4 September Birthstones That Aren’t Sapphire
Every month has a birthstone associated with it and for September this is the sapphire. But what happens if you want a piece of jewellery without spending sapphire-type money? Or maybe you just plain don’t like the stone? Here we look at the alternative gemstones for September birthdays o give you a little extra choice.
Lapis lazuli
If you like blue color gemstones but want something a little less expensive than blue sapphires, then one of the traditional alternatives for September birthdays is lapis lazuli . And if you haven’t run into the stone yet, then it’s a treat. Lapis has been around for a long time and was used back in Ancient Egypt where it was a real prize. There was a lot of the stone used, for example, in the tomb of King Tutankhamun so you can imagine that it was popular back then.
Lapis was also used by ancient Persians and in pre-Columbian America as a talisman against the evil eye. By medieval times, it was said to be the colour of the heavens and could stop spirits of darkness interfering with a person.
The stone was ground up to make paint called ultramarine and the shade was a big hit with Michelangelo while Catherine the Great used the stone around her entire palace including mirror frames, fireplaces and doors – mere wood wasn’t good enough for that lady!
The stone is mined around the world, with a mine in Afghanistan dating back to the 7th millennium BC. Today, Afghanistan is a still a big producer of lapis along with Pakistan. Other areas for mining include the Lake Baikal area of Russia and the Andes in Chile as well as small amounts from the US, Canada, Mongolia and Italy.
Sardonyx
For the Romans, the birthstone for September was the sardonyx. As the name suggests, this is a type of onyx which is itself a type of chalcedony. Sardonyx has coloured bands and is all in shades of red, whereas onyx is normally either black or shades of black. The colour comes from the mixing of the onyx with the red gemstone sard.
The stone has long been used in jewellery, particularly carved into cameos and intaglios. Romans wore it with the image of the goddess Venus in hopes of harnessing her powers while others wore the image of Mars to protect them in battle.
Agate
Agate is a favourite stone of my mum’s when it comes to making jewellery because it comes in so many range of colors – some of these are dyed but still retain the banded or marked look of the stone and this makes them great to work with. This includes everything from a deep green color through to dyed stones that are bright pink or even opaque white. Like onyx, agate is a type of chalcedony and comes from volcanic rocks.
Zircon
According to the Hindu calendar, the stone for September birthdays is zircon . This is a common mineral in the Earth’s crust that has a long history and a lot of different names! Clear versions have been used in place of diamond but isn’t connected to cubic zirconia , which is a man-made stone.
Blue zircon is associated with the month of December while the red version is often called hyacinth as it is the same colour as the stone. Zircon also comes in orange, yellow, green, brown and grey colours, depending on the different minerals within the stone.
Zircon is mined across the world from Australia, where 37% of the world’s stone comes from to Cambodia, Canada, Madagascar, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand. It is popular in jewellery due to the range of colours and because it comes at a relatively low price.
Alternative September Birthstones
These four gemstones are all associated with being September birthstones and are a lot less expensive than the traditional birthstone for the month, sapphire. Look out for beaded jewellery in our shop with these stones!
