For centuries the man believed in the extraordinary power of gemstones. Therefore, he endowed these gems by particular mystical properties.

Later, these unique stones were described in the Bible and other ancient sources. Thus, the term "Birthstones" appears in our life. You can read a full article, concerning the History of Birthstones, by following this link.

According to these sources, each of natal stones possesses the unique properties and is appropriate for a particular month. Hence, the custom tells us, that a person, born under particular constellation or in a specific month, can strengthen his best qualities by wearing an appropriating gemstone as his birthstone.

Birthstone Chart By Month

Birthstones Chart By Zodiac

History Of Birthstones

Anselmus de Boodt wrote in the 17th century that there is God and the almighty is the cause of everything, including Devil and Evil. God, thus acted through his assistants, good and evil angels, who, by a personal mercy of God and for the safety of man, can enter the gemstones to protect man from disasters or to provide some particular favor for him.

Origin

We can trace the information about the unusual stones in plenty of ancient, medieval and modern treatises. But the term "Birthstones" appeared much later.

The prehistoric man gazed at the sky at night. He observed unusual phenomena that caused fear and excitement in his heart, simultaneously. He was impressed by the grandeur of the stars. But the sense of anxiety embraced him while he was witnessing the Meteor Rain. Perhaps he managed to notice a piece of Chrysolite that fell down the Earth. As we know now, Olivine or Peridot are the varieties of Chrysolite. So while taking one of these gemstones in an arm, our predecessor could connect this event to his date of birth.

Birthstones in the Bible

Many centuries later, the first mention about the natal stones first appeared in the Bible. Both Josephus and St. Jerome wrote about the twelve stones that were in the Priestly breastplate. Each gem symbolized a particular sign of the Zodiac. As a result, this feature correlates with the month of birth.

Polish Trail

George F. Kunz claims that the custom of wearing the natal stones first appeared in Poland in the seventeenth century. The reason was the discovering of healing and magical properties attributed to particular gems. Over time, people attached gemstone to the signs of the Zodiac. But given the fact that each sign responds a specific month, these precious and semi-precious stones received a term "Birthstones" applied to them. Later, the Hebrew gem traders spread this custom among the other nations. Afterward, each country made an own birthstone chart.

Polish trail is due to the Hebrew settlements in Poland. As we know, the Jews showed an interest in precious stones. Each noble Jewish man wore gems. So, we tend to believe that Jews were first who introduced Birthstones in vogue. Flavius Josephus confirms our assumptions on the subject of the Polish-Jewish trail of Birthstones. He points us to the string in the scripture where we can find the mention of four elements of nature and twelve gems (Flavii Josephi, Ed. Dindorf, Parisii, 1847, vol. II, p. 97.).

Origin of the Custom

Three centuries later, St. Jerome introduces the twelve natal stones in his treatise "letter to Fabiola." In this work, he prescribes to wear one of these precious stones to a person born under the corresponding sign of the Zodiac. No matter, whether or not it was the first mention of this custom, shortly afterward, Birthstones came in vogue.

Summit in 1912. Modern Custom

A curious historical event happened in August 1912. The National Association of Jewelers assembled a meeting. During this discussion, a first attempt to classify the Birthstones in a certain order was undertaken. The importance of this event not only to emphasize the commercial aspect of Birthstones in jewelry. That was the first illustration of the fact that these stones did matter within the entire history of humanity.