BirthStones/Gemstones

Modern and Traditional:

Just about everyone knows about birthstones/gemstones…or thinks they do. We’ve been over-whelmingly surprised by the number of folks who approach us at gem shows wanting to know if we have their birthstone for sale. While some people ask us if we know the gemstone associated with the month of their birth, many more already have a notion of the corresponding stone. It’s amazing the variation of “knowledge” about birthstones.

But even the confusion has a bit of historical significance. Birthstones are reported to have been based on a particular set of 12 stones that were set into the breastplate of Aaron, brother of Moses. The stones represented the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 signs of the zodiac, or the 12 calendar months. The only trouble with this story is that the development of the modern 12-month calendar may have come along after Moses and Aaron. But that is another story!

The ambiguity has played right into the hand of those who aren’t too happy with the traditional stone of their birth month. If you don’t like the traditional stone, seek out the monthly list of any number of other traditions: Hebrew, mystical, metaphysical, or Ayurvedic.

It’s a little difficult to say when the tradition of wearing a birthstone came into being. Some sources cite the practice going back to the 1st century. In those days, a person would wear the stone of the month, changing the stone with the calendar days. The practice of wearing only the stone of one’s birth month seems to have come along much later.
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Birth Stones By Month
Your Birthstone:
January-Garnet or Rose Quarts
Febuary-Amethyst or Onyx
March- Aquamarine or Bloodstone
April-Diamond or Rock Crystal (Quarts)
May-Emerald or Chrysoprase
June-Alexandrite, Moonstone or Pearl
July-Ruby or Carnelion
August-Peridot or Serdonyx
September-Sapphire or Lapis
October-Opal or Tourmaline
Novemeber-Topaz or Citrine
Decemeber-Tanzanite, Zircon or Torquoise
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A birthstone is a gift of a presious material, (Jewlery, mainly gemstones; themselves traditionally associated with various qualities) that symbolizes the month of birth in the Gregorian Calender. It is also sometimes called "birthday stone" (cf. infra; but that word is, confusingly, sometimes used as a synonym for an anniversary gift, which is related to the recipient's age, that is, year of birth).