Birthstones Part 4 — Beyond the Twelve Months: Birthstones for the Time of Day, Day of the Week, Day of the Month, and Season
When choosing to purchase a birthstone for oneself or as a gift, one may find that the birthstone associated with the relevant month isn’t suitable for their needs or doesn’t satisfy the preferences of the eventual owner. Fortunately the month in which someone was born is not the only component of a person’s birth date that may be associated with gemstones.
Sometime after the adoption of the birthstone practice in Europe based on the twelve months of the year, a number of other birthstone lists were developed. By the end of the 19th century birthstones had been matched with the birth hours, days of the week, and even the seasons in which people were born.
These lists, found below as they are currently understood, offer an even greater selection of stones to give as gifts or have set in custom jewellery:
Birthstone [AM] Hour Birthstone [PM]
Hematite 2 Emerald
Malachite 3 Beryl
Chrysolite (Peridot) 7 Sardonyx
Amethyst 8 Chalcedony
Sapphire 10 Jasper
Garnet 11 Lodestone
Diamond 12 Onyx
*”Morion” is another name for the deep black form smoky quartz
Day of the Week Birthstone
Sunday Topaz
Monday Pearl, Rock Crystal*
Wednesday Amethyst, Lodestone
Thursday Sapphire, Carnelian
Saturday Turquoise, Diamond
*”Rock Crystal” is another name for colourless quartz
Click here to see Skyjems’ beautiful selection of topaz, the birthstone associated with Sunday!
Click here to see our glimmering collection of kunzite — the 9 am birthstone!
Season Birthstone
Spring Emerald
Summer Ruby
Fall Sapphire
Winter Diamond
In addition to these lists, stones have been matched with the day of the month upon which one was born. This list, known as the ‘Lucky Birthstones’, was developed sometime in the 20th century and associates nine stones with various days of the month based on the numerology of those birth dates.
Below are the lucky birthstones:
Lucky Birthstone:
Pearl
Diamond
Coral
Day of the Month:
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th
13th
14th
15th
16th
17th
18th
19th
20th
21st
22nd
23rd
24th
25th
26th
27th
28th
29th
30th
31st
There is certainly no shortage of options when selecting a birthstone. The birthstone options continue even further in the next instalment of this series.