2027 Forecast

February · Purple

February birthstone: Amethyst

The birthstone for February is Amethyst. The modern and traditional lists agree here; they part company on only 2 of the 12 months.

1912 jewelers’ list
Amethyst Kansas City, as Kunz records it
Older lists
Amethyst · 8 of 8 Kunz’s tally of 8 old lists
February births
7.60% #12 of 12 months, US 2000–2014

Kunz 1913; US births 2000–2014.

The months either side, and the same month in flowers: January birthstone, March birthstone and February birth flower.

All twelve months, modern and traditional lists in one table: birthstones by month.

February Birthstone: Amethyst — Meaning, Color and Flower
Modern birthstone Amethyst
Traditional birthstone Amethyst
Color Purple
Birth flower Violet and Primrose
Zodiac signs Aquarius, Pisces
Hardness (Mohs) 7

Amethyst was priced alongside ruby and emerald until vast Brazilian deposits were found in the 1800s. The price collapsed; the tradition did not.

February stones in detail

Amethyst

Composition Silicon dioxide (SiO₂) — quartz colored by iron and natural irradiation
Hardness · Crystal system 7 · Trigonal
Mined in Brazil, Uruguay, Zambia, Russia, South Korea

Amethyst fades in sunlight. Heat it and it turns yellow — most commercial citrine is heat-treated amethyst.

Traditionally associated with clear thinking, restraint and calm; the classic stone of sobriety.

Care. Warm soapy water only. Keep out of direct sunlight, which fades the color permanently.

Spotting a fake. The convincing fakes are synthetic amethyst, chemically identical and detectable only by lab. Glass is easier: look for bubbles and unnaturally even color. Real amethyst usually shows color zoning.

How Amethyst became the February birthstone

The name comes from the Greek amethystos, "not intoxicated", from the old belief that the stone kept whoever wore it sober. The medieval church made it the stone of bishops' rings, a sign of piety and restraint, and it sat in royal collections across Europe. It has held February in every version of the list, old and modern.

Choosing a February stone

Amethyst is one of the few gems where a substantial stone is affordable, so the choice is about color rather than budget. The most prized is a deep, even purple; pale lilac stones, sold as Rose de France, cost less and have their own following. For something unusual, ametrine — amethyst and citrine naturally combined in one crystal, mostly from Bolivia — is still a February stone.

Primary source

February in George Kunz’s Curious Lore of Precious Stones (1913)

The verse for February
“The February-born may find Sincerity and peace of mind, Freedom from passion and from care, If she an amethyst will wear.”
George Frederick Kunz, The Curious Lore of Precious Stones (Philadelphia and London: J. B. Lippincott, 1913), chapter IX, “Birth-Stones” — read the original text. Kunz’s traditional stone for February is amethyst, and the jewelers’ list adopted in Kansas City in 1912 kept it. In his tally of eight older lists, February went to amethyst in 8 of them, hyacinth in 1, pearl in 1 — some lists give a month two stones. Which lists Kunz compared, and where the verses come from →

February birth flowers

Violet

Traditionally signifies faithfulness and modesty.

Primrose

Traditionally signifies young love.

More on February birth flowers →

If you go by zodiac sign instead

February spans two signs — Aquarius and Pisces — and the zodiac stone list does not match the monthly one. Which applies to you depends on the day, not just the month.

Aquarius stones · Pisces stones

Questions about the February birthstone

What is the birthstone for February?

The modern February birthstone is Amethyst.

What color is the February birthstone?

Purple.

What is the February birth flower?

Violet and Primrose; the violet traditionally signifies faithfulness and modesty.

Is Amethyst hard enough to wear every day?

Amethyst rates 7 on the Mohs scale. It suits a ring worn daily; the thing to watch is direct sunlight, which fades the purple for good.

What zodiac signs fall in February?

Aquarius and Pisces.

