Birthstones

A birthstone is a gift of a precious material (jewelry, mainly gemstones; themselves traditionally associated with various qualities) that symbolizes the month of birth in the Gregorian Calendar.

Often combined with modern birthstone lists, traditional birthstones are older society-based birthstones. Since many different cultures had their own list, jewelers' lists are often inconsistent over what constitutes a traditional birthstone.

In 1912, the American national association of jewelers, Jewelers of America, officially adopted a list, shown in the "Modern" column in the table below. It is currently the most widely used list in the United States and many other locations, including Australia and Thailand. Some alternates have been adopted to be a less expensive substitute for a cut stone. Tanzanite, for example, was added to December by the American Gem Trade Association in 2002.