December birthstones. Centuries ago, people got the idea that there were gemstones corresponding to each zodiac sign. Some civilizations felt that if you wore the correct stone at the right time, you’d receive awesome powers. That is basically the idea of the birthstone.
Today, the idea and tradition has evolved. People choose to wear their birthstones to honor the month of their birth. If you were born in the Christmas month of December, you have that much more reason to distinguish yourself.
Now, the people at your holiday parties will just think you’re wearing something cute or stylish. No problem with that, right?
Birthstones for the calendar month of December are Turquoise, Blue topaz and Lapis Lazuli.
December birthstones for the zodiac signs of Sagittarius (Archer, November 22–December 21) and Capricornus (Goat, December 22–January 19) are Amethyst, Beryl, Sapphire, Agate, Garnet, Tanzanite, Zircon, Onyx, Ruby and Chrysoprase.
Discover everything you need to know about each month's birthstone: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October and November.
So let’s go through each of these!
December Birthstones #1: Turquoise
Image via Monica Vinader
Have you ever wished you had a color named after you? Well, turquoise does. Turquoise is a semi-translucent combo of copper and aluminum phosphate.
It’s mined in a few appropriate areas, where acidic groundwater interacts chemically with minerals that contain aluminum and phosphorus. This action is what makes our blue-green gem!
Image by AACTV via Shutterstock
Turquoise is a tough little rock, with a hardness of 5 to 6. It can be carved, but is often cut into cabochons to make wonderful pendants. Take advantage of all that turquoise has to offer!
2. Lapis Lazuli
Image via Boucheron
If you love metamorphic rock, Lapis for you. Also known as Lapis Lazuli, this richly-hued blue gem is classified as semi-precious. It is so highly-regarded that it was included in the burial mask of King Tut. You consider yourself royalty, right?
Image by Splurge via Etsy
This awesome December birthstone is composed of lazurite, with smaller amounts of calcite and sodalite. However, sometimes stones don’t have calcite. In that case, the lapis stone will have no white markings— so it’s a clear blue stone. All Lapis stones are a striking blue, and ones without calcite are striking and pure, and highly valued. They are very popular as pendants for necklaces.
December Birthstones #3: Blue Topaz
Image via Tiffany
While Topaz comes in many colors all over the spectrum, the most popular is blue. That’s partly because this color is very expensive, so fashion lovers can get a lot of beauty for their dollar. The color does come from a treatment, but if it’s beautiful, who cares?
Topaz is a hard and durable stone that can still be cut into many shapes, such as heart, oval, marquise, pear, and baguette.
There are two main varieties of Blue Topaz: London Blue and Swiss Blue. London Blue is darker than the average Topaz stone, with greater saturation. It’s close to a blueberry in color.
Swiss Blue is like a clear lake on a Summer day. It possesses a great brightness, its saturation moderate.
4. Tanzanite
Image via Macys
Tanzanite are zoisite stones, the ones with blue or violent hues.
They have a nearly dreamy blue tone, a bit darker than sky blue, not shiny, just full-bodied in its blueness. It’s called Tanzanite because it was first found in Tanzania. In fact, it was found and named by the famous Tiffany Co., which became its chief seller, first in the U.S., then worldwide.
This was in 1968, and the big media buzz they created helped the gem become a major fashion sensation. One reason for this was that it was able to be cut into large stones.
The deep indigo shade of Tanzanite fuses the intuition that originates from the violet ray with the trust of the more muted blue ray. This is how Tanzanite acts as a stone of intuition.
5. Zircon
Image by Macys
Zircon is a natural gemstone with wonderful luster. It’s a shame that its name sounds like Zirconium, which is the imitation diamond. This gemstone—of the month of December—isn’t an imitation diamond or any sort of fake! In fact, Zircon the oldest mineral on Earth. Researchers have found crystals from Australian Zircon that date back 4.4 billion years old. Respect!
Zircon exists in just about any color, with blue being one of the most beloved. It offers guidance and grounds a person—a connection to the ancient essence of Earth would have to do that, right? What could be a more perfect way to represent December?
December Birthstones #6: The Understated Classiness Of Onyx
Image by Cartier
One of things this famous gemstone is known for is a nice, clean shine. It doesn’t reflect light very strongly, and that’s how it has its understated classiness.
A popular color of onyx is black; but it’s found in bright red or even a lovely green.
Onyx is perfect to wear with v-neck dresses, but also for jeans and a casual top.
