Wearing a particular stone for the month of your birth is a custom that many people enjoy, and this section sets out the stones for every month. Our lists match the birthstone finder exactly, so you can use either.
Two lists, not one
There is no single official birthstone list. We show two.
- The modern list, as kept by the American Gem Society. Its roots are in a list adopted in the United States in 1912, which has been added to since, for example with alexandrite, spinel, tanzanite and citrine.
- The traditional United Kingdom list, published by the National Association of Goldsmiths in 1937, now the National Association of Jewellers. It keeps older stones such as rock crystal, chrysoprase, carnelian and lapis lazuli.
Both are summarised in Wikipedia, Birthstone.
Where the idea comes from
The link between twelve stones and twelve months is often traced to Josephus, the first-century writer who connected the twelve stones of the High Priest’s breastplate with the months and the signs of the zodiac. The breastplate is described in the Book of Exodus, where twelve stones are set in four rows, one for each of the tribes of Israel. Scholars are not certain which modern stones the Hebrew names describe, so the identification of each breastplate stone is uncertain.
Birthstone lists as we know them are much more recent. The 1912 American list was adopted by the jewellery trade in Kansas City, and it was partly created to standardise what was sold. The modern list has been extended several times since. The idea of a stone for each month of birth, as distinct from a stone for each tribe, is reported to have spread in Europe in the eighteenth century, although accounts of exactly when and where vary.
The upshot is that birthstones are a cultural custom rather than a science. Choose the list, or the stone, that means something to you.
A different system
Vedic gemstone (ratna) guidance is a different system. It follows the nine planets and a birth chart, not the calendar month, and it belongs to the Vedic tradition, which is covered on our sister site, Nidarshana Vedh. Nothing in this section is Vedic advice.
A note on health. Crystals are valued for beauty, meaning and ritual. There is no scientific evidence that they treat health conditions. If you are struggling with your health or mood, please speak to a doctor.