Birthstones

Flavius Josephus

Birthstones have a long and fascinating history, dating back thousands of years. Originally, these stones were worn as protective planetary talismans, based on the sun’s position throughout the year. Rather than as personal birthstones as we know them today. Birthstones are the assignment or alignment of a particular gemstone(s) to each month of the year and to the zodiac signs. As each gemstone has specific virtues, which are heightened at a particular month each year. The wearing of these stones during the correct month allows the greatest transfer of virtues from the stone to the wearer. This belief originated from the writings of Flavius Josephus in the 1st century. This talismanic wearing of these stones would continue until the end of the Middle Ages. After which the assigned monthly gemstone(s) began to be connected to the person’s birth month.

It should be noted that there are discrepancies within some old charts and some regional charts overlap, plus there has been historical translation errors, which explains why these charts tend to become so tangled. Also, the zodiac signs do not use the standard calendar months, they are based on the sun’s movements through the seasons. Each zodiac sign covers a thirty degree slice of the sky, as such they typically begin around the 19th to 22nd of each month. So when zodiac alignments are overlaid on our Gregorian Calendar mismatches can seem to appear.

Biblical Birthstone Chart

The origin of the Biblical Birthstone Chart comes from the Breastplate of Aaron. In the Book of Exodus, God commands Moses to create a sacred Breastplate for his brother Aaron, the High-Priest. This Breastplate held twelve gemstones set in four rows, with each gemstone engraved with the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. There has been some confusion to the exact names of these twelve gemstones because of ancient translation differences and variations used by different ancient authorities. The twelve gemstones of the Breastplate of Aaron, listed below, are generally considered accurate by historians.

High Priest’s Breastplate Gemstones

• Row 1: Sardius (or Carnelian / Ruby), Topaz, Carbuncle (or Garnet / Emerald).
• Row 2: Emerald (or Turquoise), Sapphire, Diamond (or Jasper / Lapis Lazuli).
• Row 3: Jacinth (or Ligure / Orange Zircon), Agate, Amethyst.
• Row 4: Beryl (or Chrysolite), Onyx, Jasper.

The earliest association of the twelve gemstones of the Breastplate with the months of the year is to be found in the “Antiquities of the Jews” by Flavius Josephus. Here Josephus writes:

“The two Sardonyxes that were in the clasps on the High Priest’s shoulders, indicate to us the sun and the moon. And for the twelve stones, whether we understand by them the months, or the twelve signs of what Greeks call the zodiac, we shall not be mistaken in their meaning.”

The above passage was adapted by St. Jerome, some three hundred years later, in the 5th century, when he wrote a letter to Fabiola. It was believed that these twelve gemstones held virtues and medicinal properties that were beneficial to people. Each gemstone was assigned its own month, during which these virtues and medicinal properties were heightened. At this time, the Book of Revelation became a subject of devout study. St Jerome stated that the Book of Revelation was the ultimate fulfillment of Christian Salvation and so the twelve foundation stones of the New Jerusalem largely took the place of the gemstones of the Breastplate. Each of these foundational stones was inscribed with the name of one of the apostles, since Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ, he was excluded from these foundational stones and was replaced by St Matthias.
St Jerome promoted owning all twelve of these gemstones and recommended wearing the appropriate one for each month. This practice became very popular with wealthy individuals during the Middle Ages, who would collect all twelve stones for this purpose. The practice of wearing a single birthstone throughout the year would not emerge until much later.

Foundation Stones of the New Jerusalem 12 Month Alignment (5th-15th century)

