Modern versus traditional birthstones
Two lists, one calendar. Here is every month with the modern stone next to the older traditional one, and an honest note on where the modern list actually came from.
By Jamey Weber, editor and developer at FusionStudios. Last reviewed .
The two lists, month by month
| Month | Modern | Traditional | Also recognized |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Garnet | same | Rose Quartz |
| February | Amethyst | same | Onyx |
| March | Aquamarine | Bloodstone | none |
| April | Diamond | same | White Sapphire, Rock Crystal |
| May | Emerald | same | Chrysoprase, Agate |
| June | Pearl | same | Alexandrite, Moonstone |
| July | Ruby | same | Carnelian |
| August | Peridot | Sardonyx | Spinel |
| September | Sapphire | same | Lapis Lazuli |
| October | Opal | same | Tourmaline |
| November | Topaz | same | Citrine |
| December | Turquoise | same | Tanzanite, Zircon, Blue Topaz |
Where the two lists part company
On this site's data the lists diverge for March, August. Those are the months where a modern jeweler and an antique reference book will genuinely hand you different stones, and where a gift can go wrong if you assume there is only one answer. For every other month the modern and traditional stone are the same, so the distinction never comes up.
Why a second list exists at all
Birthstone lore is old and was never centrally governed. Different regions attached different gems to the same month, and availability mattered as much as symbolism: a stone that could not be bought locally did not stay on a local list for long. When the jewelry trade standardized a single list in the twentieth century, it did not delete the older associations, it simply gave shops one answer to give. That is why both lists survive, and why neither is wrong.
How to choose
Pick on color and meaning rather than on which list is more official. Each month page lists the color of every stone for that month separately, so you can compare them properly instead of taking one blended description. If a month has several stones for reasons of history rather than tradition, the guide to months with several birthstones explains how that happened.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a modern and a traditional birthstone?
The modern list is the standardized twentieth-century one that jewelers use today. The traditional stones are the older associations that circulated before that standardization, drawn from several centuries of European and Asian gem lore. Where they differ, both are correct within their own tradition.
Which birthstone should I actually buy?
Whichever you prefer. There is no authority that can rule one out. In practice a jeweler will stock the modern stone, so that is the easier one to find set in a ring or pendant, and the traditional stone is the one to ask for specially.
Do the two lists ever agree?
For most months, yes. The lists match for the majority of the year and diverge for only a handful of months, which is why the difference surprises people when they meet it.
Sources and limits
The modern list used on this site is the one in common jewelry-trade use today, which is generally credited to a standardization by the American jewelry trade in 1912 with later additions. We have not been able to read the original 1912 document itself, so that attribution is marked here as unverified rather than presented as a sourced fact. The stone-by-month values in the table below reflect current common usage, not a reading of any single historical document. If you need a citable origin date, go to a gemmological body directly rather than quoting this page.
Keep reading
Every guide is listed on the guides hub. How the reference data on this site is put together, and where it comes from, is on the methodology page.