Chinese Birthstones

Chinese birthstones are allocated along with animals to each of the twelve years of the Chinese 'agricultural' or 'Yin' calender. The Gregorian calendar is the 'Yang' calendar and is also known as the 'common' calender. The Chinese calender starts with the 'Rat' and has an emerald allotted to it and ends with the 'Pig' which is represented by a moonstone.

By clicking on the links above we hope this will give you ideas for Chinese birthstone gifts.

The Chinese New Year is celebrated at varying times between January 21st and February 20th depending on when the second new moon is after the winter solstice, but in a few cases this may be after the third one. You may therefore need to find out when the Chinese New Year was celebrated if you where born between the 1st January and 20th February, so that you can determine which year you were born in. Click on the link to see when the Chinese New Year fell in the year you were born.

The Chinese Calender is thought to be nearly 5000 years old with 2012 being the year 4710, 4709, or 4649 depending on when you believe the first year was. There are several theories as to when this is and different scholars have different ideas. In some translations you may find that the Rat is known as the Mouse, the Pig is the Boar, the Goat is a Ram or Sheep, the Ox may be a Cow or a Bull and the Rabbit may also be known as the Hare.

The table will help you find out which birthstone and animal represent your birth year. Those born at the beginning of the year will need to find out when the Chinese New Year started.

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