Birthstone vs Gemstone & Birthstone vs Zodiac Stone
What is the difference between birthstone and gemstone, and between birthstone and zodiac stone? I hear these questions very often. A lot of people get confused when telling them apart, and rightly so because there is not a lot of information about this topic. Understanding the differences as well as similarities will help immensely when you are looking for your birthstone navigating the world of multiple birthstone lists and opinions. We will attempt to explain the difference between birthstone and gemstone as well as between birthstone and zodiac stone in this short article, so here we go!
Birthstone vs Gemstone
Let’s start with definitions. What is a birthstone? - “A birthstone is a gemstone that represents a person's period of birth that is usually the month or zodiac sign.” - this is what I wrote on Wikipedia. This definition is not ideal, but I am not aware of a better one.
What is a gemstone? According to Oxford Dictionary “A Gemstone is a precious or semiprecious stone, especially one cut, polished, and used in a piece of jewelry.”
Based on the above information, are all gemstones also birthstones? Well, almost. Most common gemstones are in either main or alternative birthstones or zodiac gems lists, however there are some that are not. Absolute majority of gemstones that are not birth crystals are very rare minerals like for example musgravite that occurs only in a small area in Australia and only a handful of specimen is known.
Are all birthstones also gemstones? This is actually a small grey area. Most birth rocks are gemstones, however for example birthstone amber is not a crystal but a fossilized tree resin. Some researchers consider it to be a gemstone, some don’t. Other examples can be birthstone pearl and obsidian that also fall into this grey area.
To summarize the above, most birthstones are gemstones and vice versa however not all. I hope I have not confused you here :-)
Amber is a birthstone, however according to many specialists is not considered to be a gemstone because it is fossilized tree resin
Birthstone vs Zodiac Stone
Most birthstone lists are based on either the 12 gems of Biblical High Priest Aaron’s breastplate or the 12 foundation stones of New Jerusalem mentioned in Revelation of St. John. At certain point in history those stones were associated with a 12-fold division of a solar year be it month or zodiac sign. In other words, birthstones by month and birthstones by zodiac sign are two different types of lists, but nevertheless both are birthstones.
There are a lot of birth gems that appear in both by month and by zodiac lists. For example, emerald is a May birthstone according to the list of Jewelers Association of America which most people are familiar with. On the other hand, emerald is also a Sagittarius birthstone.
To summarize, Zodiac stone is a birthstone arranged by zodiac sign as opposed to month.
I hope now after reading this article you understand the difference between birthstone and zodiac stone as well as the difference between birthstone and gemstone.
Birthstone.guide is arguably the most informative birth gem portal on the internet and I am sure you would enjoy our other interesting articles like monthly birthstone colors and a lot more. Happy reading and finding your special birthstone!
