Is Lapis Lazuli a Birthstone
Is Lapis Lazuli a Birthstone
A few months ago, I noticed a woman at a dinner party wearing a deep blue pendant that almost looked painted on. It wasn’t sparkly. It didn’t flash like sapphire. But every time she turned her head, that saturated royal blue caught the light in a quiet, velvety way. It was lapis lazuli — and someone at the table asked her if it was her birthstone.
That question comes up more often than you’d think.
Technically, lapis lazuli isn’t on the modern standardized U.S. birthstone list. If you look at the chart most jewelers follow today, you won’t find it assigned to a month the way you would garnet for January or emerald for May. But it does have a long-standing connection to September. Before the modern list settled on sapphire, lapis was often associated with that month. In older traditions, and in some alternative birthstone lists you’ll still see floating around, lapis lazuli shows up as a September stone.
So if someone wears lapis for a September birthday, they’re not making it up. They’re just drawing from a different thread of history.
What makes this interesting, at least from a jewelry-wearer’s perspective, is how different lapis feels compared to the “official” September sapphire. Sapphire is hard, brilliant, and polished to a sharp shine. Lapis is opaque and matte to softly glossy, often flecked with tiny gold pyrite inclusions that look like distant stars. It has a grounded, almost earthy presence. You don’t get that crisp sparkle — you get depth.
When set in yellow gold, especially 14k or 18k, lapis can look incredibly rich. The warmth of the metal pulls out the golden flecks and makes the blue feel deeper. In sterling silver, it feels cooler and a bit more casual, something you might wear with denim or a white shirt. I’ve seen lapis cabochon rings that sit low on the finger, smooth and comfortable, and they tend to draw comments not because they’re flashy, but because that blue is unusual in everyday life.
From a practical standpoint, lapis is softer than many gemstones. It ranks around 5 to 6 on the Mohs scale, which means it’s fine for earrings and pendants, and even occasional-wear rings, but it’s not something I’d recommend for a daily, hands-on ring if you’re hard on your jewelry. It can scratch, and it doesn’t love harsh chemicals. Most people who choose lapis know that instinctively — it feels like a stone you treat with a little care.
As a birthstone gift, lapis has a slightly different tone than the more conventional choices. It feels thoughtful, maybe even a bit personal. It suggests you didn’t just walk in and ask for “the September one.” It can be a nice option for someone who doesn’t gravitate toward sparkle or who prefers bold color over brilliance. I’ve seen it chosen for milestone birthdays when the giver wanted something symbolic but not predictable.
There’s also something about lapis that feels artistic. It’s been used for thousands of years in carvings, beads, inlays — even ground into pigment for painting. That history gives it a sense of continuity that some modern birthstones don’t quite carry. When someone wears lapis as their birthstone, it can feel less like a calendar assignment and more like a personal alignment with the color and what it represents.
So is lapis lazuli a birthstone? Officially, not in the most current U.S. list. Historically and symbolically, yes — especially for September. And in real life, where people choose jewelry based on what feels right on their skin and in their style, that distinction matters less than you might think.
