What is the April birthstone?

What’s the April birthstone?

If you’re in a hurry, the quick answer to the question “what’s the April birthstone?” is ... DIAMONDS! However, it’s not the only answer. The people who were lucky enough to be born in April have multiple birthstone options to choose from. Although, if a diamond is on the cards, we’re not sure why you’d want an alternative?
In this blog post we’ll explain what the other April birthstones are and tell you a little more about the best-known April birthstone, the diamond. So, if you’re searching for April birthstone birthday gifts, you’ve come to the right place!

Birthstones for April star signs

Even if you’re sceptical about horoscopes, you must admit that many people do seem to share certain traits associated with their star signs. April babies born before April 19th are Aries – the very first sign of the zodiac. And unsurprisingly, they love to be number one! As a bold, ambitious fire sign, we can’t think of a better birthstone than the diamond for the lucky Aries.
 
People born on April 20th (until May 20th) are Taureans. Taurus is an earth sign that’s represented by the bull. Like the bull, Taureans are said to be pleasure-seeking people who love luxury. Again, could the diamond be any more perfect for determined Taureans? 
 
But as we mentioned earlier, diamonds aren’t the only option. In fact, we believe that in the past, April birthstones also included other gemstones such as sapphire, opal, emerald, topaz, and quartz! We’ll discuss these in greater depth here too.
 

Diamonds for April birthstones

Diamonds are truly special gemstones. Formed deep underground more than 3 billion years ago, they are celebrated for their rarity as well as their beauty. Some ancient cultures believed that diamonds were formed when lightning struck the earth, whilst some revered them as “tears of God”.
 
These spectacular April birthstones are the strongest naturally occurring substance on earth. The ancient Greeks named diamonds “adamas” which means unbreakable. Over the centuries diamonds have been said to offer multiple attributes such as healing, protection, strength, lasting love, and longevity. Hence their popularity for engagement rings and anniversary gifts.
 
Diamonds are probably best known as sparkling clear gemstones, though they come in a range of beautiful colours such as pink, yellow, brown, red, blue, and green. Coloured diamonds are known as ‘fancy’ diamonds. In Australia we’re lucky enough to have our very own pink diamond mines, which we’ve written about before here. There are also lab-created diamonds which look exactly like mined diamonds. This blog post “What are lab-created diamonds?” explains everything you need to know about lab-created diamonds.

What shapes do diamonds come in?

When diamonds come out of the ground they usually look like cloudy rocks. It’s then the jeweller’s task to cut and polish these gems into the shapes we recognise in diamond jewellery. The most common diamond shapes are brilliant cut or round, princess cut or square, oval, pear, emerald or rectangle, marquise, cushion and heart shape.
 

Brilliant cut or round diamonds for April birthstones

The classic round diamond shape has been a favourite for centuries. Solitaire rings were popular as far back as Ancient Rome. Some famous round solitaire wearers are Mila Kunis, Lauren Conrad and Rosie Huntingdon Whitely. Choose from our stunning collection of round diamond solitaire rings here. If you’re choosing April birthstone birthday gifts, then this round diamond pendant is a spectacular choice. Or these classic round diamond stud earrings will delight even the most discerning April babies.
 

Princess cut or square diamond shape

The next diamond cut that’s popular with celebrities such as Kate Bosworth and Nicky Hilton is the Princess cut. You can view Hoskings full range of Princess cut diamonds here. Click here to see one of our absolute favourite examples of a Princess cut diamond ring – be still our beating hearts!
 

Oval diamonds are perfect for April birthstone birthday gifts

Scarlett Johansson, Blake Lively and Hayley Baldwin all wear stunning oval shaped diamond rings. This oval shaped lab-created diamond solitaire is major goals!
 

Pear or tear drop diamonds

Celebrities such as Ariana Grande, Paris Hilton, Cardi B and Margot Robbie all fell in love with pear shaped diamond engagement rings. But lucky people with April birthdays don’t have to wait for a proposal of marriage to take advantage of this trend. These pear-shaped garnet and diamond earrings are truly divine and this yellow gold pear shaped sapphire and diamond pendant is equally majestic.
 

