It may be interesting to show in these eight lists the stones which are most favored in each month in the following way, the numerals indicating the number of lists in which the stones appear (including the alternate stones):
| January | Garnet 7, hyacinth 2. |
| February | Amethyst 8, hyacinth 1, pearl 1. |
| March | Jasper 5, bloodstone 4. |
| April | Sapphire 7, diamond 2. |
| May | Agate 5, emerald 4, chalcedony 1, carnelian 1. |
| June | Emerald 4, agate 4, chalcedony 3, turquoise 1, pearl 1, cat’s-eye 1. |
| July | Onyx 5, sardonyx 1, carnelian 1, ruby 1, turquoise 1. |
| August | Carnelian 5, sardonyx 3, moonstone 1, topaz 1, alexandrite1. |
| September | Chrysolite 6, sardonyx 2. |
| October | Beryl, 8, aquamarine 5, opal 1. |
| November | Topaz 8, pearl 1. |
| December | Ruby 6, turquoise 2, chrysoprase 1, bloodstone 1. |
With the exception of January, where we have the garnet instead of the jacinth, and of December, which gives us the ruby instead of the chrysoprase, the first choices are practically identical with the foundation stones, bearing in mind that the eleventh stone is that for January, the twelfth that for February, the first that for March and so on.
Of the assignment of the natal stones to the different months of the year or to the zodiacal signs, Poujet fils, writing in 1762, states that in his opinion this fashion started in Germany—others say in Poland—some two centuries before his time, and he adds that, though this arrangement was purely imaginary, and unknown to ancient writers, it soon became popular, and many, more especially of the fair sex, seeing in it an element of mystery, wished to wear rings set with the stone appropriate to the month of their birth, the stone being engraved with the appropriate zodiacal sign.[435] However correct Poujet may be regarding the period at which the fashion of wearing natal rings was introduced, he is, as we have already shown, quite wrong in believing that the serial arrangement of the stones and their assignment to months or signs was purely imaginary, for it is unquestionably based on the list in Revelation, which in its turn goes back to the twelve stones of the high-priest’s breastplate.
FACSIMILE OF THE BETROTHAL RING OF THE VIRGIN IN THE CATHEDRAL OF PERUGIA.
The original ring, which is of chalcedony, is shown on St. Agatha’s Day, July 29, to cure ailments of mothers. This cord and facsimile of ring acquired by the author at Perugia, May 6, 1902.
The fashion of wearing a series of twelve stones denoting (or bearing) the zodiacal signs seems to have existed in the sixteenth century, for Catherine de’ Medici is said to have worn a girdle set with twelve stones, among which were certain onyxes as large as crownpieces, upon which talismanic designs had been engraved. Two hundred years later this girdle is stated to have been in the possession of a M. d’Ennery, whose collection of antique medals was regarded as the finest in Paris at the time.[436] It is not, however, certain that the twelve stones of Catherine’s girdle were those attributed to the zodiacal signs both at an earlier and later period.
Though the substitution of a new schedule for the time-honored list of birth-stones has received the approval of the National Association of Jewellers at the meeting in Kansas City August, 1912, it can scarcely be said to offer a satisfactory solution of the question, which has its importance not only from a commercial point of view, but also because the idea that birth-stones possess a certain indefinable, but none the less real significance, has long been present and still exercises a spell over the minds of all who are gifted with a touch of imagination, or romance, if you will. The longing for something that appeals to this sense is much more general than is commonly supposed, and is a not unnatural reaction against the progress of materialism, against the assertion that there is nothing in heaven or earth but what we can definitely apprehend through our senses.