The reason why December has multiple birthstones
The month of December is unique in that it has three birthstones that are official - zircon, turquoise and tanzanite that reflect a mixture of ancient traditions and modern industry influences. This trio emerged through many centuries in a revolving December birthstone list giving people born in December with more blue-gem choices to protect themselves, gain wisdom, or even a rare sparkle. Introduction Birthstones are believed to date back to antiquity and are connected to 12 gemstones found on the breastplate of the High Priest (circa 400 BC) and later zodiac-related associations. In time, jewelers established one-gem-per month lists. At the beginning of the 20th century, organizations in Europe as well as in the U.S. standardized these lists. For instance 1912 was the year that in 1912, the American jewelers' group established turquoise as the month's birthstone in December. In the last few decades new gems have been discovered and added. For instance, Tanzanite (found in ...
