2027 Forecast

July · Red

July birthstone: Ruby

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

1912 jewelers’ list
Ruby Kansas City, as Kunz records it
Older lists
Onyx · 5 of 8 Kunz’s tally of 8 old lists
July births
8.76% #2 of 12 months, US 2000–2014

Kunz 1913; US births 2000–2014.

The months either side, and the same month in flowers: June birthstone, August birthstone and July birth flower.

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

July Birthstone: Ruby — Meaning, Color and Flower
Modern birthstone Ruby
Traditional birthstone Ruby
Color Red
Birth flower Larkspur and Water Lily
Zodiac signs Cancer, Leo
Hardness (Mohs) 9

Burmese ruby from the Mogok valley set the standard the trade still calls pigeon's blood. Fine ruby regularly outprices diamond per carat.

July stones in detail

Ruby

Composition Aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) — corundum colored by chromium
Hardness · Crystal system 9 · Trigonal
Mined in Myanmar, Mozambique, Thailand, Madagascar, Sri Lanka

Ruby and sapphire are the same mineral. Red corundum is ruby; every other color is sapphire.

Traditionally associated with courage, appetite for life and decisive action.

Care. Warm soapy water. Safe in ultrasonic unless fracture-filled — and lead-glass-filled rubies are common, so ask.

Spotting a fake. Almost all commercial ruby is heat-treated, which is normal and disclosed. Synthetic ruby has been made since 1902 and is chemically identical; curved growth lines under magnification give it away.

How Ruby became the July birthstone

In Sanskrit ruby is ratnaraj, "king of precious stones", and in medieval Europe it was worn to protect health, wealth and love. It has held July in every list, ancient and modern, and it is the traditional gift for a fortieth wedding anniversary. In 2015 the 25.59-carat Sunrise Ruby, mined in Burma, sold at auction in Geneva for about $30 million, a record for a ruby.

Choosing a July stone

The most valued rubies are a strong, pure to slightly purplish red; stones that lean orange or pink cost less, and the point where pink sapphire becomes ruby is a matter of color saturation. Origin also moves the price: Burmese stones command a premium, and Mozambique now supplies much of the market. For a lower budget, red spinel and rubellite tourmaline are attractive natural alternatives.

Primary source

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

The verse for July
“The heav’n-blue turquoise should adorn All those who in July are born; For those they’ll be exempt and free From love’s doubts and anxiety.”
Kunz on the 1912 list
“it will be noted that the ruby is transferred from December to July, changing places with the turquoise, which became the gem of December.”
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 July is turquoise, and the jewelers’ list adopted in Kansas City in 1912 gives ruby. In his tally of eight older lists, July went to onyx in 5 of them, sardonyx in 1, carnelian in 1, ruby in 1, turquoise in 1 — some lists give a month two stones. Which lists Kunz compared, and where the verses come from →

July birth flowers

Larkspur

Traditionally signifies an open heart.

Water Lily

Traditionally signifies purity of intention.

More on July birth flowers →

If you go by zodiac sign instead

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

Cancer stones · Leo stones

Questions about the July birthstone

What is the birthstone for July?

The modern July birthstone is Ruby.

What color is the July birthstone?

Red.

What is the July birth flower?

Larkspur and Water Lily; the larkspur traditionally signifies an open heart.

Is Ruby hard enough to wear every day?

Ruby rates 9 on the Mohs scale. It suits a ring worn daily; the thing to watch is glass filling — ask whether the stone is treated.

What zodiac signs fall in July?

Cancer and Leo.

Other months

January February March April May June August September October November December

Measured against our reference of 43 stones

The July stones, by hardness

Ruby · modern and traditional Mohs 9 · +2.65 vs average · everyday ring
Carnelian · 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
July birthstones on the Mohs hardness scale
July birthstones on the Mohs hardness scaleMohs scale from talc (1) to diamond (10) with the July birthstones marked: Ruby 9.Ruby: Mohs 9Ruby 9Garnet: 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
July birthstones on the Mohs hardness scaleMohs scale from talc (1) to diamond (10) with the July birthstones marked: Ruby 9.Ruby: Mohs 9Ruby 91Talc2Gypsum3Calcite4Fluorite5Apatite6Orthoclase7Quartz8Topaz9Corundum10Diamondfingernail 2.5glass 5.5dust 7Source: Mohs scale minerals · ranges from our 43-stone referenceastrohot.com

July on the scale: Ruby 9. Of the twelve months’ first-listed modern stones, Ruby is joint 2nd hardest.

Ruby: Aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) — corundum colored by chromium. Crystal system Trigonal. At Mohs 7 or above it survives everyday dust, which is quartz at exactly 7.

Who this month covers

Days in July 31
Cancer · July 1–22 70.8% of July births
Leo · July 23–31 29.2% of July births

July is mostly Cancer territory: the sign claims 22 of its days, leaving Leo the last 9, and in US births for 2000–2014 its share of the month was 70.8%. 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. “July Birthstone: Ruby — Meaning, Color and Flower.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/birthstones/by-month/july/

For Wikipedia {{cite web |title=July Birthstone: Ruby — Meaning, Color and Flower |url=https://astrohot.com/birthstones/by-month/july/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-28}}