2027 Forecast

September · Deep blue

September birthstone: Sapphire

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

1912 jewelers’ list
Sapphire Kansas City, as Kunz records it
Older lists
Chrysolite · 6 of 8 Kunz’s tally of 8 old lists
September births
8.68% #3 of 12 months, US 2000–2014

Kunz 1913; US births 2000–2014.

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

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

September Birthstone: Sapphire — Meaning, Color and Flower
Modern birthstone Sapphire
Traditional birthstone Sapphire
Color Deep blue
Birth flower Aster and Morning Glory
Zodiac signs Virgo, Libra
Hardness (Mohs) 9

Kashmir sapphires, mined in a brief window from 1881 to about 1887, produced a velvety cornflower blue that has never been matched. They now sell for many times the price of comparable stones from elsewhere.

September stones in detail

Sapphire

Composition Aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) — corundum colored by iron and titanium
Hardness · Crystal system 9 · Trigonal
Mined in Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Myanmar, Australia, USA (Montana)

Padparadscha — a pink-orange sapphire named after the lotus flower — is the rarest color and outprices most blues.

Traditionally associated with judgment, focus and keeping a promise.

Care. Warm soapy water. Safe in ultrasonic unless fracture-filled.

Spotting a fake. Heat treatment is near-universal and disclosed. Untreated sapphire commands a large premium and should come with a lab report — no report, assume treated.

How Sapphire became the September birthstone

Sapphire's name comes, through Latin and Greek, from a Semitic word for blue that was probably first used for lapis lazuli. Medieval clergy wore it as a symbol of heaven, and kings set it in their regalia: St Edward's Sapphire in the British Imperial State Crown is said to have come from a ring of Edward the Confessor. In 1981 a 12-carat Sri Lankan sapphire became one of the most famous engagement rings in the world, worn first by Diana, Princess of Wales, and later by Catherine.

Choosing a September stone

The most valued blue is vivid and medium-dark — saturated without turning inky; very dark stones cost much less, and pale ones less still. Origin moves the price: Kashmir, Burma and Sri Lanka lead, while Madagascar and Montana offer good stones for less. Sapphire also comes in yellow, pink, green and white, so a September stone need not be blue at all. Second only to diamond in hardness, it is a practical choice for a ring worn every day.

Primary source

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

The verse for September
“A maid born when September leaves Are rustling in the autumn breeze, A chrysolite on brow should bind— ’Twill cure diseases of the mind.”
Kunz on the 1912 list
“Another undesirable change takes the chrysolite (peridot) from the place it has always occupied as the gem of September, and makes of it an alternate for August, with the sardonyx, while the sapphire, properly the gem for April, is made the birth-stone for September.”
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 September is chrysolite, and the jewelers’ list adopted in Kansas City in 1912 gives sapphire. In his tally of eight older lists, September went to chrysolite in 6 of them, sardonyx in 2. Which lists Kunz compared, and where the verses come from →

September birth flowers

Aster

Traditionally signifies patience and elegance.

Morning Glory

Traditionally signifies affection that arrives early.

More on September birth flowers →

If you go by zodiac sign instead

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

Virgo stones · Libra stones

Questions about the September birthstone

What is the birthstone for September?

The modern September birthstone is Sapphire.

What color is the September birthstone?

Deep blue.

What is the September birth flower?

Aster and Morning Glory; the aster traditionally signifies patience and elegance.

Is Sapphire hard enough to wear every day?

Sapphire rates 9 on the Mohs scale. It suits a ring worn daily; the thing to watch is fracture filling in some stones.

What zodiac signs fall in September?

Virgo and Libra.

Other months

January February March April May June July August October November December

Measured against our reference of 43 stones

The September stones, by hardness

Sapphire · modern and traditional Mohs 9 · +2.65 vs average · everyday ring
Lapis Lazuli · alternative Mohs 5–6 · -0.85 vs average · wear with care
Average across all 43 stones Mohs 6.35
Modern and traditional the same stone
September birthstones on the Mohs hardness scale
September birthstones on the Mohs hardness scaleMohs scale from talc (1) to diamond (10) with the September birthstones marked: Sapphire 9.Sapphire: Mohs 9Sapphire 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
September birthstones on the Mohs hardness scaleMohs scale from talc (1) to diamond (10) with the September birthstones marked: Sapphire 9.Sapphire: Mohs 9Sapphire 91Talc2Gypsum3Calcite4Fluorite5Apatite6Orthoclase7Quartz8Topaz9Corundum10Diamondfingernail 2.5glass 5.5dust 7Source: Mohs scale minerals · ranges from our 43-stone referenceastrohot.com

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

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

Who this month covers

Days in September 30
Virgo · September 1–22 73.4% of September births
Libra · September 23–30 26.6% of September births

September is mostly Virgo territory: the sign claims 22 of its days, leaving Libra the last 8, and in US births for 2000–2014 its share of the month was 73.4%. 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. “September Birthstone: Sapphire — Meaning, Color and Flower.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/birthstones/by-month/september/

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