Throughout the ages, various cultures have developed a list of precious materials, mainly gemstones, to correspond with the one’s birth month or astrological sign.
The first historical appearance of birthstones can be found in Exodus 28:17-20, as the Bible describes the twelve stones found in Aaron’s breastplate. Centuries later, in fifteenth century Poland, tradition dictated that one wear each month’s birthstone during that given month, leading to many wealthier individuals owning a set of all twelve stones.
A more modern nod to birthstones comes from none other than Tiffany & Co., who published an 1870 pamphlet of poems which related to each of the birthstones. In general, birthstones have been thought to be lucky, occasional mystical and always of great aesthetic value.
Modern birthstones are generally considered to be:
- January – garnet
- February – amethyst
- March – aquamarine
- April – diamond
- May – emerald
- June – moonstone, pearl
- July – ruby
- August – peridot
- September – sapphire
- October – opal, pink tourmaline
- November – topaz, citrine
- December – blue topaz, turquoise, tanzanite, zircon
As a tradition of our own, we discount all online jewelry purchases featuring a specific month’s birthstone, during that month. These monthly discounts are announced in our newsletter and are often featured on our website as well.
As this blog is being posted on January 3, 2012, we have discounted all Garnet jewelry for this month. Simply enter the code GARNETSALE at the checkout online (or print this blog entry and bring it in to the store).