What birthstone jewelry actually means

Birthstone jewelry is one of the most reliable gifts in the case, and it is also one of the least understood. This page sets out the list that American jewelers actually use, explains where it comes from, and is honest about what the stone in an affordable birthstone pendant usually is.

The list used in the United States

The modern list was standardised in 1912 by the trade body now known as Jewelers of America, and revised a handful of times since. It is a commercial convention rather than an ancient tradition, and it is the list every American jeweler works from.

• January — garnet, deep red
• February — amethyst, purple
• March — aquamarine, pale blue-green
• April — diamond, colourless
• May — emerald, green
• June — pearl, moonstone or alexandrite
• July — ruby, red
• August — peridot, yellow-green
• September — sapphire, blue
• October — opal or tourmaline
• November — topaz or citrine, yellow to orange
• December — turquoise, zircon or tanzanite, blue

Months with two or three options exist because the trade added alternatives that were easier to source or better suited to jewelry. None of the alternatives is more correct than another.

Where the idea came from

The usual account traces birthstones to the twelve stones set in the breastplate of Aaron described in the Book of Exodus, later associated one-to-one with the months. The association is a matter of interpretation rather than record, and the specific stones in the modern list bear little relation to the ancient ones — several of the stones named in the original text cannot be reliably identified today.

What can be said plainly is that the list you buy from is a twentieth-century American trade standard, and that it works perfectly well as a way of making a gift personal.

What the stone in an affordable piece usually is

A pendant selling for well under a hundred dollars with a bright red “ruby” in it is not set with a natural ruby, and it should not claim to be. The stone is almost always one of the following:

• Cubic zirconia — a synthetic that can be produced in any colour, inexpensive and hard enough for jewelry.
• Glass or crystal — often described by a brand name, softer and more easily scratched.
• Lab-created gemstone — chemically the same material as the natural stone, grown rather than mined. More expensive than cubic zirconia, and genuinely the same substance.

None of these is dishonest. What is dishonest is calling a coloured cubic zirconia a ruby. Our listings repeat the manufacturer’s material description, and where a manufacturer describes a “birthstone” without naming the material, the listing says that too rather than filling in a flattering guess.

Buying for more than one person

Multi-stone pieces — one stone per child, per grandchild, or for a couple — are the most common birthstone purchase we handle. Two things to check before ordering:

• How the stones are ordered. Most makers set them left to right in the order you supply. If you want them chronological, supply them chronologically.
• How many the setting takes. A design built for two stones cannot usually be extended. Where a piece is available in several stone counts, the listing says so.

Colours that photograph badly

Two months are consistently disappointing on a screen. Aquamarine for March is very pale and often photographs almost white; peridot for August is a yellow-green that most screens render as either lime or olive depending on the display. Both look considerably better in person than in a listing photograph.

If a colour matters, come to the counter and look at it under the shop lights. That is what the shop is for.

When the birthday is not the point

Plenty of birthstone jewelry is bought for a date rather than a person: an anniversary month, a month somebody moved, the month a child was born. Nothing about the convention requires the stone to be the wearer’s own, and a piece chosen for a date is often more personal than one chosen for a birthday.

Care, briefly

Coloured stones vary enormously in hardness. Cubic zirconia and lab sapphire are hard enough to be worn daily. Opal, turquoise and pearl are soft, porous or both, and dislike heat, household chemicals and ultrasonic cleaners. Wipe those with a soft dry cloth and nothing else.

Whatever the stone, take jewelry off before swimming. Chlorinated water attacks plated finishes and settings faster than anything else in ordinary life.

Where the birthstone pieces are

Birthstone hearts and initials are on the everyday pendant necklaces page. Pieces with a larger centre stone are grouped under pearl and moissanite necklaces, and if you want the necklace to arrive with matching pieces the gold plated jewelry sets come boxed.

Ordering for a birthday with a deadline? Tell us the date when you order and we will tell you honestly whether it will arrive in time.