Emerald cut or rectangle diamond shape

As worn by Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez and Demi Lovato. Emerald shaped diamonds are elegant and have a timeless appeal.  You can get the look without the price tag with this stunning emerald cut cubic zirconia ring or these lux-look emerald cut silver stud earrings.
 

The marquise diamond shape

It’s said that King Louis XV of France commissioned the creation of the first marquise diamond in the shape of his mistress’s lips way back in 1745. Although the marquise has altered slightly since then, this beautiful elongating diamond shape makes the stone look larger. View our selection of marquise diamond jewellery here, and make sure you don’t miss this spectacular marquise shaped diamond ring or this showstopping round and marquise shaped diamond bangle. 
 

Cushion shaped diamond jewellery

Be like Megan Markel, Bar Rafaeli and Hillary Duff and find your own breathtaking cushion shaped diamond jewellery. Aries lucky colour is yellow, so this yellow gold cushion cut citrine and diamond pendant is a no-brainer April birthstone birthday gift.
 

Heart shaped diamond

If you want to know what’s the April birthstone that says “I love you” more than any other, then surely a heart-shaped diamond is the clear winner? But you don’t need to splurge on a rare heart shaped diamond when you can choose from spectacular pieces like this heart shaped diamond pendant, or these heart shaped diamond stud earrings.

Other than diamonds, what’s the April birthstone that’s most popular?

Although diamonds will always be the number one pick for many April birthstone birthday gifts, the alternatives aren’t too shabby either! The second most adored birthstone for April is the stunning sapphire. In fact, sapphire was considered the foremost birthstone for April in ancient Roman, Slavic and Arabic cultures.
 
September babies also get to share this delicious gem, so we’ve written about sapphires in a blog post before – click here to read all about it! Alternatively, click here to jump straight through to browse our sapphire jewellery collection.
 

Opal is another April birthstone

In the ancient Tibetan “mystical birthstone calendar” Opal was referred to as the April birthstone. Here in Australia, we’ve been spoiled with some of the best opal mines in the world. Each opal is unique with an almost magical rainbow of colours. You’ll find milky white opals with subtle hues as well as deep black opals with shockingly vibrant colours that seem to flicker in the dark! How utterly fitting for the dramatic Aries! We’ve collated an exquisite collection of opal jewellery to make shopping for an April birthstone birthday gift super easy.
 

Emerald for April

The luscious emerald is the birthstone of Taurus and is one of the most rare and precious gemstones. As Taurean’s deserve only the best, then it makes absolute sense that the emerald is their stone! This exquisite stone represents the Heart Chakra and is said to embody wisdom and help strengthen communication for blissful love. Emeralds look beautiful set in any metal and in any piece of jewellery. We know you’ll be smitten with these emerald rings, emerald pendants, and emerald earrings.
 

Tantalising topaz

Although topaz is best known for its stunning light blue colour, it’s found in a range of colours, from golden yellow to a fiery red. Traditionalists will insist that only the white topaz will do for the April birthstone as its key elements of fire and earth are linked to both Aries and Taurus. At Hoskings we have a piece of topaz jewellery to suit everyone. This Najo white topaz ring is spectacular and comes with matching white topaz earrings.
 

Quartz for an April birthstone birthday gift

Like Topaz, the general consensus is that white quartz is another alternative April birthstone, presumably because it so closely resembles the diamond. But at Hoskings we’ve found that the rose quartz is the most popular of the quartz family of gemstones. So, if you’re shopping for an April birthstone birthday gift for someone who likes to look pretty in pink, click here to see our beautiful quartz pieces.

Have we answered the question “What’s the April birthstone?” 

We hope we’ve helped you learn more about birthstones for April star signs and given you plenty of ideas for April birthstone birthday gifts. Purchasing birthstone jewellery online is easy with our great delivery options. Or pop in store to any of our Hoskings stores and our helpful customer service will help you find something special.
 
Here are the numbers to call if you’d like to speak to a Hoskings customer service representative:
VIC/ NSW/ QLD & TAS: 1800 819 796
NT/WA or SA: 08) 8981 8895

 

Written by: Niamh Hislop

Photos credits:
Cover - Jeremy Bishop - Unsplash
Photo 1 - Paige Johnson - Unsplash
Photo 2 - Jakob Owens - Unsplash