BIRTHSTONES MINERALS AND GEMSTONES

BIRTHSTONES MINERALS AND 

GEMSTONES

Stes de Necker

Birthstones

Gemstones have been around for millennia, but the record shows that as far back as 3000 years ago, in India and Babylon, they believed to have descended from the heavens with magical properties able to influence both human and nature. The only way to classify gems at that time was by using color, as chemistry would not be invented until the middle ages.

Flavius Josephus, the Jewish-turned-Roman-historian, is often mentioned as having connected the 12 birthstones with the 12 gemstones mounted the Breastplate of the High Priest, and later, the 12 Foundation Stones for the New Jerusalem in the book of Revelation. 

But a closer examination of even just the surface details easily reveals that not only are they dissimilar, but complete opposites in purpose or intent. Historical records indeed trace multiple modifications and efforts to merge Biblical sources with non-Biblical practices, especially for Western cultures. 

This bothered astrologers, who insisted that birthstones be based on the motions or positions of the sun, moon, stars, and other planets. Cultures that base their list on tropical (Sun-based) or sidereal (Moon/star-based) zodiac refute the present list of accepted birthstones as just a marketing strategy to boost sales. The ancient system of birthstones states that a zodiac sign is controlled by a planet, which in turn governs each gemstone according to color (curiously only the rare and beautiful specimens). 

There really is no universal worldwide standard at this moment in time, but rather each culture (Indian, Tibetan, Eastern European, Western European, USA, UK, etc ) has its own list of birthstones.

Each birthstone has its own distinctive color, and features. A birthstone's natural untreated color was for centuries the only category believed to release the power native to each stone. The color tells the story of a birthstone's life, the arrangement of its atoms, the minerals, the pressures, heating and cooling, weathering, and such.

Aside from physical qualities, birthstones also have perceived qualities that have added to the lore of gemstones through the years. Some stones were believed to aid in delivering babies. Some talismans and amulets are used to protect from evil events and spirits. While others are said to induce sleep, soothe pain, prevent and and treat illness. 

Ancient lapidaries recorded lists and charts of which gemstones were for what purposes. 

For example, stones like jasper, hematite, carnelian were each found to have a different effect on certain parts of the body. 

There are even some beliefs that these gems could give someone incredible strength, the ability to become invisible, help foretell the future, attract wealth, and secure awards and recognitions.

January = Garnet

The birthstone for January is a Garnet usually Pyrope.

Pyrope is the iron magnesium and aluminum silicate of the pyrope-almandine series in the Pyralspite group of the Garnet family. Its beautiful deep-red gem quality makes it one of the most popular. Pure pyrope is colorless, but its red color, sometimes very bright, is due to small quantities of chrome in the crystal structure.
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Febuary = Amethyst

The birthstone for Febuary is Amethyst

Amethyst is the most coveted stone in the quartz group, and it is sometimes confused with beryl. It is usually found layered with milky quartz, and its color varies from purple to violet. - See more at:
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March = Aquamarine

The birthstone for March is Aquamarine

Aquamarine is a form Beryl that is similar in color to sea water. So it varies from green to blue just like the oceans. Most if not all Aquamarine has been heat treated to improve or lighten the color.
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April = Diamond

The birthstone for April is Diamond

Diamond is the only gem material comprised of a single chemical element: pure carbon, like graphite. But the atoms in diamond have been forced into a compact, three-dimensional structure by the high pressures in the upper mantle, where it is formed.
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May = Emerald

The birthstone for May is Emerald

Emerald is the most prized variety of the mineral Beryl. It sometimes fetches higher prices than diamond. It appears as pale green to bright green.

Though it is the green variety of beryl, not all gem-quality green beryls are called emeralds; yellow-green stones are called "heliodors;"soft blue-green or even pale green specimens are called "aquamarines".
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June = Pearl

The birthstone for June is Pearl

Pearl is one of four main ornamental materials that are classified as "organic" gems, the other three being coral, ivory, and amber. About 92 percent of pearl is calcium carbonate, in the form of aragonite crystals, held together by an organic substance (concholin), which is identical to the horny outer layer of oyster shells, plus a small quantity of water. Mother-of-pearl has a similar chemical composition, but with less calcium carbonate, and more water, and is used as the nucleus of cultured pearls.
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July = Ruby

The birthstone for July is Ruby

The color varies from fiery vermilion to violet red, but because rubies are pleochroic, different colors are also found in the same stone; bright or sometimes brick red in one direction, tending to carmine in the other.
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August = Peridot

