Baby Birthstones

There is one problem with baby birthstones – there are many different birthstone lists. There are what are called ‘Traditional Birthstones’ based on the Gregorian calendar, ‘Modern Birthstones’ decided on by the American Gem Society jewelers in 1912 , ‘Mystical Birthstones’ of Tibetan origin and ‘Ayurvedic Birthstones’ of Indian origin.

The modern list of babu birthstones is the most widely used one in the West. I have listed baby birthstones and gems below by month.

Baby Birthstones

Garnet

January: garnet gemstones range from dark red to rose. A garnet can be mistaken for a ruby, unless you see them together. The baby birthstone of garnet is said to have a calming effect on the wearer.

Amethyst

February: amethyst comes in various shades of violet and is part of the quartz family of gemstones. It is the most valuable of quartzes. It has a hardness of 7, which makes it durable enough for every day wear.

Aquamarine

March: this stone derives its name from the Latin words for ‘sea’ and ‘water’ and its colour ranges from clear, through light blue to light green – the colours of sea water. The baby birthstone of aquamarine is a beryl and becomes invisible when placed in water.

Diamond

April: diamonds are the hardest of all gems with a hardness of 10. It comes in many colours like yellow, pink, green and brown, but colourless is the most popular. Diamonds are the universal jewelry gems of married couples and especially women – after all, diamonds are a girl’s best friend.

Emerald

May: emeralds are easily identified by their green hue. Despite being a hard stone (7-8), emeralds are quite easily damaged because they are porous. They are a very popular gemstone in jewelry.

Pearls

June: the best pearls are found by chance in oysters in deep water. They are the oyster’s way of isolating an irritating bit of grit that got into their shell by mistake. Pearls vary greatly in quality and colour, ranging from white, to mother of pearl, pink and even black. Porosity varies too. Pearls are not tolerant to acidity, perspiration or perfume.

Ruby

July: rubies are pink to red, but the most popular ones are blood red. Rubies can be more valuable than diamonds. They are not quite as hard at 9 and are ideal for wearing every day

Peridot

August: the baby birthstone peridot is an olive green, fairly soft stone and is one of the few that comes in only one colour, although that varies in intensity with the amount of iron in it.

Sapphire

September: sapphire is a beautiful blue colour. The deepness of the colour is a sign of quality, but personal preference is the most important factor. most people prefer a darker blue. Thailand is famous for its sapphires. Sapphire is sometimes considered the gemstone of heaven.

Opal

October: opals have a strange quality of appearing as if the centre is liquid fire. Colours vary greatly, but the most popular are orange to reddish.

Citrine

November: citrine’s vary in colour from golden brown to light yellow. This gemstone glows delightfully, but is not as popular s it used to be,

Topaz

December: topazes come in all the shades of blue. Blue topaz is a very popular, hard and yet affordable gemstone for jewelry.