Step by Step Facts about Birthstones

Birthstones are the representative of a person’s date of birth and usually embedded in the jewelry for personal beautification.

All cultures define their own values and living standards and in western countries, a Jewish Historian expressed his belief by establishing the relation of birthstones with twelve months of a year, zodiac signs and the gems that are embedded on Aaron’s breastplate. The work of this historian was displayed in two diverse lists that included all gems of a complete year.

The list of current era of birthstones has a complete mismatch with the all past list prepared for classification of gemstones.

Ancient conventional birthstones are a reflection of civilizations’ concerns and they are the representative of polish gemstone ideology. Many poems were published to establish a connection with the meaning of a birthstone that is part of the Gorgerin Calendar.  This gives an idea about the English civilization concerns for gemstones.

For present jewels classification, in 1912 a successful struggle was tried to award a standardized jewels, the American Association of Jewelers planned a meeting and announced a final draft of birthstones. In 1952 this birthstones classification was reviewed and Jewelry Council of America freshen it with the addition of three more gemstones in the draft, Alexandrite for June, pink tourmaline for October and citrine for June.  This fresh draft also reinstated lapis with zircon, gemstones of December. In 2002 fresh classification of jewels was organized that included the addition of tanzanite in the December gemstone.  According to a published draft in 2016, spinel was added in August birthstones. But, British Goldsmiths had defined their own standards for birthstones and their list was published in 1937.

In Eastern civilization the same list of birthstones was accepted with an additional ideology, gemstones are connected with the birth. The astrological signs are related with the date of birth of the individuals. According to Hinduism, there are nine gems that are related to the nine planets.

Firmness and Life of Birthstones

Gemstones are graded in firmness and life. We have rated the birthstones by considering their use in various ornaments. This rating is for mined jewels and its range is from “Poor” to “Excellent”. For artificial jewels that are also called synthetic jewels, the rating is from “good” to “excellent”. For optimize use of jewels, always consult a jeweler that will refer you to a stone that will be matching with your date of birth.

Excellent Rating for Birthstones

The most long life birthstones are Aries Birthstone (diamond) ,July Birthstone (ruby) and September Birthstone (sapphire). These gemstones have hardness level 9 to 10 on Mohs scale and have a long life, proved the most suitable for jewelry.

Good Rating for Birthstones

Many of the stones are too hard to use in jewelry for durability. Their hardness can be the cause of scratch and to remove jewelry during any activity is appreciable ideas and any impact may damage them. All the jewels in this range are January birthstone (Garnet), February Birthstone (Amethyst) and March Birthstone (bloodstone).

Fair to Poor Rating for Birthstones

The gemstones that are rated below the good have more chance of breakage. The stones in this category are May Birthstone (Emerald), October birthstone (Opal) and June Birthstone (Pearl)

Birthstones Colors

The entire beauty of a birthstone is because of its color and sparkling traits. For example Aries Birthstone Color (diamond) in its natural color without any impurity is white that is also called colorless stone.  The color of all birthstones affects its price. For instance, diamond is discovered in all colors and the most valuable is white or colorless diamond. Further, most of the individuals are confused with ruby and the red diamonds.

The level of impurities in all birthstones affects their colors. Greater the amount of impurity in a stone lesser will be its price.