The birthstone for August is Peridot

Peridot is the greener type of gem-quality specimen of Forsterite-Olivine, which is an important, rock-forming mineral, a silicate of magnesium and iron. Often their names are used interchangeably. The bottle-green/olive green type of olivine is also called olivine. The yellower type of olivine is called Chrysolite.
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September = Sapphire

The birthstone for September is Sapphire

Sapphires can be a very dark blue, to the point of seeming dense and blackish from a distance, sometimes accompanied by a blue to dull green pleochroism, which is only visible from the side in cut stones. They may also be a strong, but not too bright blue, easily recognizable from a distance, this being the real color. Other possibilities are light, usually bright, blue.
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October = Opal

The birthstone for October is Opal

Opal is hydrated silicon dioxide. It has the same chemical composition as quartz but contains about one-tenth (and sometimes as much as one-third) water.

It is never crystalline, but it displays a rich play of colors, or "fire" caused by the internal refraction of light by the array of tiny spheres of amorphous silica which for a compact, three-dimensional network in the mineral.
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November = Citrine

The birthstone for November is Citrine

Citrine is an attractive type of quartz, which is the commonest mineral on the earth's surface. But citrine itself is an uncommon macrocrystalline variety. Its yellow color brought about by its iron hydrate content, its reddish yellow from a trace of ferric iron. It forms hexagonal prisms, terminated by pyramidal shapes. Its faces are often striated, and the crystals twinned and distorted, having an uneven fracture at its base. It occurs in granular, stalactitic, and cryptocrystalline habits. It is a transparent to translucent mineral, and has a vitreous luster on fresh surfaces.
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December = Turquoise

The birthstone for December is Citrine

Turquoise is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminum in the Phosphates, Arsenates, Vanadates group, with a triclinic crystal system.

It rarely occurs as prismatic crystals. It is usually found as light-blue or green masses, nodules, and veins, sometimes filling cavities in various rocks. When it occurs as thin strips, it is tighter and brightly-colored at the center, lighter and porous on the outside.
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Minerals and Gemstones 

Zoisite: Zoisite is a hydrous calcium aluminum silicate in the Epidote group, with an orthorhombic crystal sy (read full)

Zircon: Zircon is a zirconium silicate with a tetragonal crystal system, and also contains thorium and urani (read full)

Watermelon Tourmaline: Watermelon Tourmaline is a bi-colored/tri-colored/parti-colored occurrence of Tourmaline, and this a (read full)

Vesuvianite: Vesuvianite is a hydrous calcium magnesium aluminum silicate with a tetragonal crystal system. It is (read full)

Unarovite: Uvarovite is a rare, calcium-chromium emerald-green variety of Garnet. Together with grossular (calc (read full)

Turquoise: Turquoise is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminum in the Phosphates, Arsenates, Vanadates gro (read full)

Tugtupite: Tugtupite is a mineral closely related to sodalite and hackmanite, all cyclosilicates whose structur (read full)

Topaz: The transparent, colored crystals, which also have good luster, are widely used as gems.
To (read full)

Titanite: Titanite is a very rare calcium titanium silicate that is an important ore of titanium. It is also c (read full)

Tektites: Tektites are glass specimens rich in silica that many believed were actually meteorites. But, the lo (read full)

Taaffeite: Taaffeite is a very rare beryllium magnesium aluminum mineral. No other mineral has both beryllium a (read full)

Staurolite: Staurolite is a hydrous magnesium aluminum silicate that crystallizes in the monoclinic system. It (read full)

Spodumene: Spodumene is a lithium aluminum silicate that crystallizes in the monoclinic system. It is one of se (read full)

Spinel: Spinel is an extensive group of minerals in which magnesium may be replaced with iron, zinc, and a (read full)

Sphalerite: Sphalerite is a zinc iron sulfide mineral formed in an isometric system. It is trimorphous with wurt (read full)

Spessartine: Spessartine is the manganese-aluminum variety of Garnet, belonging to its sub-group of aluminum garn (read full)

Sodalite: Sodalite is a sodium aluminum silicate chloride in the Sodalite group with an isometric crystal syst (read full)

Smithsonite: Smithsonite is a mineral in the group of Nitrates, Carbonates, Borates, with a hexagonal crystal sys (read full)

Sinhalite: Sinhalite is a magnesium aluminum borate, and is most commonly found as transparent honey-yellow to (read full)

