Does anyone know some of the history regarding birthstones? Who decided which birthstone belongs to which month and what is the origin of birthstones anyway?

Historians believe that the first specific assignment of birthstones could be traced back to biblical times. The first written record of such a gemstone assignment could be found in the Old Testament, where it is noted that the Hebrew high priest adorned a robe featuring breastplate containing 12 specific gemstones – each gemstone representing each one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Over the course of time the association of these gemstones became more zodiac-orientated. By the Middle Ages, certain stones were already matched with the twelve signs of the zodiac, but not necessarily in the same order familiar to us today. The custom of birthstone allocation probably first became popular during the 16th century in Poland. However, it was only in 1912 that the American National Association of Jewelers finally established the current and familiar assignation of birthstones for each month. Today, people adorn birthstone jewelry for good luck, or in order to gain the positive traits associated with a particular gemstone, or alternatively simply because of their aesthetic appeal.

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