June birthstones: pearl, moonstone and alexandrite
June has three birthstones: pearl, moonstone and alexandrite.
How to read it
Pearl was the June birthstone on the 1912 list, with moonstone as its alternate; alexandrite was added in 1952. Pearls form inside living molluscs, moonstone is a feldspar known for the soft light that seems to move across it, and alexandrite changes colour between daylight and lamplight.
Also searched as: alexandrite birthstone, birthstone for June, moonstone birthstone, pearl birthstone.
What colour is the June birthstone?
Pearls are usually thought of as white, but the International Gem Society lists black, green, gold, silver and pastel pearls too. Moonstone is known for a blue sheen on a colourless stone, and GIA describes alexandrite as green in daylight and red to purplish red under incandescent light.
When alexandrite was added
According to Jewelers of America, as National Jeweler reported, the list was updated in 1952 to add alexandrite, along with citrine, tourmaline and zircon for other months.
Where this symbol came from
oldsymbols.comJune birth flowers: rose and honeysuckleJune’s birth flowers are the rose and the honeysuckle. In the Victorian flower dictionaries the rose meant love, with a different message for almost every colour and kind, and the honeysuckle generous and devoted affection. oldsymbols.comMoonstoneMoonstone is a feldspar whose glow seems to move across it like moonlight. Hindu mythology holds it is made of solidified moonbeams, and Kunz recorded the belief in India that, held in the mouth at full moon, it let lovers read their future.Find a birthstone by date
stringmash.comBirthstones by monthThe birthstone for any month or birth date, in the current US list, the UK list and the older tradition.Read next
- Next in BirthstonesJuly birthstone: rubyThe July birthstone is ruby, the red variety of corundum.
- The same shape in South American flagsFlag of ParaguayParaguay’s flag is red, white and blue in equal horizontal stripes with a round emblem in the centre of the white, and its two sides are different. The front carries the national coat of arms, a yellow star in a wreath of palm and olive inside the words “República del Paraguay”; the back carries the Treasury seal, a lion below a red cap of liberty on a pike with the motto “Paz y Justicia” (Peace and Justice). The newspaper ABC Color writes that the colours came to be read as justice (red), peace (white) and liberty (blue).
More birthstones
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with circles.
Sources
- June Birthstones: Pearl, Alexandrite and Moonstone (GIA), Gemological Institute of America
- Birthstone Chart: Modern and Traditional Birthstones, International Gem Society
- The Curious Lore of Precious Stones, by George Frederick Kunz, 1913, J. B. Lippincott (Project Gutenberg edition)
- JA, AGTA Add Spinel as August Birthstone, National Jeweler, 2 June 2016, National Jeweler
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed September 27, 2026. How we research
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