Silver: Silver is a Native Element with an isometric system, a soft, white, precious metallic element of gro (read full)

Sillimanite: Sillimanite is a grayish-blue aluminum silicate with an orthorhombic crystal system. It is trimorphi (read full)

Shell: Shell is the hard, protective, outer layer covering of certain creatures found in saltwater or fresh (read full)

Serpentine: Serpentine may refer to a single mineral but more often to a group of minerals including antigorite, (read full)

Schorl Tourmaline: Schorl is the black, opaque, sodium iron rich variety of Tourmaline, a complex borosilicate with a (read full)

Scheelite: Scheelite is a mineral in the group of Sulfates, Chromates, Molybdates, Tungstates. It has the same (read full)

Scapolite: Scapolite is a mixed crystal series, a complicated sodium calcium aluminum silicate group composed o (read full)

Sardonyx: Sardonyx is a gem variety of reddish-brown colored sard with white or black banded chalcedony or ony (read full)

Sard: Sard is the uniformly colored red-brown or brownish-yellow variety of Chalcedony, which in turn is a (read full)

Sapphire: Sapphire is the blue variety of Corundum. Sapphires can be a very dark blue, to the point of seemin (read full)

Rutile: Rutile with anatase and brookite is a trimorph of titanium oxide in the Rutile group.
It forms (read full)

Ruby: Ruby is the most valuable variety of Corundum. The color varies from fiery vermilion to violet red, (read full)

Rubellite Tourmaline: Rubellite is the pink to red variety of Tourmaline, which is a complex borosilicate of aluminum and (read full)

Rose Quartz: Rose quartz is a usually cloudy, translucent, delicate pale pink, deep pink, rose-red to quasi-white (read full)

Rock Crystal (Quartz): Rock Crystal is the purest water-clear and colorless from of Quartz. It is known as mountain crystal (read full)

Rhodonite: Rhodonite is a silicate of manganese-iron-magnesium, a mineral of the Pyroxene group, with a triclin (read full)

Rhodochrosite: Rhodocrosite is a manganese carbonate, a mineral of the calcite series with a hexagonal crystal syst (read full)

Pyrope: Pyrope is the iron magnesium and aluminum silicate of the pyrope-almandine series in the Pyralspite (read full)

Pyrite: Pyrite is an iron sulphide mineral with a cubic crystal system and is dimorphous with marcasite. It (read full)

Chrysoprase: Chrysoprase is a massive, translucent, dull leek-green to yellow-green compact quartz aggregate, a v (read full)

Platinum: Platinum is a rare and precious metal that occurs as a Native Element, one of the rarest in the Eart (read full)

Plasma Chalcedony: Plasma is a massive, semitransparent, leek to dark green variety of Chalcedony (a microcrystalline v (read full)

Phosphophyllite: Phosphophyllite is a very rare mineral, a hydrated zinc iron manganese phosphate with a monoclinic c (read full)

Phenakite: Phenakite is a rare beryllium silicate with a hexagonal crystal system. It an attractive hard minera (read full)

Petalite: Petalite is a lithium aluminum silicate that is an important ore of lithium. This mineral forms, ra (read full)

Peridot: Peridot is the greener type of gem-quality specimen of Forsterite-Olivine, which is an important, ro (read full)

Pearl: Pearl is one of four main ornamental materials that are classified as "organic" gems, the (read full)

Padparadscha: Padparadschah is the name given to the orange-yellow sapphire, a gem variety of Corundum. It is also (read full)

Orthoclase: Orthoclase mineral is a silicate of potassium and aluminum, belonging to the Feldspar group. It has (read full)

Opal: Opal is hydrated silicon dioxide. It has the same chemical composition as quartz but contains about (read full)

Onyx: Onyx is a translucent to semitransparent variety of Agate, which in turn is a variety of Chalcedony (read full)

Oligoclase: Oligoclase is a mineral of the plagioclase feldspar series, other members of which are Labradorite a (read full)

Obsidian: Obsidian is an extrusive igneous rock, a volcanic glass formed by rapid cooling. Its essential com (read full)

Nephrite: Nephrite is a silicate of calcium, magnesium, and iron, containing fluorine and hydroxyl. It is an a (read full)

Morganite: Morganite is a pale red-purple, rose, salmon to purplish red, slightly pink, cesium-bearing variety (read full)

Moonstone: The variety name Moonstone is usually used to describe an optical effect and unlike most variety nam (read full)

