Ruby is the birthstone for July, and it’s one of the oldest gemstones people have loved and fought over. It’s not just a pretty red rock. Rubies have been worn into battle, buried under palace floors, and sold at auction for more than $30 million for a single stone. Understanding why this gem earned that kind of reputation says a lot about how humans have valued color, rarity, and meaning for thousands of years.
What Is July’s Birthstone?
The birthstone for July is the ruby. It’s a deep red gemstone that has held this spot on the birthstone calendar for over a century, and it carries more history than almost any other stone on the list.
Ruby’s reputation as a symbol of passion, courage, and protection goes back thousands of years, long before anyone organized birthstones into an official monthly list. That long, colorful backstory is exactly why ruby has stayed July’s stone for so long.
How Ruby Became July’s Birthstone
Ruby became the official July birthstone in 1912, when the American National Retail Jewelers Association, now known as Jewelers of America, released a standardized list of birthstones for each month. But people had already treasured ruby for thousands of years before that list existed.
Old Beliefs and Myths About Ruby
Long before anyone called it a “birthstone,” ruby was seen as a stone of protection and power. Warriors in ancient Burma (now called Myanmar) reportedly wore rubies into battle, believing the stones made them harder to kill. Some took this so seriously that they had small rubies inserted just beneath their skin, hoping the stone would make them invincible in combat.
In China, records show rubies being traded along the Silk Road as early as 200 BC, where they were used to decorate armor, sword scabbards, and horse harnesses. Legend even claims that the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan once offered an entire city in exchange for one especially large ruby, a story that says as much about how highly ruby was valued as it does about the emperor’s taste for drama.
In medieval Europe, people believed ruby could bring health, wisdom, and success in love, and they gave rubies as gifts to protect the wearer from harm.
Because of its blood-red color, ruby has been linked to life, courage, and passion in nearly every culture that has come across it.
Ruby’s Official Birthstone Status
By the time the 1912 list was published, ruby’s reputation as a symbol of passion and protection was already centuries old. But ruby wasn’t always July’s stone. Before 1912, July’s traditional birthstone was turquoise, while ruby belonged to December. The jewelers association swapped the two, giving ruby’s “warm” red tone to a summer month and turquoise’s “cool” blue tone to a winter one. George Frederick Kunz, the gemologist who had championed the modern birthstone concept for Tiffany & Co., reportedly objected to the switch, but the new pairing stuck and has remained unchanged ever since.
Ruby also has deep roots in an older, informal tradition of “cardinal gems,” a small group of stones, including diamond, sapphire, emerald, and amethyst, that were considered the most precious in the Western world long before any official birthstone chart existed.
What Does Ruby Symbolize?
Ruby is widely seen as a symbol of passion, courage, and protection. Its red color has connected it to blood, life, and love in cultures across the world for millennia.
In Hindu tradition, rubies were offered to the god Krishna, with a belief that doing so could lead to being reborn as a king or ruler. Ruby also holds the central position in the navaratna, a set of nine sacred gems used in Vedic astrology, where it represents the Sun and is placed at the middle of the arrangement. In both Western and Vedic astrology, ruby is closely associated with the zodiac sign Leo, which spans most of late July and is ruled by the Sun.
In ancient Greece, some believed a ruby could grow hot enough to melt wax. These stories don’t hold up scientifically, but they show how much emotional weight this gem has carried throughout history.
Beyond birthdays, ruby is also a traditional anniversary gemstone. It’s most commonly given to mark 15 years of marriage, and in some traditions the 40th anniversary as well, continuing its long association with lasting passion and devotion.
Is There an Alternate Birthstone for July?
Some older birthstone traditions list carnelian, a reddish-orange stone, as an alternate for July. This alternate list dates back further than the modern 1912 chart and varied by region and era.
Even so, ruby has remained the primary and far more widely recognized July birthstone, and it’s the stone almost every modern jeweler and calendar points to when someone asks what July’s birthstone is.
The World’s Most Famous Rubies
Rubies have played starring roles in some of the most talked-about jewelry stories in modern history, which has only added to the stone’s reputation as July’s headline gem.
The Sunrise Ruby
The Sunrise Ruby, a 25.59-carat Burmese stone, sold for $30.42 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva in 2015. That works out to roughly $1.18 million per carat, a record price per carat for a ruby at the time. The stone was mounted in a ring by Cartier and had originally been part of a private Cartier collection.
The Rosser Reeves Star Ruby
The Rosser Reeves Star Ruby is a 138.7-carat Sri Lankan stone famous for its sharp, well-centered six-rayed star pattern. Advertising executive Rosser Reeves carried the gem as a personal good-luck charm before donating it to the Smithsonian Institution in 1965, where it remains on public display today.
The Liberty Bell Ruby
The Liberty Bell Ruby, the largest mined ruby ever found at roughly 8,500 carats, was carved into the shape of the Liberty Bell in 1976 to celebrate the United States Bicentennial. It was stolen from a jewelry store in Delaware in 2011 and has never been recovered, making it one of the more mysterious losses in modern gem history.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ruby the only birthstone for July?
Ruby is the primary and most widely recognized birthstone for July. Carnelian appears in some older, traditional birthstone lists as an alternate, but it never replaced ruby as the modern standard.
When did ruby officially become July’s birthstone?
Ruby was named the official July birthstone in 1912, when the American National Retail Jewelers Association, now known as Jewelers of America, published its standardized birthstone list. Ruby had already been closely associated with July and with passion and protection for centuries before that.
What does the ruby birthstone symbolize?
Ruby symbolizes passion, courage, and protection. Its deep red color has linked it to love, life, and vitality in cultures around the world for thousands of years.
Is ruby connected to a zodiac sign?
Yes. Ruby is closely associated with Leo, the zodiac sign that covers most of late July and is ruled by the Sun. In Vedic astrology, ruby also represents the Sun directly.
Is ruby used for wedding anniversaries too?
Yes. Ruby is a traditional gemstone gift for the 15th wedding anniversary, and in some traditions the 40th anniversary as well, reflecting its long-standing symbolism of enduring love.
Conclusion
Ruby earned its place as July’s birthstone through thousands of years of history, not just a list published in 1912. It’s a stone that ancient warriors trusted for protection, that royalty and collectors across continents have chased for its meaning, and that still makes headlines when a rare example comes to auction or goes missing. For anyone born in July, that’s a birthstone with a story far bigger than a single gem.
