Birthstones

I’m always rather surprised when a customer asks me what the birthstone is for a specific month. Maybe it’s because I’ve been making jewelry for over 21 years now, but I always sort of expect everyone to know all of the birthstones. But, in reality, lots of people don’t know what their birthstones are – or what their children’s are. And I’m on a mission to fix that!

Did you know that the tradition of birthstones actually dates back to Biblical times? Scholars trace their origins back to the breastplate of Aaron, which featured twelve different gemstones that represented the twelves tribes of Israel, as described in Exodus. They gained popularity in common use back in the 16th or 17th centuries in Europe and in 1912, the National Association of Jewelers released their “modern birthstone list” which included all transparent gems for the various birthstones.

Personally, I love creating birthstone jewelry for my clients. I just love it when jewelry becomes more personal and carries sentimental meaning with it. And what better way to do that than featuring birthstones of your family? It also lends itself really well to heirloom jewelry that can be handed down from generation to generation and we all know that is something I treasure making!

Below are the traditionally accepted lists of both traditional and modern birthstones. Although you may see some variation on a couple of months, like December, depending on who you ask, for the most part, these are the most widely accepted lists.

How do you feel about birthstones? Do you love yours or hate it? I grew up thinking that my birthstone, pearl, was super boring. But, when I started making jewelry and discovered stunning champagne South Sea pearls and gorgeous grey Tahitian pearls and all of the cool modern shapes of pearls, like coin pearls or the rectangular ones we use in our York earrings, I’ve developed a renewed love of them! If you’re not a fan of your birthstone, there very well may be another type or color of that gemstone that you don’t know about. Did you know that garnets come in green and a gorgeous deep purple? And opals come in a beautiful blue full of fiery colors dancing within? And sapphires come in an array of colors – you can learn all about lots of them on my recent sapphires blog post. Message me here for more info or to create a special birthstone piece just for you!