Birthstones are the precious or semiprecious gemstones that are popularly associated with months of birth. These are sometimes also called birthday stones. Birthstones are associated with the popular belief that a birthstone brings luck. A birthstone can also be gifted to a newly born boy or girl.
Birthstones are commonly differentiated as Ayurvedic and Astrology birthstones. They are generally worn or used in jewelry, and according to day or months of birth or zodiac sign. Birthstones are used differently in different cultures, religions or traditions.
There are various types of birthstones from ancient cultures including Arabic, Hebrew, Hindu, Italian, Polish, Roman and Russian, mystical birthstones, planetary birthstones, talismanic birthstones and traditional. The U.S. birthstones are dubbed as modern birthstones.
There have been scores of birthstones used in different cultures, but the American national association of jewelers, Jewelers of America in 1912 officially adopted a list of birthstones that set up the general standard to use the birthstones. The list is currently widely accepted and used in most of the countries including Australia and Thailand.
The American Gem Trade Association recommends the following list of birthstones for the specific months.
• January: garnet
• February: amethyst
• March: aquamarine or bloodstone
• April: diamond
• May: emerald
• June: pearl (the only non-gem) or moonstone or alexandrite
• July: ruby
• August: peridot or sardonyx and sapphire
• September: sapphire
• October: opal or tourmaline
• November: topaz (apparently not in blue, cr. infra)
• December: turquoise or lapis lazuli (the blue stone in pharaonic jewelry) or zircon or blue topaz Tanzanite. The American Gem Trade Association added tanzanite to December in 2002.
The following is the list showing the astrological way of using the birthstones, i.e. using the birthstones according to the zodiac signs.
• Aquarius (January 21 To February 21) Amethyst and moonstone
• Pisces (February 21 To March 21) Diamond
• Aries (March 21 To April 20) Diamond
• Taurus (April 20 To May 21) Sapphire
• Gemini (May 21 To June 21) Spinel
• Cancer (June 21 To July 22) Emerald
• Leo (July 22 To August 22) Ruby
• Virgo (August 22 To September 22) Opal
• Libra (September 22 To October 23) Peridot
• Scorpio (October 23 To November 21) Aquamarine
• Sagittarius (November 21 To December 21) Topaz
• Capricorn (December 21 To January 21) Garnet
The birthstones are sometimes also used according to the days of birth. The following list shows suitable birthstones for specific days of the week.
• Monday: Pearl (again the only non-gem)
• Tuesday: Garnet
• Wednesday: Cat's eye (not in the lists above)
• Thursday: Emerald
• Friday: Topaz
• Saturday: Sapphire
• Sunday: Ruby
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Submitted by admin on Fri, 11/28/2008 - 09:41.