Pearls, Moonstone, and Alexandrite: Inside June’s Three Birthstones

Most months get a single birthstone but June has three! The choices — pearl, moonstone, and alexandrite — could not be more different from one another, and each carries its own history, symbolism, and place in the world of fine jewelry.

For anyone born in June, that variety is a gift. It means choosing between the quiet elegance of a pearl treasured for thousands of years, moonstone, the soft inner glow of a stone tied to lunar mythology across cultures, or Alexandrite, one of the rarest and most extraordinary gemstones ever discovered. This guide takes a closer look at all three, including how they appear in estate and antique pieces today.

Why Does June Have Three Birthstones?

The modern American birthstone list was standardized in 1912 by the National Association of Jewelers, the organization now known as Jewelers of America. At that point, June was assigned two stones: pearl and moonstone. In 1952, the Jewelry Industry Council of America added alexandrite, partly in response to its growing recognition in the gem trade. 

The result is that June is one of only three months,  alongside August and December, with three official birthstones. For June birthdays, that translates into a remarkable range of styles, traditions, and price points.

Pearl: The Classic June Birthstone

Pearls have been treasured longer than almost any other gem in human history. The oldest written record of pearls dates back to 2206 BC, when freshwater pearls were gifted to Chinese royalty, and they appear in ancient Roman, Persian, and Greek traditions as well. They have symbolized purity, wisdom, and refinement across centuries of fine jewelry making.

Unlike every other gem on this list, pearls are organic, being formed inside a living mollusk rather than mined out of the earth. That alone gives them a different kind of presence: softer, warmer, more alive.

Antique pearl jewelry holds a special place in estate collections. The late Victorian and Edwardian eras in particular elevated natural pearls to extraordinary status. One of the most famous stories in American jewelry history involves the Cartier mansion on Fifth Avenue in New York. In 1917, Pierre Cartier traded a double-strand natural pearl necklace for the Morton Plant mansion at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street — the building that remains Cartier’s American flagship today. At the time, that necklace was valued higher than the mansion itself.

That story illustrates just how rare and valuable natural pearls were before cultured pearls reshaped the market in the early 20th century. Today, pearl estate jewelry spans an enormous range, including:

• Pearl strands and chokers
• Drop earrings and studs
• Brooches and lavalieres
• Pearl-accented rings and pendants

Lippa’s current inventory includes pieces like a Silver Colored Tahitian Pearl Necklace and a Dark Tahitian Pearl Necklace, each showing the depth and color variation that distinguishes Tahitian pearls from the more familiar white Akoya strands. Vintage pearl necklaces in general — particularly Edwardian and Art Deco examples — remain among the most quietly powerful pieces a collector can own. For a closer look at how to evaluate older pearl jewelry, our companion guide on natural vs. cultured pearls walks through the distinctions in detail.

Moonstone: June’s Most Mystical Gem

Moonstone is named for the soft, drifting glow that seems to float just beneath its surface — a phenomenon called adularescence. The effect is caused by light scattering through alternating layers of two feldspar minerals, orthoclase and albite, within the stone’s internal structure.

The stone has a long history of reverence across cultures. Pliny the Elder, writing in the first century, described moonstone as a stone whose inner image changed with the phases of the moon. The Romans associated it with the goddesses Diana and Luna and traditionally set it in silver rather than gold — a “lunar” pairing that persisted through medieval European jewelry. In Hindu mythology, moonstone is considered sacred and is often exchanged between lovers as a symbol of devotion.

Moonstone’s most celebrated era in fine jewelry came during the Art Nouveau period, roughly 1890 to 1910. Designers including René Lalique and Louis Comfort Tiffany prized moonstone for its organic, flowing visual quality, which aligned perfectly with the movement’s nature-inspired aesthetic. Many of Lalique’s finest moonstone pieces — tiaras, brooches, pendants, and rings — now reside in museums and private collections.That history makes moonstone particularly compelling in the context of Art Nouveau jewelry and other turn-of-the-century estate pieces. The stone is softer than alexandrite or sapphire, with a Mohs hardness of roughly 6 to 6.5, so vintage moonstone jewelry deserves a slightly gentler approach to wear and care.

