Modern Birthstones & Their Significance

 

A birthstone is a gift of a precious material (jewelry, mainly gemstones; themselves traditionally associated with various qualities) that symbolizes the month of birth (in the Gregorian Calendar) of the birthday boy or girl. It is sometimes also called birthday stone (cfr. infra; but that word is, confusingly, sometimes used as a synonym for an anniversary gift, which is related to the recipient's age, i.e. year of birth).

There have been many different sets of birthstones used throughout history and in different cultures, but in 1912 the American national association of jewelers, Jewelers of America, officially adopted the following list; it is currently the most widely used list in the United States and many other places, including Australia (a jeweler's 'modern' list states they are selected for bright colors) and Thailand:

 

Modern Birthstones	Genuine Stone	Month	Significance	Flowers
Garnet	Garnet	January	Constancy	Carnation, Snowdrop
Amethyst	Amethyst	February	Sincerity	Violet, Primrose
Aquamarine	Bloodstone or Aquamarine	March	Wisdom	Jonquil, Daffodil
White Sapphire	Diamond	April	Innocence	Sweet pea, Daisy
Green Spinel	Emerald	May	Love	Lily of Valley, Hawthorn
Alexandrite	Pearl, Moonstone or Alexandrite	June	Wealth	Rose, Honeysuckle
Ruby	Ruby	July	Freedom	Larkspur, Water Lilly
Peridot	Sardonyx or Peridot	August	Friendship	Poppy, Gladiola
Sapphire	Sapphire	September	Truth	Aster, Morning Glory
Rose Zircon	Opal or Pink Tourmaline	October	Hope	Calendula, Cosmos
Topaz (excluding Blue Topaz)	Topaz or Citrine	November	Loyalty	Chrysanthemum
Blue Zircon	Turquoise, Blue Zircon or Tanzanite	December	Success	Narcissus, Holly

 

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