Milky Quartz: Milky Quartz is a milky white translucent to opaque variety of crystalline quartz of somewhat greasy (read full)

Microcline: Microcline is a silicate of potassium and aluminum, and an alkali member of the feldspar group. It i (read full)

Meerschaum: Meerschaum is a clay-like hydrous magnesium silicate. It has no crystals, and occurs as earthy aggre (read full)

Malachite: Malachite is a bright green, basic copper carbonate. It appears as fibrous, radiating aggregates wi (read full)

Lazulite: Lazulite is a compact, pleochroitic mineral which forms a series to scorzalite. It is dichroic, with (read full)

Lapis Lazuli: Lapis lazuli is composed of several minerals in small quantities - augite, calcite, diopside, mica, (read full)

Labradorite: Labradorite is a sodium-rich plagioclase feldspar which displays a particular type of iridescence on (read full)

Kyanite: Kyanite is an aluminum silicate that occurs as elongated and tabular in groups of light-blue crystal (read full)

Kornerupine: Kornerupine is a rare magnesium aluminum borate silicate which occurs as transparent prismatic cryst (read full)

Jet Lignite: Jet is an organic gem material composed of lignite, and is a bituminous coal which can be polished. (read full)

Jasper Chalcedony: Jasper is the opaque form of Chalcedony, the microcrystalline varieties of quartz that form concreti (read full)

Jadeite: Jadeite is a silicate of sodium and aluminum, and is a member of the Clinopyroxene group of minerals (read full)

Ivory: Ivory is an organic gem material, largely obtained from the tusks of African and Indian (Asiatic) el (read full)

Iolite: Iolite is the violet-colored variety of Cordierite (named after French geologist P. Cordier), a sili (read full)

Indicolite: Indicolite is the blue sodium-rich variety of Tourmaline, and may come in all shades of blue, from l (read full)

Hypersthene: Hypersthene is an important iron-rich orthopyroxene in the Pyroxene group with an orthorhombic cryst (read full)

Howlite: Howlite an opaque, massive mineral used for ornamental and utilitarian articles. is a rarity for col (read full)

Hessonite: Hessonite is the brown-orange variety of Grossular, a nesosilicate in the Garnet group, with an isom (read full)

Hematite: Hematite is considered the most important Iron Ore mineral. Its crystals appear as reasonably thick. (read full)

Heliodor Beryl: Heliodor is a gem variety of Beryl with golden-yellow or light yellow-green color. In many cases hel (read full)

Hauyne: Hauyne is a blue feldspathoid rock-forming mineral, one of four members of the sodalite mineral grou (read full)

Hambergite: Hambergite is a beryllium borate mineral in the classification of Nitrates, Carbonates, and Borates (read full)

Gypsum: Gypsum is the most common sulphate mineral. It is usually the first evaporite mineral to be precipit (read full)

Grossular Garnet: Grossular is a nesosilicate in the Garnet group, with an isometric crystal system. Together with uva (read full)

Goshenite Beryl: Goshenite is a colorless sodium-rich gem variety of Beryl, a group which includes Emerald and Aquama (read full)

Gold: Gold is a Native Element that appears in very rare, small, octahedral, cubic, and dodecahedral cryst (read full)

Fluorite: Fluorite is a widely-distributed mineral in the Halide classification, and is now mined in vast quan (read full)

Fire Agate: Fire Agate is a term applied to much of the variety of chalcedony that occurs as botryoidal, consist (read full)

Euclase: Euclase is a silicate with a monoclinic crystal system. It is considered a very rare gem of light bl (read full)

Epidote: Epidote is widespread, forms a continuous series of minerals, ending with clinozoisite, which contai (read full)

Enstatite: Enstatite is the most common silicate under the Orthopyroxene group in the larger classification of (read full)

Emerald: Emerald is the most prized variety of the mineral Beryl. It sometimes fetches higher prices than dia (read full)

Dumortierite: Dumortierite is a variety of gemstone of basic aluminum borosilicate with an orthorhombic crystal s (read full)

Dravite: Dravite also called Brown Tourmaline is a sodium magnesium-rich mineral in the Tourmaline group of s (read full)

Dolomite: Dolomite is similar to calcite and sits along side it in limestone. It usually occurs as a secondary (read full)

Dioptase: Dioptase is a relatively rare emerald-green mineral, sometimes tinged bluish or blackish. Crystals a (read full)

