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Birthstones are precious or semi-precious gemstones that relate to the month of a person’s birth. Below are a list of birthstones and their correlating month so that you can choose the perfect gift for that special person:

• January: Garnet

Look at garnet pieces here. Garnet is usually red but can be found in many colours -some garnet stones even have a colour changing quality. Garnet is also the gemstone for second wedding anniversaries.

• February: Amethyst

Look at amethyst pieces here. Amethyst is a purple variety of quartz believed by Greeks to prevent drunkenness. This stems from Greek legend where a young maiden named Amethystos was being chased by Dionysus. She prayed to Artemis to keep her chaste and so the Goddess transformed her into a white stone. A humbled Dionysus poured wine over the stone making it the famed purple colour. Today’s amethyst is normally found in Austria, Russia, India, Brazil and Uruguay.

• March: Aquamarine

Look at aquamarine pieces here. Aquamarine is usually a delicate blue but can be found in yellow pink and white. Is is found in Russia, Sri Lanka and Brazil -amongst other places. Aquamarine is also traditionally the stone used to commemorate 19th wedding anniversaries and protect sailors.

• April: Diamond

Look at aquamarine pieces here. Diamonds are formed deep in the Earth’s crust and so those that have made their way to the surface (or at least mining depth) can be up to 3.3 billion years old! Diamonds can also be made by meteorite impacts or brought from outer space - Carbonado diamonds formed in space and landed in South America and Africa with a large asteroid.

• May: Emerald

Look at emerald pieces here. Emerald is used as the stone for the 55th wedding anniversary. Some rare emerald contain a six-point star pattern and are called trapiche emeralds.

• June: Pearl

Look at pearl pieces here. Pearls form naturally in living shelled molluscs -water-living creatures that create protective layers around irritant objects in their soft tissue. One particular group -bivalves -produce the best mother-of-pearl. These are the pearl oysters and river mussels. Natural pearls are incredibly rare and seldom smooth or round -perfectly matched pearl necklaces can reach millions at auction.

• July: Ruby

Look at ruby pieces here. Rubies are also the traditional gem of 40th wedding anniversaries. Rubies are the stones of noblemen and good luck in India and China.

• August: Peridot

Find peridot pieces here. Gem quality peridot is rare and have been found in meteorites.

• September: Sapphire

Find sapphire pieces here. Blue sapphire is associated with Saturn and 45th wedding anniversaries.

• October: Opal

Find opal pieces here. Opal’s are Australia’s national gemstone and visits to opal mines are a popular tourist attraction there. Opals can form into fossils as well as the minerals used for jewellery. Opals have a variety of colours in each piece but the most rare are red and black next to one another.

• November: Golden Topaz or Citrine

Find golden topaz pieces here and citrine here. Citrine is a variety of quartz and is traditionally used as protection against snake venom and evil thoughts.

• December: Turquoise

Find turquoise pieces here. Turquoise is predominantly mined in Iran and was first exported from Persia around 2,000 years ago. It can be found on the death mask of Tutankhamun. Apache tribes thought that turquoise would help archers to aim.

There are many variations on this list -not least because the original list comes from the book of Revelation when the foundations of the new Jerusalem were laid in the order of the Roman calendar. Most product descriptions on this site inform the customer of the birth stone used.