People often ask, what is my birthstone? And the answer is, there is often more than one for each month, as the UK and USA sometimes have different zodiac gemstones, so in this blog, we will take you through each month's birthstone options, and their meanings and significance. 

To see our full birthstone jewellery collections for each month 
Click on the month below....

 

January Birthstone

• UK Traditional Birthstone : Garnet
• USA Traditional Birthstone: Garnet
• Mystical Birthstone: Emerald
• Garnet Zodiac Stone :  Aquarius Jan 21 - Feb 19
• Birthstone Meaning: Protection. Power. Devotion

Interesting facts:

1. Not all garnets are red, they exist in many colours such as black, green and even clear - but it is most commonly known as deep red!

2. Garnets are not mined underground, they are found as small pebbles in water, they gems are found when the rock has been worn away by water.

3. These pebbles are found in many places around the world, including North and South America, Australia, and India

4. Holistic Healing. In Medieval times, they were thought to protect its wearer against poisons, wounds and bad dreams, as well as cure depression. Red garnets in particular relieved fever, hemorrhages and inflammatory diseases.

5. Garnets are hard and tough gemstones, and as a result, they’ve been used as abrasives in industry forever. Garnet powder was possibly used by the Chinese in the carving of jade centuries ago. Garnet is also the “emery” in emery boards and emery sand paper.

February Birthstone

• UK Traditional Birthstone : Amethyst
• USA Traditional Birthstone: Amethyst
• Mystical Birthstone: Moonstone
• Amethyst Zodiac Stone : Pisces Feb 20 - Mar 20
• Birthstone Meaning: Faith. Clarity. Calmness

Interesting facts:

1.  Amethyst is also the stone representing the 6th and 17th Wedding Anniversaries

2.  St. Valentine the patron saint of romantic love, wore an amethyst ring carved with the image of Cupid

3. Amethyst was once as valuable as Rubies and Sapphires until the 1800’s when a large deposit was discovered in Brazil

March Birthstone

• UK Traditional Birthstone : Aquamarine
• USA Traditional Birthstone: Aquamarine
• Mystical Birthstone: Jade
• Zodiac Birthstone : Bloodstone March 21-April 20
• Birthstone Meaning: Friendship. Love. Loyalty

Interesting facts:

1. The gemstone acquires its name from Latin phrase ‘aqua marinus’, which means ‘water of the sea’. 

2. Ancient Greeks and Romans believed that aquamarine originated from the treasure chest of mermaids

3. While the most valuable aquamarines are mined in Columbia and Brazil, caches of the gem have been found even in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Other mines extracting gem quality material are found in Kenya, Zambia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Russia, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Madagasca

April Birthstone

• UK Traditional Birthstone : Diamond, White Topaz
• USA Traditional Birthstone: Diamond, White Sapphire
• Mystical Birthstone: Opal
• Sapphire Zodiac Birthstone : Taurus April 21 - May 21st
• Birthstone Meaning: Loyalty. Friendship. Honesty

Interesting facts:

1. A candle flame contains millions of small diamonds. According to Wuzong Zhou, a professor of chemistry at the University of St Andrews, around 1.5 million diamond nanoparticles can be found in a candle’s flame

2. Diamonds are made of pure carbon, and are one of the hardest natural substances on earth

3. You can make a diamond in a laboratory, or scientists can make a diamond from the ashes of a loved one!

4. Natural diamonds were formed before the age of dinosaurs.

5. There is a diamond in the sky called Lucy. In 2007, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announced the discovery of a 10 billion-trillion-trillion carat diamond in the sky - and they named it after the Beatles song.

May Birthstone

• UK Traditional Birthstone :  Emerald
• USA Traditional Birthstone: Emerald
• Mystical Birthstone: Sapphire
• Gemini Zodiac Stone : Agate May 22-Jun 21
• Birthstone Meaning:  Prosperity, Foresight and well-being

Interesting facts:

1.  Emeralds are believed to be a healing stone when worn.

2.  Flawless emeralds are very rare indeed, most emeralds have some type of inclusion or imperfection. Emeralds are often treated with oil to fill the cracks giving to prevent chipping or cracking. They are a brittle stone, and the use of  baby oil when cleaning is a good precaution to stop them getting too brittle.

3. Emeralds are found all over the world, but mostly in Columbia and Australia, and they are one of the four precious gemstones. The others being Diamond, Ruby and Sapphire.

4. Emeralds are the Anniversary stone for 20th and 35th years of Marriage.

5. Ancient lore says if you put an Emerald under your tongue you can see the future.

6. Emeralds are rarer and often more expensive than diamonds! The carat of a gemstone is calculated by its weight, and as Diamond is heavier than Emerald - your 1 Carat Emerald will be bigger than a 1 carat diamond.

June Birthstone

• UK Traditional Birthstone : Moonstone or Pearl
• USA Traditional Birthstone: Moonstone or Pearl or Alexandrite
• Mystical Birthstone: Moonstone
• Cancer Zodiac Stone:  Emerald June 22 - Jul 22nd
• Birthstone Meaning: Intuition, harmony, Good Fortune

Interesting facts:

1.  The moonstone is made up on many layers, and refracts light, giving a beautiful shimmer as its moves in front of a light source

2. The ancient Romans thought Moonstones were made from stones from the moon, and believed they reflected the powers of the moon and sea.

3. In India, the moonstone is considered a sacred stone, and is used in Ayurvedic medicine and other crystal healing methods. 

