July birthstone
There is no single answer for July. The four standard lists compared below name 4 different stones between them — Turquoise, Onyx, Ruby, Carnelian. Which one is "correct" depends entirely on which list you're using.
| System | Stone(s) |
|---|---|
| Historical (15th–20th century) | Turquoise , Onyx |
| US 1912 | Ruby |
| UK 2013 | Ruby , Carnelian |
| US current | Ruby |
How to read the table. The Historical (15th–20th century) column shows what a pre-standardisation source might have named. The two 20th-century trade lists, US 1912 and UK 2013, each set a regional standard. US current is what most US jewelers sell today. None is more "official" than the others. They are simply different standards, from different bodies, at different dates.
Source context for each list
- Historical (15th–20th century): This list predates any single standardising body and varied by source, region, and era — it is presented as historical record, not a fixed tradition.
- US 1912: This is a 20th-century commercial standard set by the US jewelry trade in 1912 (later revised in 1952), not an ancient tradition.
- UK 2013: This list was first published by the UK trade body in 1937 and revised in 2013 — a modern commercial standard, not a historical inheritance.
- US current: This is the current US trade list, extended as recently as 2002 (tanzanite) and 2016 (spinel) — an evolving commercial standard, not a fixed tradition.
Why there are four lists at all
None of these four lists was handed down as one unbroken tradition. The historical list predates any formal standard. The US trade first fixed a list in 1912, then revised it in 1952 to add alexandrite, citrine, pink tourmaline, and zircon. The UK's National Association of Goldsmiths set its own list in 1937 and revised it again in 2013, which is why British and American charts still disagree on several months.
Meanwhile, the American Gem Trade Association has kept extending the current US list since then. Tanzanite joined in 2002 and spinel in 2016, so even the newest column here is not finished changing. Treating any one list as "the" birthstone chart quietly picks a winner among several real, dated, competing standards. Comparing all four side by side, as this page does, is the more honest way to answer the question.
Zodiac signs in July
Cancer and Leo fall within July. However, zodiac birthstones follow a separate pair of systems, keyed to the sign rather than the calendar month. Those two systems disagree with each other on every sign, not just some of them. For example, Cancer's traditional stone is Emerald while its modern trade stone is Ruby , and Leo's traditional stone is Onyx while its modern trade stone is Peridot — the same pattern as the four lists above, for the same reason.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the birthstone for July?
- It depends which list you consult. Across the four systems compared on this page, July is associated with Turquoise, Onyx, Ruby, Carnelian. The current US trade list — the one most US jewelers use today — names Ruby.
- Why do sources disagree on July's birthstone?
- Because there is no single birthstone authority. The lists shown here were set by different trade bodies in different countries at different times — an unstandardised pre-1912 historical record, the 1912 US trade standard, the UK's 2013 revision, and the current US list, most recently extended in 2016. Each is a real, attributable standard; none of them is "more correct" than the others.
- Which zodiac signs fall in July?
- Cancer and Leo overlap July. Zodiac-sign birthstones follow separate, sign-based systems rather than the calendar-month lists on this page — see each sign's page for its own comparison.
Sources
Retrieved August 10, 2026.