FASHION IS ART

Buy Birthstones As A Gift For Your Family   by Rick Jermaine

Do you know what your birthstone is? Everyone at some point in their life wants to learn which birthstone is related to them. Some people are delighted with the birthstone that relates to them, others are not so thrilled so how you you find out which is your birthstone?

Before going into that, let’s explain “what is a birthstone”. A birthstone is the stone that represents the month in which you were born. Where do you find this information? Well you can check your local jewelry store and they may be able to tell you. Alternatively you can look on the internet and you will find a wealth of information related to birthstones, their properties, the history of how the stone became associated with the month and also some variation on which stone actually represents each month.

The modern list of birthstones was standardized in 1912 by the American National Association of Jewelers, and is the accepted list of Jewelers of America. This list is used throughout the world with little variation. Here is the list according to birth month.

January Birthstone Garnet
February Birthstone Amethyst
March Birthstone Aquamarine
April Birthstone Diamond
May Birthstone Emerald
June Birthstone Pearl, Moonstone
July Birthstone Ruby
August Birthstone Peridot
September Birthstone Sapphire
October Birthstone Opal, Tourmaline
November Birthstone Topaz, Citrine
December Birthstone Turquoise, Blue Topaz

Birthstones make excellent gifts, especially when given as part of a piece of jewelry. Many well know brand jewelers inclduing Swarovski produce excellent birthstone jewelry, rings, bracelets or necklaces that anyone would be pleased to receive as a gift on their birthday.

In addition to the month you were born, it is also possible to have a different stone based on your zodiac sign. Here is the Zodiac Birthstone chart which details which stone relates to your Zodiac sign

Capricorn Dec 22 ~ Jan 20 Ruby
Aquarius Jan 21 ~ Feb 19 Garnet
Pisces Feb 20 ~ Mar 20 Amethyst
Aries Mar 21 ~ April 20 Bloodstone
Taurus April 21 ~ May 20 Sapphire
Gemini May 21 ~ Jun 21 Agate
Cancer Jun 22 ~ Jul 22 Emerald
Leo Jul 23 ~ Aug 23 Onyx
Virgo Aug 24 ~ Sep 23 Carnelian
Libra Sep 24 ~ Oct 23 Peridot
Scorpio Oct 24 ~ Nov 22 Beryl
Sagittarius Nov 23 ~ Dec 21 Topaz

The color of the stone is something that seems to be important for people who want birthstones. Given that you may not like the color (or the stone) you can chose the alternative (if given) or perhaps chose the Zodiac birthstone as an alternative stone with which to make up the piece of jewelry that you are designing.

About the Author

Rick Jermaine writes about buying birthstones and other jewelry, precious stones and metals for various websites. April Birthstones from the chart are available, but if you want a printable list of birthstones for each month Visit his website.
Elements Gold Jewellery 2012 Collection: #8: Envy (Peridot, Tourmaline & Green Quartz)