Alexandrite: The Rare Color-Changing Gem

Alexandrite is, by almost any measure, one of the most extraordinary gemstones in the world. It was discovered in 1830 in Russia’s Ural Mountains, and the first stones found there showed dramatic color change and exceptional quality. Swedish mineralogist Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld named the gem in 1834 in honor of the future Czar Alexander II, who would later be remembered as the Russian emperor who emancipated the country’s serfs.

The stone’s defining feature is its color shift: a vivid green in daylight, transforming to a warm red under candlelight or incandescent light. The effect is so distinctive that alexandrite is often described as “emerald by day, ruby by night.” Because the green and red colors mirrored the national military colors of imperial Russia, alexandrite became deeply associated with Russian identity and royalty.

What makes alexandrite so rare is the precise combination of trace elements required for it to form — chromium substituting for aluminum within the chrysoberyl crystal structure. The original Ural Mountain deposits did not last forever, and most alexandrite today comes from Sri Lanka, East Africa, and Brazil, with each origin producing slightly different color profiles. Russian alexandrite remains the benchmark and the most valuable.

Several factors drive alexandrite value for collectors:

• Strength and clarity of color change
• Purity of the green and red color states
• Origin, with Russian stones commanding the highest prices
• Size, since large alexandrites are extraordinarily uncommon
• Clarity and quality of the cut

With a Mohs hardness of 8.5, alexandrite is also exceptionally durable, making it well-suited to ring settings and everyday wear. It serves as the 55th wedding anniversary gemstone in addition to being a June birthstone.

How the Three Birthstones Compare

Each of June’s three birthstones speaks to a different sensibility.

Pearl is the timeless choice; refined, classic, and deeply tied to centuries of fine jewelry tradition. It pairs beautifully across eras and styles, and remains accessible at a wide range of price points.

Moonstone is the most ethereal of the three; quieter than pearl, more poetic. It suits collectors drawn to Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts aesthetics, or anyone who responds to stones with subtle inner light rather than bright color.

Alexandrite is the rarity. For a serious collector or anyone who wants the most extraordinary version of a birthstone, alexandrite offers something almost no other gem can.

For broader background on these and other gemstones, Lippa’s Learn about Gemstones resource is a useful starting point.

June Birthstones in Estate and Antique Jewelry

Each of these three stones has appeared prominently in different eras of fine jewelry, and estate pieces offer access to settings that simply are no longer being produced.

• Victorian pearl pieces often feature seed pearls in mourning jewelry, lockets, and sentimental designs
• Edwardian and Belle Époque pieces elevated natural pearls in platinum and diamond settings — chokers, lavalieres, and bar pins
• Art Nouveau moonstones appear in flowing, nature-inspired designs of the late 19th and early 20th centuries
• Mid-century alexandrite turns up in cocktail rings and bolder, more sculptural settings

Browsing Lippa’s collections by time period, particularly Edwardian / Belle Époque and Victorian, is one of the best ways to see how these stones were used across different design movements.

Choosing a June Birthstone Piece

Picking the right June birthstone piece comes down to a few practical considerations.

Style of the wearer. Pearl suits classic, refined preferences. Moonstone fits softer, more artistic styles. Alexandrite makes a statement.

Era of the piece. A vintage Edwardian pearl pendant carries a different feeling than a mid-century alexandrite ring. Both are beautiful, but they speak to different design sensibilities.

Quality of the stone. With pearls, look at luster and surface quality. With moonstone, look at the strength of the adularescence and the depth of color. With alexandrite, the strength of color change is paramount — and authentication is essential.

For a stone like alexandrite, working with a specialist matters enormously. Lippa’s has a GIA Graduate Gemologiston staff, which is the kind of expertise that becomes critical when evaluating rarer and higher-value gems. For anyone considering a custom piece — perhaps built around a loose stone or inherited jewelry — Lippa’s also offers custom design services.

Explore Estate Jewelry Featuring June’s Birthstones

June’s three birthstones offer something rare in the world of birthstones: real choice. Pearl for tradition. Moonstone for mystery. Alexandrite for rarity.

Each one looks especially beautiful in an estate setting, where the craftsmanship of an earlier era has been preserved. Browse Lippa’s curated selections of necklaces and pendants — including a thoughtfully chosen range of antique pearl jewelry and vintage pearl necklaces — along with gemstone rings and the broader estate jewelry collection to find pieces featuring all three of June’s birthstones.

Each piece tells its own story, and once it finds its owner, that story becomes entirely personal.