Birthstone colors by month

January: Garnet (deep red is classic, but garnets also come in orange (spessartite), green (tsavorite and demantoid) and color-change varieties); February: Amethyst (ranges from pale lilac ("rose de france") to deep royal purple with red flashes ("siberian")); March: Aquamarine (pale sky blue to deep sea blue); April: Diamond (usually colorless, but "fancy" diamonds come in yellow, pink, blue, green and more); May: Emerald (bluish green to pure green); June: Pearl (white, cream, rosé, gold (south sea), black and peacock (tahitian), plus pastel freshwater shades); July: Ruby (pinkish red to deep "pigeon's blood" red); August: Peridot (lime to olive green); September: Sapphire (royal and cornflower blue are classic, but "fancy" sapphires come in pink, yellow, green, white and orange-pink padparadscha); October: Opal (white, black, boulder and fire opal); November: Topaz (precious "imperial" topaz is golden orange to pink); December: Turquoise (sky blue to green-blue, often with dark "matrix" veins from the host rock)

March aquamarine (light blue), September sapphire (deep blue), December turquoise (sky blue to green-blue) and December tanzanite (violet-blue). Blue topaz is a popular November alternative.

January garnet (deep red), July ruby (red), October pink tourmaline, and August spinel, which can be red or pink.