Birthstone

The first-century historian Josephus believed there was a connection between the twelve stones in Aaron's breastplate (signifying the tribes of Israel, as described in the Book of Exodus), the twelve months of the year, and the twelve signs of the zodiac.{{cite book |last=Kunz |first=George F. |year=1913 |title=The curious lore of precious stones |url=https://archive.org/details/curiousloreprec00kunzgoog |publisher=Lippincott }}{{rp|275–306}} Translations and interpretations of the passage in Exodus regarding the breastplate have varied widely, with Josephus himself giving two different lists for the twelve stones.{{cite book |last=Gleadow |first=Rupert |url=https://archive.org/details/originofzodiac0000glea |title=The Origin of the Zodiac |publisher=Dover Publications |year=2001 |access-date=26 September 2023 |url-access=registration}}{{rp|130–131}} George Frederick Kunz argues that Josephus saw the breastplate of the Second Temple, not the one described in Exodus. St. Jerome, referencing Josephus, said the Foundation Stones of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:19–20) would be appropriate for Christians.{{cite book |title=Gems in Myth, Legend and Lore |last=Knuth |first=Bruce G. |year=2007 |publisher=Jewelers Press |location=Parachute|edition=Revised }}{{rp|294}}

In the eighth and ninth centuries, religious treatises associating a particular stone with an apostle were written so that "their name would be inscribed on the Foundation Stones, and his virtue."{{rp|299}} Practice became to keep twelve stones and wear one a month.{{rp|298}} The custom of wearing a single birthstone is only a few centuries old, though modern authorities differ on dates. Kunz places the custom in eighteenth-century Poland, while the Gemological Institute of America starts it in Germany in the 1560s.{{rp|293}}

File:PikiWiki Israel 34561 Breastplate on the front of the central Sephardic.JPG synagogue in Ramat Gan, Israel]]

Modern lists of birthstones have little to do with either the breastplate or the Foundation Stones of Christianity. Tastes, customs, and confusing translations have distanced them from their historical origins,{{rp|310}} with one author calling the 1912 Kansas list (see below) "nothing but a piece of unfounded salesmanship."{{rp|132}}

Some poems match each month of the Gregorian calendar with a birthstone. These are traditional stones of English-speaking societies. Tiffany & Co. published these poems "of unknown author" for the first time in a pamphlet in 1870.{{cite book |last=Farrington |first=Oliver Cummins |year=1903 |title=Gems and Gem Minerals |url=https://archive.org/details/gemsgemminerals00farrrich |publisher=Mumford |pages=[https://archive.org/details/gemsgemminerals00farrrich/page/63 63]–64}}

In 1912, to standardize birthstones, the (American) National Association of Jewelers (now called Jewelers of America) met in Kansas and officially adopted a list. They did this to standardize gemstones for their commercial availability and appeal, where before birthstones for each month were based on cultural or religious reasons.{{Cite web |title=Monthly Birthstone Chart {{!}} Printable Birthstone Guide |url=https://mybirthstone.org/birthstone-chart/ |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=My Birthstone |language=en}} The Jewelry Industry Council of America updated the list in 1952{{rp|311}} by adding Alexandrite for June, citrine for November and pink tourmaline for October. They also replaced December's lapis with zircon and switched the primary/alternative gems for March. The American Gem Trade Association added tanzanite as a December birthstone in 2002.{{cite book |title=Gems and Gemstones: Timeless Natural Beauty of the Mineral World |last1=Grande |first1=Lance |last2=Augustyn |first2=Allison |publisher=University of Chicago Press |date=2009 |page=335 |isbn=978-0-226-30511-0}} In 2016, the American Gem Trade Association and Jewelers of America added spinel as an additional birthstone for August.National Jeweler Magazine, "[http://www.nationaljeweler.com/diamonds-gems/supply/4301-ja-agta-add-spinel-as-august-birthstone JA, AGTA Add Spinel as August Birthstone]" Britain's National Association of Goldsmiths created its own standardized list of birthstones in 1937.{{cite book |title=The Oxford Companion to the Decorative Arts |editor-first=Harold |editor-last=Osborne |page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont0000osbo/page/513 513] |year=1985 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-281863-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont0000osbo/page/513 }} In 2021, Japanese industry associations added ten new types of birthstones.{{Cite web |last=日本放送協会 |script-title=ja:誕生石が新たに10種類増えます 63年ぶりに改定 加わったのは？ |url=https://www.nhk.or.jp/shutoken/newsup/20211221b.html |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=NHK |language=ja}}

Eastern culture recognizes a similar range of gemstones associated with birth, though rather than associating a gem with a birth month, gemstones are associated with celestial bodies. Astrology determines the gemstones most closely associated with and beneficial to a particular individual. For example, in Hinduism, there are nine gemstones related to the Navagraha (celestial forces including the planets, the Sun, and the Moon), known in Sanskrit as Navaratna (nine gems). At birth, an astrological chart is calculated. Specific stones are recommended to be worn on the body to supposedly ward off potential problems based on the place of these forces in the sky at the exact place and time of birth.{{cite book |last=Johari |first=Harish |title=The Healing Power of Gemstones: In Tantra, Ayurveda, and Astrology |publisher=Destiny Books |year=1986 |pages=15–34}}

While the term "birthday stone" is sometimes used as a synonym for a birthstone, each day of the week is also assigned a unique gemstone, and these assignments are distinct from the monthly assignments.

File:AlmandinInde.jpg|Garnet, the birthstone for January

File:Amethyst Gems.jpg|Amethyst, the birthstone for February

File:Beryl-gem7-59b.jpg|Aquamarine, the birthstone for March

File:Diamond.jpg|Diamond, the birthstone for April

File:Smaragd-G-EmpireTheWorldOfGems.jpg|Emerald, the birthstone for May

File:Pearl-variety hg.jpg|Pearl, one of three June birthstones

File:Moonstone from Africa.jpg|Moonstone, one of three June birthstones

File:Alexandrite 26.75ctsCropped.jpg|Alexandrite, one of three June birthstones

File:Ruby gem.JPG|Ruby, the birthstone for July

File:Peridot-China.jpg|Peridot, the modern birthstone for August

File:Sardonyx Inscription.JPG|Sardonyx, the traditional birthstone for August

File:Spinel-49528.jpg|Spinel, a more recent (2019) alternative birthstone for August

File:Sapphire.png|Sapphire, the birthstone for September

File:Lapis Lazuli, Afganistan.jpg|alt=Lapis the traditional birthstone for September|Lapis lazuli, the traditional birthstone for September

File:Precious opal (Coober Pedy Opal Field, South Australia).jpg|Opal, one of two October birthstones

File:Tourmaline cut.JPG|Tourmaline, one of two October birthstones

File:Citrine taillee.jpg|Citrine, one of two November birthstones

File:Topaz Minas Gerais MNHN Minéralogie.jpg|Topaz, one of two November birthstones

File:Kingmanturquoise.jpg|Turquoise, one of three December birthstones

File:Zoïsite (Tanzanite).jpg|Tanzanite, one of three December birthstones

File:Zircon-rlkg001a.JPG|Zircon, one of three December birthstones

• Birth flower

{{Reflist}}

• [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044009844317 The Curious Lore of Precious Stones], G.F. Kunz – full text online version
• [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015006842176;view=1up;seq=9 Gems and Gem Minerals], Oliver Cummings Farrington – full text online version

Category:Birthday culture

Category:Gemstones in culture