What is My Birthstone?

      
          Birthstones:

The origin of the belief that certain gemstones are of talismanic value to people born in particular months of the year dates back to the first century AD., and a description in the Book of Revelations of 'the twelve magical gems' to be used in the construction of the 'New Jerusalem'. These were catalogued by a writer named "Josephus", who appears to have been the first author on this subject. Later, in the fifth century, St Jerome wrote about birthstones and compared these twelve gems to those set in the breastplate of the Jewish High Priest.

Although references can be found in literature before 1700AD, there is no substantial evidence to suggest any serious interest in wearing birthstones before the eighteenth century.

There is some confusion surrounding the exact stones that are specifically attributed to each month, and these tend to vary from country to country. To add to the bewilderment there are also gems attributed to the twelve signs of the Zodiac, and these again vary from the monthly stones.
 

Birth Month	Modern*	Traditional**
January:	Garnet	Garnet
February:	Amethyst	Amethyst
March:	Aquamarine	Bloodstone
April:	Diamond	Diamond
May:	Emerald	Emerald
June:	Moonstone	Alexandrite
July:	Ruby	Ruby
August:	Peridot	Sardonyx
September:	Sapphire	Sapphire
October:	Opal	Tourmaline
November:	Yellow Topaz	Citrine
December:	Turquoise	Lapis Lazuli

* The official birthstone list from the American National Association of Jewellers, officially adopted in 1912, this is the accepted list in the USA.
 ** The Traditional Birthstone list contains older birthstones. These stones reflect societal birthstone traditions, heralding back to the 15th century. (Many jewellers have differing lists of traditional birthstones.)

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