Time-honoured is the tradition of celebrating birthdays. Each month, both in the past, and currently, have adopted a set of stones to represent those birth months. To regulate the use of these stones, the Jewelers of America compiled a list for each of the twelve months and gave each a stone in 1912.

For June, according to the modern, traditional, and Zodiac adaptions, June technically has four birthstones. To give something with the birthstone corresponding to the person's birthday is along the same principle as anniversary gifts.

Not Just for Necklaces

Pearls have been discovered in either white (greyish white) or black, and the black pearls are the most expensive. In fact, a great deal of seafaring lore involves seeking one.

Pearls have adorned pistol handles and and the neck's of classy women, among other things. The pearl its has iridescent because of how it's made; pearls start as a grain of sand in the mouth of a certain mollusks, and the grain is constantly rolled in the mollusk's mouth until it is coated, often perfectly round, with calcium carbonate.

Pearls, perhaps because of their ethereal appearance, have come to represent the mysterious force that gives and sustains life.

A Display of Color

One of the traditional stones for June is Alexandrite.

Alexandrite displays a range of colours from green to red. The stone's colour changes with light, being green in daylight and red in incandescent light.

Zodiac Stones

If you follow Zodiac signs, two stones overlap from May into June and June into July. Crystal makes an appearance from 21st May until 20th June with the now modernly accepted pearl from 21st June until 20th July.

Crystal itself can be a confusing to pin down. Most precious gems for as crystals, like quartz for example, but what I think they're referring to is lead crystal, which is, essentially, glass with lead oxide to make it shine brilliantly. Lead crystal is typically used in glasses or in decorative items, as it bends light much like a prism. Lead crystal glasses are also the ones that you can run your finger around the rim to produce a sound.

So, to all you June Bugs, Happy Birthday.

Is your birthday in June?

Make a palette representing what you think birthday colours are.