December babies are some of the lucky ones who have more than one gemstone to choose from for their birthstone. Traditionally, Blue Zircon is the birthstone for the month of December, but it tends to get a bad rap as its name is very close to the synthetic stone, cubic zirconia. Zircon, is in fact a genuine (and fascinating!) gem and comes in lots of beautiful colors, but only blue is used as the birthstone for this month. Most blue zircon used in jewelry today is mined in Cambodia.

Cambodian Blue Zircon
Stone and photo by Dan McMorris

Blue topaz is widely used for this month’s birthstone and may be the most commonly recognized December birthstone in the US, as it is a very similar color to blue zircon and is much more abundant. Turquoise is another gemstone that is worn as this month’s stone and in 2002, tanzanite was also added to the list of birthstones for December by the American Gem Trade Association and Jewelers of America.

Cushion Cut Tanzanite
Stone and photo by Dan McMorris

Here are a couple of our favorite December birthstone pieces: Click here to shop December’s birthstone.