Diopside: Diopside is a type of Clinopyroxene, which are abundant, rock-forming minerals. These are embedded a (read full)

Diamond: In fact Diamond is the only gem material comprised of a single chemical element: pure carbon, like g (read full)

Datolite: Datolite is a semi rare silicate mineral of the gadolinite group. It appears as surface-growing, sho (read full)

Danburite: Danburite is a silicate of clear, prismatic crystals, with wedge-shaped terminations. It is occasion (read full)

Coral: Corals are the supporting framework of small polyps. Each coral polyp, a tiny marine animal that li (read full)

Citrine: Citrine is an attractive type of quartz, which is the commonest mineral on the earth's surface. But (read full)

Chrysoprase: Chrysoprase is a variety of chalcedony, usually black or leek-green in color. The most highly-prized (read full)

Chrysocolla: Chrysocolla is a silicate that forms as stalactitic masses, in radiating groups, or closely-packed a (read full)

Chrysoberyl: Chrysoberyl appears as prismatic, tabular crystals often v-shaped twins forming pseudo-hexagonal cry (read full)

Chatoyant Quartz: When quartz contains similarly-oriented fibrous inclusions, and is then appropriately-cut, in caboch (read full)

Chalcedony: Chalcedony is a compact form of silica, composed of microscopic quartz crystals. It is softer than q (read full)

Cerussite: Cerussite is a colorless carbonate of the aragonite mineralogical classification. It appears as colo (read full)

Celestine: Celestine appears as colorless, or pale blue, and is transparent to translucent, and has two directi (read full)

Cassiterite: Cassiterite may form as short or slender prismatic, or bipyramidal, elbow-shaped crystals. It has a (read full)

Carnelian: Carnelian is a variety of chalcedony, which is translucent and is red to reddish-brown. It may also (read full)

Calcite: Of all minerals, calcite is by far the richest in forms. It appears as rhombohedral, scalenohedral, (read full)

Smoky Quartz: Smoky or Brown Quartz is a commonly occurring quartz mineral that gets it's name from the smoky or c (read full)

Brazilianite: Brazilianite is a soft and brittle mineral that in general does work very well as a gemstone. It's s (read full)

Bloodstone: Bloodstone is a member of the Chalcedony group. Why is it called Bloodstone? Well because in polishe (read full)

Beryllonite: Beryllonite is a clear gem/mineral that gets its name from its high content of beryllium. There are (read full)

Benitoite: Benitoite is a rare gemstone / mineral that fluoresces when lit by black lights. It gets its name fr (read full)

Barite: Barite also called Baryte or heavy spar is a clear to yellowish to blue mineral that is very soft an (read full)

Azurite: Azurite is a gorgeous stone that when polished into a sphere may look very much like the planet eart (read full)

Axinite: Axinite is a honey brownish to dark brown gem that is named after the axe head like crystal structur (read full)

Aventurine: Aventurine is a quartz mineral that is most often used to crave ornate animal or spiritual figures. (read full)

Aragonite: Aragonite is made from calcium carbonate and found near sedimentary rocks. Colors include clear (wh (read full)

Aquamarine: Aquamarine is a form Beryl that is similar in color to sea water. So it varies from green to blue ju (read full)

Apatite: Apatite is a gemstone that appears similar to tourmaline in its blue green form. It comes in yellow, (read full)

Anglesite: Anglesite is a very soft gem just slightly harder than gold and silver and as such it does not hold (read full)

Andradite: Andradite is a name given to members of the garnet that contain manganese and titanium. The 3 types (read full)

Andalusite: The gem Andalusite is a gemstone composed of Lead Sulphate giving it a yellowish hew with a light ti (read full)

Amethyst: Amethyst is the most coveted stone in the quartz group, and it is sometimes confused with beryl. It (read full)

Amblygonite: Amblygonite is a not so popular gem whose greek name means crooked. It comes in green, clear, yellow (read full)

Amber: Amber is one of the few organic gemstones that exist. Amber is made when tree resin is fossilized. M (read full)

Almandine: Almandine or Almandite is a member of the Garnet group, and is associated with the planet Pluto. Low (read full)

Albite: Albite is a member of the feldspar species as is predominantly a white or whitish mineral. A fine Al (read full)

Agate Chalcedony: Agate Chalcedony differs from other Chalcedony in that it often has distinct banding. In fact some (read full)

Achroite Tourmaline: Colorless Tourmaline, also known as white or Achroite Tourmaline is the name given to the clear or c (read full)

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