Choosing Birthstones for Memorial Jewellery: A Personal Touch
Designing a piece of memorial jewellery can be deeply therapeutic and part of the healing journey. It will help you to focus on something other than your grief and might give you a chance to think deeply about what is meaningful to you. It’s also helpful to have a little creative project to think about.
You’ll have to think about the type of jewellery you want, the metal used to create it, the engraving options and the decorative elements. There are so many ways to make a piece of memorial jewellery completely unique to you.
While some people like to create a piece of jewellery that is packed with meaning and reference points to their own life, others like to think about what would be meaningful to their loved one. This allows the piece of jewellery to stand out in their collection as something unique, and laden with significance.
Birthstones are a beautiful way to customise a piece of jewellery and inject some colour and interest into the final piece. If you’re thinking about adding a birthstone to your design, read on to learn more about this practice.
What are birthstones?
Birthstones are gemstones that are linked to different months of the year. There might be one or two birthstones linked to each month. They are worn by individuals to signify their link to their birth month, but they are not linked with star signs, which are not linked as neatly to the months.
Birthstones are often brightly coloured and unique. They vary in value, with some being a lot more pricey than others. For example, an April birthday will give you an excuse to wear diamonds, while a June birthday means you might be wearing inexpensive (though still beautiful) moonstone.
Birthstones by month
Curious to know what your birthstone is? Lists might vary, but these are generally widely accepted as the most popular interpretations of birthstones.
| Birthstone Memorial Idea | Description | Relevant Link |
|---|---|---|
| Wear your own birthstone | Design memorial jewellery using your birthstone to reflect your identity and bring comfort. | Custom Gemstone Jewellery |
| Wear their birthstone | Honour your loved one by using their birthstone in a commemorative piece. | Custom Gemstone Jewellery |
| Combine both birthstones | Blend two or more birthstones in one piece to reflect a shared bond or family connection. | Custom Gemstone Jewellery |
| Family birthstone collection | Include several family birthstones to create a sentimental tribute to loved ones past and present. | Bracelet Collection |
| Glass gemstone keepsake | Choose a coloured glass gem with ashes suspended inside for a unique visual tribute. | Gemstone Ashes Jewellery |
| Lab-grown diamond option | Ideal for April birthdays, lab-grown diamonds make a stunning yet cost-effective tribute. | Ashes to Diamonds |
- January: Garnet
- February: Amethyst
- March: Aquamarine
- April: Diamond
- May: Emerald
- June: Pearl, Alexandrite, or Moonstone
- July: Ruby
- August: Peridot or Spinel
- September: Sapphire
- October: Opal or Tourmaline
- November: Topaz or Citrine
- December: Tanzanite or Turquoise
Adding birthstones to memorial jewellery
The great thing about birthstones is that they are generally rather inexpensive, which means you can add them to jewellery with ease. Unless, of course, you were born in April. That said, there are inexpensive lab-grown diamonds that can be added to memorial jewellery to keep the overall cost down.
If you’re thinking about adding a birthstone to your memorial jewellery, consider the following ideas.
Wear your own birthstone
If you’re new to the concept of birthstones, there is a good chance you don’t already own a piece of jewellery with your birthstone. This could open the door to introducing bright and colourful jewellery pieces into your collection. Birthstones often unlock a lot of new possibilities for adding colour to your jewellery collection.
Wear their birthstone
If you’re already familiar with the birthstone concept, there’s a good chance you’ll already own a lot of jewellery with that gemstone. It might be a nice idea to switch things up by selecting your loved one’s birthstone. This can be a beautiful tribute and will create contrast with your existing jewellery pieces.
Combine your birthstones
Another beautiful idea would be to combine two or more stones in one piece of jewellery. Combining your birthstones can create a beautifully unique piece of jewellery. Some birthstones create better combinations than others, but months with multiple birthstones will allow you to create a winning combination.
Create a family birthstone collection
If you’d like your memorial jewellery to pay tribute to your whole family, you might consider creating a collection of birthstones. This would be a stunning tribute to your family that also includes the memory of those who have left us. This would work well for a ring with pave setting, or in a pendant with a cluster of gemstones.
Choose a glass gemstone
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to achieve the gemstone look. With glass memorial keepsake jewellery, you can choose colour that matches your birthstone but that costs a fraction of a real gemstone. With this type of jewellery, the ashes are rolled into molten glass, holding them suspended in the semi-opaque and colourful gem. If you're considering this, take a look at our guide on what to ask when buying cremation jewellery or glass art memorials to help you make informed choices.
Final thoughts on birthstone memorials
If you’re looking for a way to customise your memorial jewellery and introduce some colour and energy into the piece, wearing your birthstone could be the perfect solution. Wearing your birthstone is a subtle nod to your birth month and is also thought to bring good luck. You can also wear another person’s birthstone, or combine stones to create a beautiful combination. This simple step will help to make your piece of memorial jewellery completely unique to you.