Birthstones by Month: The Full List, Colours and Meanings

Birthstones by month are one of the easiest ways into crystals. Every month gets a stone, and some months get two or three. Below is the full list, what each stone looks like, and a guide for every month if you want the whole story.

Here's the cool part. The list most of us use is only about a century old. Before that, which stone went with which month changed from place to place.

Birthstones by month: the full list

This is the modern list used by most jewellers in Canada and the US. Tap a month for its own guide.

• January: garnet, deep red.
• February: amethyst, purple.
• March: aquamarine and bloodstone, sea blue and dark green.
• April: diamond, clear.
• May: emerald, green.
• June: pearl, moonstone and alexandrite, creamy white and colour-changing.
• July: ruby, red.
• August: peridot, spinel and sardonyx, lime green, many colours, and banded red-brown.
• September: sapphire, mostly blue.
• October: opal and tourmaline, rainbow flashes and pink.
• November: topaz and citrine, golden yellow to orange.
• December: turquoise, zircon and tanzanite, sky blue to violet blue.

Three months have three stones each: June, August and December. March, October and November have two.

Where the birthstone list came from

People have linked gems with months for a very long time. A popular idea traces it back to the breastplate of the high priest in the Book of Exodus, which held twelve stones. Over the centuries, writers matched those twelve stones to the twelve months, and every region did it a little differently.

In 1912, American jewellers agreed on one standard list so everyone sold the same stone for the same month. That list has been updated a few times since. Alexandrite, tanzanite and spinel are all later additions.

So if an old book or a grandparent gives you a different stone for your month, nobody is wrong. You're just looking at an older list. Britannica's birthstone entry has the longer history if you're curious.

How to choose when your month has more than one

Pick the one you keep looking at. That's honestly how most people do it.

• Go by colour. June can be soft and milky (moonstone) or bold and colour-changing (alexandrite).
• Go by wear. Harder stones like sapphire, ruby and topaz shrug off daily knocks. Softer ones like opal, turquoise and pearl like a gentler life.
• Go by meaning. Each stone has its own traditions. Our month guides cover what each one is traditionally linked with.
• Go by what fits. A raw piece for the desk, a bead bracelet for every day, or a pendant for a special occasion.

Birthstones vs zodiac stones

These get mixed up a lot. Birthstones follow the calendar month. Zodiac stones follow your star sign, which changes around the 20th of each month.

So a March 25 birthday has aquamarine and bloodstone as birthstones, but an Aries zodiac stone like carnelian. Some people wear one of each. Browse stones by sign in our zodiac shop.

Want to go deeper than your sun sign? Our free natal chart works out your moon and rising signs from your birth time and place.

Real, treated or lab-grown?

Here's the honest part, because birthstones are where it matters most. A lot of birthstones on the market have had some help, and that's normal. It just should be said out loud.

• Heat is common. Many sapphires, rubies, aquamarines and tanzanites are gently heated to improve their colour. It's stable and widely accepted.
• Most citrine is heated amethyst. Natural citrine is rarer and usually paler.
• Lab-grown is real material. A lab-grown ruby or alexandrite is the same mineral, made in a lab instead of the ground.
• Look-alikes are different stones. "African turquoise" is actually a jasper, and opalite is man-made glass. Both are lovely, as long as they're named for what they are.

At The Rock Space, treated, dyed and man-made stones are labelled as such, so you always know what you're holding.

Birthstone gift ideas

A birthstone is an easy gift because the hard part, choosing, is already done. A few ideas:

• A bead bracelet in their stone, like the garnet bead bracelet for January or the amethyst bead bracelet for February.
• A fine necklace. Our 2-3mm bead necklaces, like the peridot bead necklace, are delicate enough to wear every day.
• A family bracelet. Put everyone's birthstone on one bracelet with our Design Your Own Bracelet builder.
• Something to hold. A raw or tumbled piece of their stone is a small, sweet gift for the desk or the pocket.

Browse everything wearable in our crystal jewellery collection.

Not sure which stone is yours? Try our free birthstone finder. Pop in a birthday to see the stones, then send them as a birthday card.

Frequently asked questions

What birthstones represent each month?

January garnet, February amethyst, March aquamarine and bloodstone, April diamond, May emerald, June pearl, moonstone and alexandrite, July ruby, August peridot, spinel and sardonyx, September sapphire, October opal and tourmaline, November topaz and citrine, December turquoise, zircon and tanzanite.

What 2 months have three birthstones?

On the modern list it's actually three months: June (pearl, moonstone, alexandrite), August (peridot, spinel, sardonyx) and December (turquoise, zircon, tanzanite).

Which birthstone is the most valuable?

Diamond, ruby, emerald and sapphire are usually named as the most valuable, and fine alexandrite is in that league too. Value depends on size, colour and clarity, so a small, cloudy piece of any of them can be quite affordable.

What birthstone is light blue?

Aquamarine, one of the March birthstones, is the classic light blue one. Pale sapphire and light blue topaz can be light blue too.

Which birthstone is the luckiest?

No birthstone is luckier than another. Traditionally, people wear the stone of their own birth month as a personal keepsake, so the luckiest one is simply yours.

Come say hi

Birthstones look different in every light, so they're worth seeing in person. Visit us at 396 Victoria Street North in Kitchener and hold a few before you choose. Or take the Crystal Quiz if you'd rather start online.