Allying a gemstone to a particular month of the calendar year has a long and interesting history. Of all the gemstones known to man twelve gems have been chosen to be allied to each month of the calendar year. These gemstones are better known as birthstones. Your birthstone will depend on the month during which you were born. In order to decipher which birthstone is most appropriate for you, you will need a chart of birthstones months.

The origins of the birthstone can be traced back to the time before Christ when Moses gave directions about the Breastplate of Judgement. This is described clearly in the Bible and the breastplate was set with twelve different gemstones. Each of these gemstones had an engraving that corresponded to each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Again in the Bible, in the Book of Revelations these stones set into the breastplate are described as being the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem. The order in which the twelve gemstones were given was then used as the birthstones for
each calendar month. For no particular reason the first stone was assigned to the month of March.

The stones that were taken from the Breastplate of Judgement were used as birthstones until August 12th, 1912. At this time some of the stones were changed to make them more advantageous for the jewellery industry. Again in 1938 another change was made when one additional stone was added, this was citrine. The list has remained unchanged since 1952 and it still widely used today. The birthstone for January is the Garnet. The birthstone for February is the amethyst. The birthstone for March is the aquamarine of bloodstone. The birthstone for April is the diamond. The birthstone for May is the emerald. The birthstone for June is the pearl, moonstone or alexandrite. The birthstone for July is the ruby. The birthstone for August is the peridot or sardonyx. The birthstone for September is the blue sapphire. The birthstone for October is the opal or pink tourmaline. The birthstone for November is the topaz or citrine. Finally, the birthstone for December is the turquoise or zircon.