The birthstone chart, and the one we actually use
Every birthstone list disagrees with every other one, and they have disagreed since 1912, when a jewellers' association in the United States published the first modern list. The list has been amended since. Aquamarine joined March and peridot joined August in the 1950s, which is part of why the answers still differ. The two columns below are the one most lists give you, and the one we make that month. They are not always the same. The reason is further down this page.
| Month | Most lists say | Our stone family for this month | Read · Shop |
|---|---|---|---|
| January · Capricorn & Aquarius | Garnet | Garnet (principal stone), Black Obsidian, Silver Sheen Obsidian | Read · Shop garnet |
| February · Aquarius & Pisces | Amethyst | Amethyst (principal stone), Kunzite | Read · Shop amethyst |
| March · Pisces & Aries | Aquamarine | Aquamarine (principal stone), Blue Kyanite | Read · Shop aquamarine |
| April · Aries & Taurus | Diamond | Clear Quartz (principal stone), Selenite, White Phantom Quartz | Read · Shop clear quartz |
| May · Taurus & Gemini | Emerald | Green Grossular Garnet (principal stone), Gobi Golden Silk Jade | Read · Shop green grossular |
| June · Gemini & Cancer | Pearl | White Moonstone (principal stone), Misty Cloud Agate | Read · Shop moonstone |
| July · Cancer & Leo | Ruby | Carnelian Agate (principal stone), Red Tiger's Eye (heat-treated) | Read · Shop carnelian |
| August · Leo & Virgo | Peridot | Prehnite (principal stone), Malachite | Read · Shop malachite |
| September · Virgo & Libra | Sapphire | Lapis Lazuli (principal stone), Blue Apatite, Blue Hawk's Eye | Read · Shop lapis lazuli |
| October · Libra & Scorpio | Tourmaline | Rose Quartz (principal stone), Rhodonite, Strawberry Quartz, Pink Rutilated Quartz | Read · Shop rose quartz |
| November · Scorpio & Sagittarius | Topaz | Tiger's Eye (principal stone), Hematite, Smoky Quartz, Gold Sheen Obsidian | Read · Shop tiger's eye |
| December · Sagittarius & Capricorn | Turquoise | Labradorite (principal stone), Black Strawberry Quartz | Read · Shop labradorite |
Why two columns and not one
The standard list includes stones we do not work in: diamond for April, emerald for May, ruby for July, sapphire for September. They are beautiful, and they are not what we make. Every piece here is a natural stone on a strand you can wear every day, so each month is matched by colour and by how the stone behaves on a wrist.
Each month has one principal stone and the stones that keep it company, chosen for the light and weather of that month and for what each one can be asked to do.
Clear quartz for April, because it is clear and hard and catches light like nothing else we can cut. Green grossular garnet for May, because it is the green that stays green. Lapis lazuli and blue apatite for September, because they hold a deeper blue than anything else we can put on an arm.
Some months carry four stones, some carry two. That is not an accident of supply. When a new material belongs to a month, it joins that month's family.
The twelve months differ in the same way twelve weeks of the year differ: light, weather, what is growing. We wrote each month from that, not from the stone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find your month in the table above. If you were born in the last week of it, it is still that month's stone — the stone belongs to the calendar month, not to the sign.
Partly history: 1912's modern list was a trade standard, and older traditional lists grew from different sources entirely. Partly commerce: jewellers add stones when supply or fashion changes. You will find more than one answer for October, depending on who is answering.
Yes. The calendar is a way of organizing the stones, not a gate on who is allowed to wear them. Choose a stone for the colour, for a date that matters to you, or for what you want beside you on a Tuesday.
Month. The twelve stones follow the calendar, not the signs. A month usually holds two signs, and our own reading of that month takes both into account — but the stone belongs to the month, not to the sign.
Because the list was amended rather than replaced. When a stone joined a month it joined beside the old one: June has carried pearl since 1912, with moonstone and alexandrite added alongside it in the 1950s, and October has carried both opal and tourmaline. Our months work the same way — one principal stone, with whatever else belongs to that month beside it.
Use the month you were born in. The change between two signs happens mid-month, and the exact day moves by a day or two from month to month. None of that affects the stone. A birth on the 30th gets that month's stone, same as the 3rd.
The twelve principal stones in order are garnet, amethyst, aquamarine, clear quartz, green grossular garnet, white moonstone, carnelian agate, prehnite, lapis lazuli, rose quartz, tiger's eye, and labradorite.
Wear your month
If you already know your month and want to see what we make for it, the whole range is in our personalized collection, where each piece can carry the stone of any month.