Traditional Birthstone Chart

It is not known exactly when the assignment of birthstones to birth months took place. It is thought to have developed in Central Europe during the 16th century. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has traced its development to Germany in the 1560s. Jean Henri Prosper Pouget, known as Pouget fils, who was a French Jeweller, states that in his opinion, the trend started in Germany, in his writings in 1762. While others claim that this trend started in Poland, when Jewish gemstone dealers began marketing individual gemstones using birth months. These Jewish gemstone dealers were said to be trying to move away from the “collect all twelve gemstones” and so open up the market to people that were less wealthy.
It should be noted that there were regional variations in this traditional birthstone chart, as it was not a unified chart.
Both Georgian Jewellery and Victorian Jewellery were quite sentimental and birthstones played a part in this. For example, acrostic jewellery was very popular and it was used to spell out a message to a loved one by using the first letter of each gemstone. So the message DEAREST would be spelt using Diamond, Emerald, Amethyst, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, and Topaz. Acrostic jewellery would also frequently include the use of the loved one’s birthstone, further personalising the jewellery. This Georgian Dearest Ring is a wonderful example of acrostic jewellery.
To capitalise on this sentimentality, in 1870, Tiffany & Co. published twelve birthstone poems known as the “Gregorian Birthstone Poems”. The poems themselves were published anonymously but it is widely thought that these poems were traditional folklore rhymes used as a clever marketing campaign.
Note: * “Zodiac Angels” and the modern “Birth Month Guardian Angels” actually originate from Renaissance mysticism and the occult, not Catholic Theology. The use of Gabriel’s name in this zodiac list has caused some considerable confusion. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael are the only three angels named in the Bible.
Note: ** When these Gregorian Poems were used, they adapted the turquoise poem to fit December, by either changing that month’s gemstones or by changing the line of the poem “Place on your hand a turquoise blue;” to “Place on your hand a ruby true;”. This is also the case with September’s poem, which was originally sapphire but later on was adapted to chrysolite. I have included the original poems and so there are mismatches.

Traditional Birthstone Chart (16th century to 1912)

Gemstone of Week Days Chart

Modern Birthstone Chart

In 1912, the National Association of Retail Jewelers convened in Kansas City to create a standardised modern birthstone chart. Before this, birthstone charts varied wildly depending on the region and even the availability of particular gemstones. This of course, did cause a lot of confusion amongst consumers. The other reason jewellers wanted a unified chart was to remove gemstones which they considered to be “archaic” and difficult to mass-produce. They wanted to replace them with brighter and more profitable gemstones. March’s bloodstone was replaced by aquamarine, which was brighter and easier to facet. June’s cat’s-eye, turquoise and agate were replaced by pearl, moonstone and with alexandrite being added in 1952. The main reason for this was that pearl was seen as the height of fashion and alexandrite was introduced as a prestigious gemstone. August’s sardonyx was replaced by peridot, this was mainly due to sardonyx being considered an old-fashioned and opaque gemstone. While peridot could be easily faceted and it provided a bright and lively sparkle. Tourmaline was added to October, this was mainly done to offer a more durable alternative to opal. Opal is a fragile gemstone and as such is only suitable for occasional wear, whereas tourmaline is durable enough for everyday wear, along with its ability to be faceted into a bright and lively gemstone. December’s lapis lazuli was replaced by zircon in 1952 and tanzanite was added later in 2002. This was to try and move away from opaque gemstones towards bright faceted stones.
While there was a need to create a unified chart, these so called “archaic” gemstones which were replaced, had incredible history and folklore attached to them, dating back thousands of years. Their history and folklore is deeply embedded in the human psyche, having been passed down through the generations. To replace such fundamental gemstones with more commercially profitable gemstones is questionable. An example of this would be tanzanite, which is a modern gemstone with virtually no folklore attached to it. Now going back through time, there have been various charts and various changes made to charts. However, all of these charts were essentially based either on the gemstones contained within the Breastplate of Aaron or on the gemstones of the Foundation Stones of the New Jerusalem in Revelation. This severing of Biblical ties for commercial purposes outraged traditionalists and historians alike. One of the most prominent opponents of the new chart was George Frederick Kunz, who spent many years researching and documenting the history and folklore of gemstones. He published his work titled “The Curious Lore of Precious Stones” in 1913. He was also the Chief Gemologist of Tiffany & Co. The resistance to this new birthstone chart did not end in 1912, it has continued to be a bone of contention to the present day.

Modern Birthstone Chart (1912 to Present)

Zodiac Alignment Charts

For Researchers and Journalists

Recommended Citation (MLA) Format:

Hoyne, John. “Birthstones – Biblical, Traditional and Modern Charts.” Carus Jewellery, n.d., https://carusjewellery.com/birthstones/.

You can also get in touch with Carusjewellery.com on Facebook , where you may leave any comments or questions you may have about this article.