Other months

January March April May June July August September October November December

Measured against our reference of 43 stones

The February stones, by hardness

Amethyst · modern and traditional Mohs 7 · +0.65 vs average · everyday ring
Onyx · alternative Mohs 6.5–7 · +0.4 vs average · everyday ring
Average across all 43 stones Mohs 6.35
Modern and traditional the same stone
February birthstones on the Mohs hardness scale
February birthstones on the Mohs hardness scaleMohs scale from talc (1) to diamond (10) with the February birthstones marked: Amethyst 7.Amethyst: Mohs 7Amethyst 7Garnet: Mohs 6.5–7.5Amethyst: Mohs 7Citrine: Mohs 7Rose Quartz: Mohs 7Clear Quartz: Mohs 7Smoky Quartz: Mohs 7Aquamarine: Mohs 7.5–8Emerald: Mohs 7.5–8Bloodstone: Mohs 6.5–7Peridot: Mohs 6.5–7Sardonyx: Mohs 6.5–7Zircon: Mohs 6–7.5Carnelian: Mohs 6.5–7Onyx: Mohs 6.5–7Agate: Mohs 6.5–7Tiger's Eye: Mohs 6.5–7Aventurine: Mohs 6.5–7Diamond: Mohs 10Pearl: Mohs 2.5–4.5Alexandrite: Mohs 8.5Moonstone: Mohs 6–6.5Labradorite: Mohs 6–6.5Pyrite: Mohs 6–6.5Ruby: Mohs 9Sapphire: Mohs 9Spinel: Mohs 8Topaz: Mohs 8Opal: Mohs 5.5–6.5Rhodonite: Mohs 5.5–6.5Tourmaline: Mohs 7–7.5Turquoise: Mohs 5–6Lapis Lazuli: Mohs 5–6Hematite: Mohs 5–6Tanzanite: Mohs 6–7Jade: Mohs 6–7Obsidian: Mohs 5–5.5Malachite: Mohs 3.5–4Amber: Mohs 2–2.5Selenite: Mohs 2Fluorite: Mohs 4Sodalite: Mohs 5.5–6Kyanite: Mohs 4.5–7Lepidolite: Mohs 2.5–31Talc2Gypsum3Calcite4Fluorite5Apatite6Orthoclase7Quartz8Topaz9Corundum10Diamondfingernail 2.5window glass 5.5household dust (quartz) 7Source: Mohs scale minerals · ranges from our 43-stone referenceastrohot.com
February birthstones on the Mohs hardness scaleMohs scale from talc (1) to diamond (10) with the February birthstones marked: Amethyst 7.Amethyst: Mohs 7Amethyst 71Talc2Gypsum3Calcite4Fluorite5Apatite6Orthoclase7Quartz8Topaz9Corundum10Diamondfingernail 2.5glass 5.5dust 7Source: Mohs scale minerals · ranges from our 43-stone referenceastrohot.com

February on the scale: Amethyst 7. Of the twelve months’ first-listed modern stones, Amethyst is joint 7th hardest.

Amethyst: Silicon dioxide (SiO₂) — quartz colored by iron and natural irradiation. Crystal system Trigonal. At Mohs 7 or above it survives everyday dust, which is quartz at exactly 7.

Who this month covers

Days in February 28
Aquarius · February 1–18 63.8% of February births
Pisces · February 19–28 36.2% of February births

Aquarius takes the larger part of February, 18 days against 10 for Pisces, which in US births for 2000–2014 came to 63.8% of the month. Exact sign dates →

Sources

  1. George Frederick Kunz, The Curious Lore of Precious Stones (Philadelphia and London: J. B. Lippincott, 1913), chapter IX, “Birth-Stones”

Statements of fact on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. How we choose and check sources: editorial policy.

Cite this page

AstroHot. “February Birthstone: Amethyst — Meaning, Color and Flower.” Accessed October 29, 2026. https://astrohot.com/birthstones/by-month/february/

For Wikipedia {{cite web |title=February Birthstone: Amethyst — Meaning, Color and Flower |url=https://astrohot.com/birthstones/by-month/february/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-29}}