Throughout the ages, various cultures have believed birthstones to hold magical powers.
Birthstone jewelry is a thriving industry. It dates from ancient times to our present-day society. Wearing a birthstone brings individuality to the forefront in anyone’s style. It also adds an extravagant flair of color.
Popular consensus places the origin of birthstones back to biblical times.
Titus Flavius Josephus, a first-century Roman-Jewish historian, wrote the book Antiquities of the Jews. Within it, he details the ceremonial garb worn by Aaron, Moses’ older brother and the first high priest of the Hebrew people. Josephus writes that embedded in Aaron’s breastplate were twelve unique stones.
Each of these stones bore the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Josephus went on to add that each stone could also represent the months of the year.
Read on to find out about each birthstone and how to incorporate it into your everyday wardrobe.
Stone Type: Garnet
Some believe the garnet provides safety during travels. On the romantic side, it aids with love, passion, sensuality, and intimacy.
Garnet’s name has its roots in Latin, from the word “garanatus“. The Latin word means seedlike, referring to how a garnet resembles pomegranate seeds.
Garnets work great in both casual and business attire as earrings, rings, and necklaces. To offset the stunning deep red of garnet, we recommend wearing a black and white outfit.
Stone Type: Amethyst
This violet quartz has several protective properties linked to it in various mythologies.
The ancient Greeks inset amethyst into their goblets and cups to prevent intoxication. This makes sense when you consider the word amethyst has its origins in the Greek word for “sober”.
Other general beliefs are that amethyst helps to make you courageous. It’s also rumored to hold several healing properties, helping with insomnia, arthritis, circulation, and general pain.
Amethyst makes great birthstone jewelry and adds stylish elegance to any assemble. Because amethyst is a dark purple gemstone, wear soft grays or ice white to highlight its beauty.
Stone Type: Aquamarine
Aquamarine is a combination of its Latin roots, “aqua” meaning water and “marina” meaning sea. So in full aquamarine means “water of the sea”, describing its beautiful blue hue.
Because of its watery origins, aquamarine is also said to protect sailors and people out at sea.
With its light blue color, aquamarine is best paired with neutral tones. To go with aquamarine, wear outfits in black and white, or dark blue and tan.
Stone Type: Diamond
The ancient Greeks called diamonds by the word “adamas“. It meant invincible and indestructible.
Diamonds, with their icy white coloring, symbolize purity. It’s also believed to help bring enduring love and ensure devotion.
Diamonds match everything. They’re popular as stud earrings, which can complement any outfit. Necklaces are also popular for diamonds. Diamond necklaces go best with formal wear, like a simple black dress.
Stone Type: Emerald
This green birthstone is linked to Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty, and also Cleopatra. The Egyptian queen favored adorning her body with emerald jewelry.
Emeralds represent deep love and protect lovers from infidelity. It’s more spiritual powers include improving memory, eyesight, and intellect.
The complementary color to emerald is red. Outfits that have red as the primary color will look great with an emerald ring or earrings.
Stone Type: Pearl
A tiny globe or iridescence, the pearl holds calming properties and represents purity. It’s also believed to promote charity, truthfulness, integrity, and loyalty.
Pearls hold an inherently classy look. This doesn’t mean they aren’t adaptable though! Pearls can work excellent with a wide array of styles.
For casual attire, a single strand pearl necklace will look gorgeous with jeans and a nice blouse. Pearl stud earrings work best with a solid-colored dress.
Stone Type: Ruby
Known once as the “King of Gems”, this blood-red gem wards off evil. It can also symbolize love, passion, integrity, devotion, and happiness.
Rubies, with their vivid crimson color, draw attention to themselves. Either as a necklace, earrings, or bracelets, rubies work best with solid black and white outfits, or anything featuring red as its primary color.
Stone Type: Peridot
The ancient Egyptians once referred to peridot as “the gem of the sun”. In the present day, its sometimes called the “evening emerald” because of its light green color.
The peridot symbolizes strength and is even believed to help maintain youth.
With its pale yellow-green hue, peridot is best worn with neutral colors. Try pairing a peridot brooch with an outfit in solid colors like white, cream, navy, grey, and black.
Stone Type: Sapphire
Associated with the inner workings, sapphire is said to assist with creative expression, inner tranquility, and meditation.
People wore this gemstone in ancient times to help attract divine favor. The Greeks, Buddhists, and Hindus all wore sapphire during spiritual enlightenment.
The royal blue of sapphires compliments several different color schemes. Sapphire jewelry is offset well by orange, peach, and blush hues.
Stone Type: Opal
From the Greek word “opallios“, meaning “to see a change of color”, opal diffracts light. Because of this, the body color has an iridescent sheen. It’s believed to inspire creativity, faithfulness, and confidence.
Opal is a softer gemstone and requires more care than other birthstone jewelry. Opal is best worn as earrings, necklaces, or broaches to avoid damage. Thanks to their base color of white or black, and rainbow kaleidoscope effect, opal jewelry compliments any outfit choice.
Stone Type: Topaz
In ancient England, topaz was once believed to cure insanity and grant wisdom. It also represents love and affection.
Topaz comes in a range of yellows to brownish-oranges. It derives its name from Topazios, an ancient Greek name for an island in the Red Sea.
This birthstone jewelry works best with outfits in black and white, tan, or deep green.
Stone Type: Turquoise
This light blue gemstone hails in use back to the Aztecs. They believed that turquoise was sacred and even made ceremonial masks out of it. Even the Egyptians favored turquoise, who felt it brought joy and delight to the wearer.
Because of its unique lighter shade, turquoise works best with solid blacks and other neutral colors, like cream and brown.
Birthstone jewelry comes in a wide range of styles and gemstones. Don’t be afraid to even throw on a birthstone that isn’t necessarily your own.
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