For more than 45 centuries (3000 BC up to the 1500s), the acquisition of gems for their aesthetic qualities was a minor consideration. Though gem beauty is the dominant reason for the purchases in today's world, in the ancient world, gems were not luxuries at all. They were considered necessary to daily life.
The idea that gems contain special properties and powers is a concept that has survived for countless thousands of years, and lives on our modern birthstone charts. It is in fact the oldest of jewelry traditions to link a birth date to a particular stone and to accept the gem's ability to influence the wearer's life.
It is somewhat debated, but back in the remote recesses of time the idea of Gem Power was first cultivated in the societies of ancient India and Babylonia. Both of these ancient peoples elevated the idea and ascribed many magical powers and virtues to gemstones. In these times for these peoples this was no mean, primitive superstition, but a science, a complex and sophisticated system of beliefs.
In India, wise sages used gems as a practical means of attunement to life forces and spiritual cleansing. Wearing these stones would align the wearer with the life energies and the currents the gems exerted. From these practices evolved the nine-gem Vedic system of birthstone matching. This system is still in use in many Eastern cultures as The Vedas are the foundations of Hinduism.
From the ancient Eastern Cultures this birthstone tradition found its way into what would become the foundations of western religious ideology through Judeo-Christian teachings. The famous Breastplate of Aaron, the brother of Moses and the first priest of The Arc Of The Covenant, was constructed at Moses' command to specifications given him by God. Over the last 3500 years Both Jewish and Christian theologians have interpreted the significance of the 12 gems used in the breastplate's construction. Josephus, the great Jewish historian, described the protective armor in detail and this description is believed to be the real origin of our modern birthstone record.
This Age of Enlightenment not withstanding, the birthstone tradition has survived into this modern era of ours. The current birthstone list was established in Kansas City, MO in 1912 when the National Association of Jewelers met to rework and revise the list that had been in use since the 1400's. The list as it stood by 1912 was one that had evolved over centuries and carried the influence of many eras and cultures. The 1912 revision drew much fire from gemstone purists who felt that the list's importance was being subjugated by commercialism. Only six of the stones from the older, traditional list were retained and revisions such as the movement of Ruby from being December's stone to July's and the addition of tourmaline as an October alternate were considered scandalous.
Theological debate over the centuries has revised and remolded many of the ancient world's ideals but gemstones continue to play important roles in daily life. Throughout the ages gems have been treasured amulets prized for their ability to influence the energies of nature and the life force itself. Even today much of the attraction to gems still centers on the mystical over the decorative.
