Crystals by month of birth

What is a birthstone?

THE birthstones are gems used in jewelry that are associated with certain months of the year. Each month therefore has a stone attached to it. For reasons, virtues, compatibility with the sign of the zodiac, but also depending on the colors and influences that we attribute to it, each stone chosen takes on its full meaning.

History of Birthstones

In 1913, in a work entitled The Curious History of Precious Stones , Georges Frederick Kunz - famous mineralogist and mineral collector (who gave his name to Kunzite) - undertook to revisit the history of this age-old tradition. We will explain everything to you.

Without explicitly talking about birthstones yet, the texts of the Old and New Testaments constitute the first elements of an answer.

The first text evokes an armor - that of the high priest Aaron - made up of 4 rows of stones engraved with the names of the 12 sons of Israel.

The origin of birthstones dates back several thousand years. The stones then adorned the ceremonial vestments of Jewish priests. These 12 stones represented both the 12 tribes of Israel, but also the months of the year and thus became birthstones.

Knowledge about gems was then not very advanced and relatively imprecise, which is why at the beginning of the ^20th century, in 1912 more precisely, that an association of jewelers (American Gems Society) chose to clarify things by associating one or two well-defined stones each month, ensuring respect for the origins and month-stone associations.

This classification has since offered clarity and help in choosing a piece of jewelry that fully corresponds to a birth according to the month of the latter.

For further

One thing is certain: belief in virtues of gems dates back to Antiquity. This is attested by the numerous treatises on mineralogy, in vogue until the beginning of the Renaissance.

Commonly called “lapidaries”, these treatises focus not only on describing the physical qualities of the stones, such as their provenance, but also their therapeutic and potential symbolic properties.

From these beliefs was born - during the 1970s - lithotherapy . From the Greek lithos which means stone and therapeia which means to heal, lithotherapy is literally treatment with stones . It is considered an alternative medicine.

Stones evoke something very personal to us and support what a piece of jewelry represents to us: an object carrying our history and meaning .

To discover the birthstones that are associated with each month of the year, do not hesitate to consult the pages dedicated to them. You will learn more and be able to choose gifts, to give or to treat yourself, that are perfectly in line with the birthday month.