with a blue sheen.
July: red. Ruby is red by definition; the most prized shade is a deep red with a hint of purple.
August: light green. Peridot is one of the few gems found in only one color, a yellowish green. Spinel adds red, pink, purple and blue to the month.
September: deep blue. Sapphire's classic color is blue, but "fancy" sapphires come in pink, yellow, orange, green and purple.
October: every color. Opal flashes with all the colors of the rainbow at once. Tourmaline can be almost any color; pink is the one chosen for October.
November: golden yellow. Citrine runs from yellow to brownish orange, and the topaz linked with November is yellow to orange.
December: blue. All of the month's stones are blue: opaque sky-blue turquoise, violet-blue tanzanite, and bright blue zircon and topaz.
Why a month can have several colors
Three things widen the choice.
- Several stones. Six months have more than one birthstone on the American list, and each stone brings its own color.
- One gem, many colors. Garnet, sapphire, spinel, topaz, tourmaline and zircon all occur in a wide range. A green garnet is as much a January birthstone as a red one.
- Treatment. Some colors are produced or improved after mining. Most blue topaz is colorless topaz that has been irradiated and heated; most citrine is heated amethyst; tanzanite and blue zircon are usually heated as well. These treatments are standard, and a seller should disclose them.
Birthstone color is not always the birthstone
A piece described as a "birthstone color" ring or a "March-colored" charm may contain no aquamarine at all. Low-priced birthstone jewelry may use glass, crystal, cubic zirconia or a laboratory-made stone in the right shade. There is nothing wrong with that, as long as the description is honest and the price reflects it.
To know what you are buying, look for three things in the listing:
- The name of the material: "aquamarine," not just "aqua" or "March birthstone."
- Natural, laboratory-grown or imitation. A lab-grown stone has the same makeup as the natural gem; an imitation only looks like it.
- Any treatment, such as heating, dyeing or filling.
How to choose by color
- Match what the person wears. Someone who never wears red will not wear a ruby often; a July birthday can go to the month's British alternative, orange-red carnelian, or to a ruby accent in a quieter piece.
- Use the wider range. Not fond of your month's color? Green garnet for January, pink sapphire for September and blue topaz for November are all legitimate birthstones.
- Think about metal. Cool colors such as aquamarine, sapphire and tanzanite are often set in white metals, and warm ones such as citrine, garnet and ruby in yellow gold, but this is taste, not a rule.
- Combine colors for a family piece. A ring or pendant with one stone for each child or grandchild works best when you check the colors side by side first. Several months share red or blue, so vary the stones where you can.
- Mind durability. Color is only half the choice. Our guide to birthstones by month ranks every stone by hardness, so you can see which suit a ring worn every day.
For another way to choose, see the stones assigned to each star sign in zodiac birthstones, or pair the color with the month's bloom from birth flowers by month.