Spiritually, Onyx provides self-confidence, allowing a person to feel good in her/his own skin and also at ease in any surrounding. It also helps a person make good decisions.
The Truly Red December Birthstones: #7, Ruby
Image via Bulgari
What is more truly red on earth than the ruby? Not cherries or apples. Not a girl’s face when she spills her drink at a party. Nothing. The ruby is ancient, beloved for all of human history.
There are five major kinds of ruby: Burmese, Thai, Mozambique, Tanzanian, and Madagascar. Burmese rubies are super-saturated and vibrant. They don’t have many inclusions—flecks—of other metals. Thai are of very high quality and are a bit darker, with burgundy tones. Mozambique rubies are sought after due to their brightness and transparency. Tanzanian rubies are very cleanly colored and structured, and a bit more affordable than others. Rubies from Madagascar tend to have more of an orange-blush tint to them.
The ruby produces loving, nurturing, and spiritual wisdom.
8. Chrysoprase
Image by Chopard
The green in this interesting stone can vary from apple-green to a bell pepper green. It’s a type of quartz, with transparency from transparent to semi-transparent, sometimes misidentified as “Imperial Jade.”
Chrysoprase can be found worldwide, in places as diverse as Australia, Brazil, Queensland, and the Western United States.
Image by Irene Neuwirth
One of the things the stone offers is really good wearability and a hardness of 6.5-7. The nearly-aquamarine color can make for some awesome beads for a necklace that will really complement a white outfit, or something muted like light brown.
The gemstones is for the sacra and heart chakras.
9. Amethyst
Image via Daniquejewelry
Amethyst is a type of quartz that is usually a transparent to dark purple. The stone is often faceted and is polished for various types of fashion jewelry. As with other precious stones, it has been highly-valued for centuries.
Image by Sebastian Janicki via Shutterstock
Amethyst can promote temperance and balance, saving the wearer away from excess. Placing one in the navel can lessen the effects of alcohol. Amethyst is also known as a stone for couples, helping relationships stay together.
10. Beryl
Image by Ohkuol via Etsy
Beryl is a type of beryllium and is actually a group of minerals, which includes aquamarine, morganite, red beryl, green beryl. Stones go from single carats to huge flawless cuts.
The more clarity a beryl stone has, the more value. Many of the stones have pleochroism, meaning they appear to be different colors when viewed from different angles.
Beryl increases youthfulness and sincerity.
The Truly Blue December Birthstones: #11, Sapphire
Image via Tiffany
Blue is the most famous color of Sapphire, and it can be a dazzling hue. Sapphires do come in a dizzying array of colors—every color but red, in fact. There is a rare sapphire called padparadascha, which is a lilting pink-orange.
When you buy a Sapphire, you know you’re getting a nearly-indestructible gem, since it has a Mohs hardness score of 9.
Image by Feedbackstudio via Shutterstock
Sapphire has long been admired for its spiritual attributes. It has long been known to be calming and to help with religious quests.
12. Agate
Image by Macys
Agates were among the earliest stones to be made into jewelry, and in modern times, they are crafted into cabochons to add their flair to pendants and necklaces and also rings.
Agate has a dreamy quality, produced by bands of mineral deposits, which are layered around the gem. These bands are actually records of water quality changing—impress your friends with that.
Image via Macys
Agate isn’t just lovely. It also has therapeutic properties. It is a great stone for harmonizing mind and body.
13. Garnet
Image by Selfridges
Garnet is a somewhat hard stone that comes in a wide variety of colors. It is often cut into rectangular little nuggets of cabochons, and other shapes. It has extremely crisp colors and is reflective. Technically, Garnet is a class of minerals: it includes rhodolite, andradite, spessartite, almandine, and pyrope.
Some forms of garnet change from brown or orange to pink or red. Garnet’s colors are always natural and untreated.
This gemstone is lucky, inspiring passion and balancing the sex drive.
As you see, there are a lot of unique and fun gemstones for December and for the appropriate star signs. There’s ruby, giving you a chance to sport red, the Christmas color, and garnet, which comes in a gorgeous green. Why not wear these two in combo?
All in all, there are great options for December birthstones, and now that you know some choice facts about them, you can have a richer jewelry experience.
Discover everything you need to know about each month's birthstone: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October and November.
Tags: blue zircon, December's birthstones, robin's egg blue, birthstone jewelry, birthstones tanzanite, zircon and turquoise, Sri-Lanka, shades of blue, cubic zirconia, colorless zircon, born in December