4. The exquisite moonstone is formed of Albite and Orthoclase. Both of these elements are from the feldspar mineral category. The moonstone is considered the most valuable feldspar member in existence today

5.The moonstone is the 3rd Anniversary stone, and the Florida State gemstone (because of the moon landings launching from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida)

July Birthstone

• UK Traditional Birthstone : Ruby
• USA Traditional Birthstone: Ruby
• Mystical Birthstone: Ruby
• Leo Zodiac Stone: Onyx July 23 - Aug 22
• Birthstone Meaning: Passion, Courage, Desire

Interesting facts:

1.  The Ruby can range from pink to brownish, the colouration is dependent on the iron or chromium content of the stone. The lighter pink stones are often called pink sapphires, with the rich Red colour being the prized precious Ruby. All Rubies are actually sapphires - its the iron and chromium that make them Ruby coloured.

2. All rubies have some form of imperfection or inclusion, if they are no imperfections, the stone will have been heat enhanced (to a temperature of 3000 degrees) or the Ruby is artificial.

3. The Sunrise ruby, a 25.59 carat Burmese ruby was sold in Auction for 30 million dollars!

4. Warriors would wear rubies into battle for protection, courage and strength,wearing Rubies was thought to lead to victory! In the Wizard of Oz Dorothy wore Ruby slippers to protect her from evil!

August Birthstone

• UK Traditional Birthstone : Peridot
• USA Traditional Birthstone: Peridot
• Mystical Birthstone: Diamond 
• Virgo Zodiac Stone : Carnelain Aug 23 - Sep 23
• Birthstone Meaning: Wisdom, Fairness, Peace

Interesting facts:

1.  Peridot has a very interesting origin. Aside from diamond, it is the only gem that is formed in molten rock and brought to the surface by volcanoes and earthquakes.

2. Although too rare and too small to be used as gemstones, other crystals of peridot also have extraterrestrial origins, found in rare meteorites formed around 4.5 billion years ago. For this reason, early civilisations believed that peridot was ejected to Earth by a sun’s explosion and therefore carried its healing power! It gradually became strongly well-known for its protective powers against evil.

3. The history of peridot roots back to the Egyptian island of St. John in the Red Sea, which was one of the only ancient sources of the gem. It can no longer be found there, but has been rediscovered in other areas since the 1990s. Large and nearly flawless peridot crystals have now been discovered in Burma, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The most significant producer of peridot, however, remains the San Carlos Reservation of Arizona.

4. In Hawaii, peridot symbolizes the tears of Hele who is the goddess of fire and volcanoes. 

September Birthstone

• UK Traditional Birthstone : Sapphire
• USA Traditional Birthstone: Sapphire
• Mystical Birthstone: Agate
• Libra Zodiac Stone : Peridot Sept 24- Oct 23
• Birthstone Meaning: Honesty, Purity, Loyality

Interesting facts:

1.  Sapphires can come in every shade except red (which are know as rubies). The blue Sapphire is the birthstone for September.

2. Before diamonds became the traditional choice for Engagements rings, sapphires were the preferred stone. In 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte gave Josephine a sapphire engagement ring. The ring sold at auction in recent years for $949,000.

3. The Sapphire is also the 5th and 45th Wedding Anniversary stone

4. The most famous sapphire of modern times was Princess Diana's 18-carat sapphire engagement ring that was eventually passed down to Kate Middleton.

October Birthstone

• UK Traditional Birthstone : Tourmaline or Opal
• USA Traditional Birthstone: Tourmaline
• Mystical Birthstone: Opal
• Scorpio Zodiac Stone : Aquamarine Oct 24-Nov 22
• Birthstone Meaning: Purity, Innocence, Hope

Interesting facts:

1.  Tourmalines come in many colours, name any colour, and you can find a tourmaline to match.  The pink tourmaline is the rarest tourmaline colour, and the most expensive.

2.  The tourmaline is the Zodiac stone for Leo! and the 8th Wedding Anniversary.

3. Tourmalines are amazing they become electrically charged simply when heated or rubbed. When charged, one end becomes positive and the other negative, allowing it to attract particles of dust or bits of paper, or ash from pipes (as it was used in the olden days!)

4. There is an amazing tourmaline stone that looks like a watermelon!

November Birthstone

• UK Traditional Birthstone : Citrine
• USA Traditional Birthstone: Citrine
• Mystical Birthstone: Pearl
• Sagittarius Zodiac Stone: Topaz Nov 23 - Dec 21
• Birthstone Meaning: Youth, Health, Fertility 

Interesting facts:

1.  Citrine is a yellow quartz, the yellow colour is due to the presence of iron (iron oxide). 

2. Citrine is named after the French 'Citron' which means Lemon.

3. It's the Anniversary stone for the 13th Year

4. For the Chinese the Citrine is "The Stone of Success". Citrine jewellery was loved by ancient Chinese emperors for its ability to increase the intellect. Today, citrine is used Chinese students to help them succeed in exams. 

December Birthstone

• UK Traditional Birthstone : Blue Topaz
• USA Traditional Birthstone: Turquoise
• Mystical Birthstone: Onyx
• Capricorn Zodiac Stone: Ruby Dec 22 - Jan 20
• Birthstone Meaning: Friendship, Integrity, Wisdom

Interesting facts:

1. The topaz is often blue, but can be pink, yellow or brown. Blue is rare but under 1% are orange with pink undertones!

2. Ancient Greeks thought topaz could make you invisible, The Romans thought is would improve eyesight, and the Egyptian used it to protect from injury!

3. The blue topaz is given for the 16th Wedding anniversary.