Birth Stones

Tiffany & Co.'s birthstone booklet, by the gemologist who gave his name to kunzite — with the stone for your month in eight different traditions.

Curious Facts

Everything below is in the book — each one links straight to the page it comes from.

  1. October's child is born for woe. The month's verse is the darkest in the book: "October's child is born for woe, And life's vicissitudes must know; But lay a beryl on her breast, And Hope will lull those woes to rest." Read it in the book →
  2. August without a carnelian means dying alone. "Wear a carnelian or for thee No conjugal felicity; The August-born without this stone, 'Tis said, must live unloved, alone." Read it in the book →
  3. Every month has a guardian angel. January's is Gabriel; February's Barchiel; December's Humiel — a full angelology printed by a Fifth Avenue jeweler. Read it in the book →
  4. The talisman is not the birthstone. January's natal stone is the garnet, but its talismanic gem is the onyx; April's is the diamond, but its talisman is the topaz — two parallel systems per month, both saleable. Read it in the book →
  5. March gets two stones and two apostles. Jasper and bloodstone share the month, as do James and John — the only month so doubled. Read it in the book →
  6. December's stone is the ruby. Not turquoise, as later lists settled: "Place on your hand a ruby true; Success will bless whate'er you do." The birthstone canon was still unsettled in 1909. Read it in the book →
  7. Jewelry once spelled words in stones. "ACROSTICS FORMED WITH STONES": in 18th-century France and England, rings and brooches were set so the stones' initials spelled a message — a diamond, emerald, amethyst and ruby saying "dear." Read it in the book →
  8. July's turquoise is romance insurance. "The heav'n-blue turquoise should adorn All those who in July are born; For thus they'll be exempt and free From love's doubts and anxiety." Read it in the book →
  9. Each month also gets an apostle, a sign and a flower. September alone carries chrysolite, the angel Tsuriel, the jacinth talisman, Lebbeus Thaddeus, Libra and the morning-glory — a complete cosmology per page. Read it in the book →
Rights & ReuseThe complete text of Birth Stones (1909) is in the public domain in the United States — like all works published before 1928 — and is free to read, download, quote, teach from, and reuse. This digital edition (its transcription, restored images, and site design) is © 2026 PhotoOpAI, and any editorial commentary we add is clearly marked as ours; the underlying public-domain text carries no such restriction.