The birthstone colors are red for January and July, purple for February and June, blue for March, September and December, white or clear for April and as an alternate for June, green for May and August; pink or multi-color for October and yellow for November. The colors were more important in ancient times than the actual stone. The current stone list accepted by the American Gem Society dates to 1912.
January's red is a deep red, because its birthstone is a garnet. Garnets come in alternate colors, but red is traditional. February's birthstone is a purple amethyst. March's aquamarine is a clear, light blue hue. April has the valuable diamond for it's birthstone, and the clearer, the better. May's emerald is a rich, vibrant green. June has two birthstones, which are the pearl and the Alexandrite. Traditional pearls are somewhat white, and Alexandrites appear green and red in some lighting and purplish red in others. July's ruby is a medium or medium-dark vivid red or a slightly purplish red. August's birthstone is a light green peridot, and September's is the deep blue sapphire. October, like June, has two birthstones: the multi-colored opal and the pink tourmaline. November's citrine and topaz are yellow-orange stones. December claims three blue stones of different hues: the Tanzinite, Zircon and Turquoise.
