The twelve birthstones by month are garnet (January), amethyst (February), aquamarine (March), diamond (April), emerald (May), pearl (June), ruby (July), peridot (August), sapphire (September), opal (October), topaz (November) and turquoise (December). Half the months also have alternates, and American and British lists differ in places. The chart below shows them side by side.
Birthstone chart: all 12 months
| Month | Modern US list | Traditional (1912 list) | British list: main / alternative |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Garnet | Garnet | Garnet / rose quartz |
| February | Amethyst | Amethyst | Amethyst / amber |
| March | Aquamarine, bloodstone | Bloodstone, aquamarine | Aquamarine / jade |
| April | Diamond | Diamond | Diamond / rock crystal |
| May | Emerald | Emerald | Emerald / chrysoprase |
| June | Pearl, alexandrite, moonstone | Pearl, moonstone | Pearl / moonstone |
| July | Ruby | Ruby | Ruby / carnelian |
| August | Peridot, spinel, sardonyx | Sardonyx, peridot | Peridot / spinel |
| September | Sapphire | Sapphire | Sapphire / lapis lazuli |
| October | Opal, tourmaline | Opal, tourmaline | Opal / pink tourmaline |
| November | Topaz, citrine | Topaz | Topaz / citrine |
| December | Turquoise, tanzanite, zircon; blue topaz on some lists | Turquoise, lapis lazuli | Tanzanite / blue topaz |
How to read the columns:
- Modern US list combines the stones named by the American Gem Society, the Gemological Institute of America and Jewelers of America.
- Traditional is the first standardized American list, adopted in 1912, with the main stone first.
- British list is the one published by the National Association of Jewellers, which gives each month a traditional gemstone and an alternative.
Type in a birth date to get the stone for that day's month without reading the chart, together with the birth flower and zodiac sign.
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Where the lists disagree
No single authority owns the birthstone list, and the American organizations do not match each other exactly.
- March. The American Gem Society and GIA list aquamarine and bloodstone; Jewelers of America lists aquamarine only.
- August. GIA and the American Gem Society give peridot, spinel and sardonyx; Jewelers of America gives peridot and spinel.
- December. GIA and the American Gem Society give turquoise, tanzanite and zircon. Jewelers of America gives turquoise, tanzanite and blue topaz, with no zircon.
- Britain. The current British list drops bloodstone, sardonyx and turquoise in favor of jade, spinel and blue topaz, and adds alternatives for January and February. Older British lists were closer to the American one.
None of these versions is wrong. If a jeweler, a relative and a chart each name a different stone for your month, they are probably all quoting a real list.
How the birthstone list came about
The idea is ancient; the list is not. The gem historian George Frederick Kunz, in The Curious Lore of Precious Stones (1913), traced the belief in a stone for each month to Josephus in the first century and St. Jerome in the fifth. Both linked the twelve stones on the breastplate of the high priest, described in the Book of Exodus, with the twelve months and the twelve signs of the zodiac.
Wearing the one stone of your own birth month came much later. Kunz placed the start of that custom in 18th-century Poland, while an 18th-century French writer he quotes put it in Germany some two centuries earlier. Early on, by some accounts, a person owned all twelve stones and wore each in its month.
The modern list has a precise birthday. In August 1912 an American jewelers' association, today's Jewelers of America, met in Kansas City and adopted the list shown in the "traditional" column above. Kunz himself disapproved: he called it a break with "the time-honored list" and warned against letting commerce choose the stones. His older list had, for instance, turquoise for July and ruby for December.
The list has been revised three times since, according to the trade journal National Jeweler:
| Year | Change |
|---|---|
| 1912 | First standard list adopted |
| 1952 | Alexandrite (June), citrine (November), tourmaline (October) and zircon (December) added |
| 2002 | Tanzanite added to December |
| 2016 | Spinel added to August |
Sources differ on the details: the 1912 list as Kunz printed it already shows tourmaline as the alternate for October.
Birthstones by hardness: which can you wear every day?
Hardness on the Mohs scale, from 1 to 10, shows how well a gem resists scratches. As a rule of thumb, stones of 7 and above cope with a ring worn daily; softer ones are safer in earrings and pendants. Figures are those given by the Gemological Institute of America.
| Stone | Month | Mohs hardness | Everyday ring? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond | April | 10 | Yes |
| Ruby, sapphire | July, September | 9 | Yes |
| Alexandrite | June | 8.5 | Yes |
| Spinel | August | 8 | Yes |
| Topaz | November, December (blue) | 8 | With care: it can chip |
| Aquamarine | March | 7.5 to 8 | Yes |
| Emerald | May | 7.5 to 8 | With care: fractures and fillers |
| Tourmaline | October | 7 to 7.5 | Yes |
| Amethyst, citrine | February, November | 7 | Yes |
| Garnet | January | 6.5 to 7.5 | With care |
| Peridot, bloodstone, sardonyx | August, March | 6.5 to 7 | With care |
| Zircon | December | 6 to 7.5 | With care |
| Tanzanite | December | 6 to 7 | No |
| Moonstone | June | 6 to 6.5 | With care |
| Opal | October | 5 to 6.5 | No |
| Turquoise | December | 5 to 6 | No |
| Pearl | June | 2.5 to 3 | No |
Hardness is not the whole story. Emerald and topaz are hard but can crack or chip, while many gems are routinely treated in ways that affect care. Each month's page explains the details.
How to choose when a month has several stones
- Start with how it will be worn. For a ring worn daily, pick the hardest option: alexandrite for June, spinel for August, tourmaline for October.
- Then think about color. December offers four blues; June runs from white pearl to color-changing alexandrite. Our guide to birthstone colors by month lists them all.
- Set a price level. Many months pair a costly stone with a modest one: ruby and carnelian, emerald and chrysoprase, diamond and rock crystal.
- Consider the zodiac. Some people prefer the stone of their star sign, which follows a different, older scheme; see zodiac birthstones.
- Ask about treatment. Heating, oiling, dyeing and filling are common. A seller should tell you what has been done to any stone.
Other ways to pick a personal stone
The month is only one of several old systems. Kunz's 1913 book sets out the others that were in use in his day:
- Zodiac stones, one for each star sign, which overlap the months rather than matching them.
- Talismanic gems, assigned to the guardian angel of each month, and a further set linked to the twelve apostles.
- Stones of the seasons: emerald for spring, ruby for summer, sapphire for autumn and diamond for winter.
With that many lists, Kunz observed, almost everyone had a choice of at least three "birth-stones." The freedom to choose is itself part of the tradition.
Do birthstones have powers?
For most of their history birthstones were worn as charms. Kunz's book records the old claims at length: stones to keep the wearer faithful, safe, wealthy or well. He also noted that the appeal lay in sentiment, not in anything a stone could be shown to do.
That is the fair way to treat them now. A birthstone has no effect on health, luck or character, and it is never a substitute for medical care. What it offers is a personal detail: a color and a story connected to a date that matters to someone.
Beyond the stone
A birthday carries other traditions too. Each month has its flowers, set out in our guide to birth flowers by month, and many gems double as wedding anniversary stones, which you can look up in our guide to gifts for every anniversary year.