August Birthstone Color and Flower & more August Birthday Symbols

The August Birthstone is Peridot

The first official birthstone for August is the lovely yellow-green gemstone Peridot and so the August birthstone color is light green.

The alternative birthstone for August is Sardonyx, and the recently added second official birthstone is Spinel.

Peridot is one of the Zodiac birthstones for Virgo (Aug 23 – Sep 23) and Sardonyx is one of the Zodiac birthstones for Leo (Jul 23 – Aug 22).

Other birthday symbols include the birth flowers for August which are the Gladiolus and Poppy.

The Peridot gemstone is associated with growth, prosperity, love, loyalty and protection.

The origin of ‘peridot’ is not clear but may come from the Arabic word “faridat”, which means “gem.”

Besides being a meaningful August birthday gift, Peridot jewelry is also given to celebrate a 16th wedding anniversary.

Watch the short, informative videos below highlighting the history, symbolism and properties of Peridot and Sardonyx.

Second Official August Birthstone: Spinel

The second official birthstone for August, Spinel, was added to the birthstone list in 2016.

Spinel colors are mostly in the orange to red and pink range, but it also occurs in shades of purple, blue and green.

Red Spinel and Ruby are both colored by chromium and are very similar in many respects, thus can be easily confused.

The Black Prince's Ruby in the British Crown Jewels is in fact made up of a very small Ruby embedded in mostly red Spinel.

Synthetic Spinal has been manufactured since 1910 and can be used to produce imitation rubies and diamonds.

The main countries where Spinel is found are India, Madagascar, Mayanmar (Burma) and Sri Lanka.

Discover more about the spinel gemstone or the history of spinel.