I never really thought about my birthstone until someone gave me a ring with it in college — a little citrine, because I’m a November baby. I didn’t know what it meant at the time. I just liked that it was mine, in a way nothing else in my jewelry box was.

That’s the thing about birthstones. They’re not really about the stone itself. They’re about having one small object that’s assigned to you, before you even choose it.

The tradition goes back further than most people realize — versions of it show up in ancient Persia and Rome, long before the “official” list jewelers use today was standardized in the early 1900s. Somewhere along the way it became less about astrology and more about sentiment: a birthstone piece is one of the few things you can gift someone that says “I know exactly which one is yours” without saying anything at all.

A few of the ones we get asked about most: garnet for January, warm and a little wine-dark; aquamarine for March, the color of shallow water; peridot for August, a green that looks almost lit from within; and sapphire for September, which people are often surprised isn’t only blue.

You don’t have to wear your own. Some of our favorite pieces are gifted — a mother wearing her daughter’s stone, a couple mixing both of theirs into one setting. It’s less a rule and more a starting point, one small detail that makes a piece feel like it was made for a specific person instead of anyone.

If you’re picking a gift and don’t know where to start, the birthstone is usually the easiest place to land.