The modern birthstone for September is the sapphire and the amethyst is the modern birthstone for February. The amethyst is a member of the quartz family. It gets it name from the Greek word for sobriety and was thought in ancient times to prevent drunkenness. Unfortunately the September birthstone does not exist as an amethyst stone but a deep rich sapphire instead.

Each month in the calendar has been assigned a corresponding gemstone, widely known as a birthstone. This tradition dates back to the day of Moses when the Breastplate of Judgement was studded with twelve gemstones, each representing one of the twelve tribes of Israel. These stones were then used as birthstones. Over the years some new stones have been added to finally make the modern list.

The September birthstone of sapphire is well known to everyone the world over by its
distinctive deep blue colour. Sapphires are derived from the mineral corundum. Rubies also come from this mineral. The red corundums are known as rubies and the other coloured corundums are all classified as sapphires. As a birthstone sapphires are representative of sincerity and faithfulness and can be an excellent choice for an engagement ring.

Many different types of birthstone jewellery is now available to buy, you are no longer constrained to buying birthstone pendants. The range now includes rings, earrings, fancy charms, anklets, bracelets, angel pins and the list goes on! Before you decide to buy a birthstone gift for someone you might want to do a little further research into birthstones. For some calendar months there is more than one birthstone and there are also traditional birthstones, zodiac birthstones, Russian birthstones, talismanic birthstones, so you may not be confined to one gemstone.