The ancients divided precious stones into male and female, the darker ones being the males and the light ones the females. Male sapphires approach indigo in colour, but the females are sky-blue.
| January | Garnet | Constancy |
| February | Amethyst | Sincerity |
| March | Bloodstone | Courage |
| April | Diamond | Innocence |
| May | Emerald | Success in Love |
| June | Agate | Health and Long Life |
| July | Cornelian | Content |
| August | Sardonyx (Onyx) | Conjugal Felicity |
| September | Chrysolite | Antidote to Madness |
| October | Opal | Hope |
| November | Topaz | Fidelity |
| December | Turquoise | Prosperity |
| Aries | Ruby |
| Tauras | Topaz |
| Gemini | Carbuncle (Cabochon Garnet) |
| Cancer | Emerald |
| Leo | Sapphire |
| Virgo | Diamond |
| Libra | Jacinth |
| Scorpio | Agate |
| Sagittarius | Amethyst |
| Capricorn | Beryl |
| Aquarius | Onyx |
| Pisces | Jasper |
| Saturn | Turquoise | Lead |
| Jupiter | Cornelian | Tin |
| Mars | Emerald | Iron |
| Sun | Diamond | Gold |
| Venus | Amethyst | Copper |
| Moon | Crystal | Silver |
| Mercury | Loadstone | Quicksilver |
The topaz represents 'or' (gold), or Sol, the Sun
The pearl or crystal represents 'argent' (silver), or Luna, the Moon
The ruby represents 'gules' (red), or the planet Mars
The sapphire represents 'azure' (blue), or the planet Jupiter
The diamond represents 'sable' (black), or the planet Saturn
The emerald represents 'vert' (green), or the planet Venus
The amethyst represents 'purpure' (purple), or planet Mecury
Many precious stones were held to have curative and magical properties, eg loadstone prevented quarrels between brothers; jasper worn by the ploughman ensured the fertility of a field; turquiose protected the wearer from injury if he fell; jade for the Chinese was the most pure and divine of natural materials and had many properties, including stimulating the flow of milk in nursing mothers when powdered and mixed with milk and honey!