The August birthstone is peridot, a yellow-green gem formed deep in the earth and traditionally associated with warmth and protection. Its traditional alternative is sardonyx — a banded member of the agate family — which links August to the long tradition of carved agate amulets.
SHOP AUGUST BIRTHSTONE JEWELRYThe August birthstone is peridot, a yellow-green gem formed deep in the earth and traditionally associated with warmth and protection. Its traditional alternative is sardonyx — a banded member of the agate family — which links August to the long tradition of carved agate amulets.
Egyptians mined peridot on the Red Sea island of Zabargad and called it the gem of the sun, believing it protected against terrors of the night. Sardonyx, the month's older stone, was the Roman soldier's amulet — engraved with figures of Mars or Hercules for courage — and belongs to the same agate family as carnelian and red agate.
August gifting can follow either thread: sunlit green for warmth, or banded red-orange agate in the old Roman tradition of courage. Agate bracelets are among the most wearable birthstone gifts — durable, warm-toned and easy to stack.
August birthdays fall under Leo and Virgo. The birthstone follows the month; each sign also has its own traditional lucky stone — a different system that happily overlaps.
Wear your Peridot birthstone the way you actually live: a bracelet keeps it in sight all day, a pendant rests it near the heart, and earrings or a ring make it part of an occasion. Every August piece below is handmade in small batches and cleansed before shipping.
Peridot is the modern birthstone for August, a sunlit green gem traditionally associated with warmth and protection. Spinel and sardonyx are its recognized alternatives — and sardonyx, a banded agate, connects August to the wider agate family.
Sardonyx is a banded variety of agate combining layers of sard (reddish-brown) and onyx. It was the traditional August stone and a Roman amulet of courage, and it shares its agate family with carnelian and red agate.
Peridot traditionally symbolizes warmth, protection and good cheer. The Egyptians associated it with the sun and believed it kept darkness — literal and figurative — at bay.
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