A birthstone is a

gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewellery, jewelry or other adornments. Certain Rock (geology), rocks (such ...

that represents a person's birth period, usually the month or zodiac sign. Birthstones are often worn as jewelry or a pendant necklace.

History of birthstones

Western custom

The first-century historian Josephus believed there was a connection between the twelve stones in Aaron's breastplate (signifying the tribes of Israel, as described in the Book of Exodus), the twelve months of the year, and the twelve signs of the

zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac ...

. Translations and interpretations of the passage in Exodus regarding the breastplate have varied widely, with Josephus himself giving two different lists for the twelve stones. George Frederick Kunz argues that Josephus saw the breastplate of the Second Temple, not the one described in Exodus. St. Jerome, referencing Josephus, said the Foundation Stones of the New Jerusalem ( Revelation 21:19–20) would be appropriate for Christians. In the eighth and ninth centuries, religious treatises associating a particular stone with an apostle were written so that "their name would be inscribed on the Foundation Stones, and his virtue." Practice became to keep twelve stones and wear one a month. The custom of wearing a single birthstone is only a few centuries old, though modern authorities differ on dates. Kunz places the custom in eighteenth-century

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, while the Gemological Institute of America starts it in Germany in the 1560s. PikiWiki Israel 34561 Breastplate on the front of the central Sephardic

PikiWiki Israel 34561 Breastplate on the front of the central Sephardic

Modern lists of birthstones have little to do with either the breastplate or the Foundation Stones of Christianity. Tastes, customs, and confusing translations have distanced them from their historical origins, with one author calling the 1912 Kansas list (see below) "nothing but a piece of unfounded salesmanship." Some poems match each month of the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

with a birthstone. These are traditional stones of English-speaking societies. Tiffany & Co. published these poems "of unknown author" for the first time in a pamphlet in 1870.

Modern birthstones

In 1912, to standardize birthstones, the (American) National Association of Jewelers (now called

Jewelers of America The Jewelers of America (JA) is a trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a s ...

) met in Kansas and officially adopted a list. They did this to standardize gemstones for their commercial availability and appeal, where before birthstones for each month were based on cultural or religious reasons. The Jewelry Industry Council of America updated the list in 1952 by adding Alexandrite for June, citrine for November and ''pink'' tourmaline for October. They also replaced December's lapis with zircon and switched the primary/alternative gems for March. The American Gem Trade Association added tanzanite as a December birthstone in 2002. In 2016, the American Gem Trade Association and Jewelers of America added spinel as an additional birthstone for August. Britain's National Association of Goldsmiths created its own standardized list of birthstones in 1937. In 2021, Japanese industry associations added ten new types of birthstones.

Eastern tradition

Eastern culture recognizes a similar range of gemstones associated with birth, though rather than associating a gem with a birth month, gemstones are associated with celestial bodies.

Astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

determines the gemstones most closely associated with and beneficial to a particular individual. For example, in Hinduism, there are nine gemstones related to the '' Navagraha'' (celestial forces including the planets, the Sun, and the Moon), known in Sanskrit as '' Navaratna'' (nine gems). At birth, an astrological chart is calculated. Specific stones are recommended to be worn on the body to supposedly ward off potential problems based on the place of these forces in the sky at the exact place and time of birth.

Birthstones by time frame

Zodiacal

Tropical zodiac

Birthday (day of the week) stones

While the term "birthday stone" is sometimes used as a synonym for a birthstone, each day of the week is also assigned a unique gemstone, and these assignments are distinct from the monthly assignments.

Gallery

File:AlmandinInde.jpg, Garnet, the birthstone for January File:Amethyst Gems.jpg, Amethyst, the birthstone for February File:Beryl-gem7-59b.jpg, Aquamarine, the birthstone for March File:Diamond.jpg,

Diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

, the birthstone for April File:Smaragd-G-EmpireTheWorldOfGems.jpg, Emerald, the birthstone for May File:Pearl-variety hg.jpg, Pearl, one of three June birthstones File:Moonstone from Africa.jpg, Moonstone, one of three June birthstones File:Alexandrite 26.75ctsCropped.jpg, Alexandrite, one of three June birthstones File:Ruby gem.JPG, Ruby, the birthstone for July File:Peridot-China.jpg, Peridot, the modern birthstone for August File:Sardonyx Inscription.JPG, Sardonyx, the traditional birthstone for August File:Spinel-49528.jpg, Spinel, a more recent (2019) alternative birthstone for August File:Sapphire.png,

Sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire ...

, the birthstone for September File:Lapis Lazuli, Afganistan.jpg, alt=Lapis the traditional birthstone for September, Lapis lazuli, the traditional birthstone for September File:Precious opal (Coober Pedy Opal Field, South Australia).jpg,

Opal Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silicon dioxide, silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3% to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6% and 10%. Due to the amorphous (chemical) physical structure, it is classified as a ...

, one of two October birthstones File:Tourmaline cut.JPG,

Tourmaline Tourmaline ( ) is a crystalline silicate mineral, silicate mineral group in which boron is chemical compound, compounded with chemical element, elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. This gemstone comes in a ...

, one of two October birthstones File:Citrine taillee.jpg, Citrine, one of two November birthstones File:Topaz Minas Gerais MNHN Minéralogie.jpg, Topaz, one of two November birthstones File:Kingmanturquoise.jpg, Turquoise, one of three December birthstones File:Zoïsite (Tanzanite).jpg, Tanzanite, one of three December birthstones File:Zircon-rlkg001a.JPG, Zircon, one of three December birthstones

References

{{Reflist

External links

*
The Curious Lore of Precious Stones
', G.F. Kunz – full text online version *
Gems and Gem Minerals
', Oliver Cummings Farrington – full text online version Birthday culture Gemstones in culture