what is a december birthstone
December Birthstone : Blue Topaz. As cool and inviting as a blue lake on a blistering summer day, December's birthstone is derived from the Sanskrit word tapas, meaning fire. This is because Blue Topaz was considered by ancient civilizations to have cooling properties.
The alternate birthstone for December is the zircon. Zircon, in its unchanged natural form appears colorless to pale yellow, or green. These colors are caused by minute quantities of thorium and uranium that replaces zircon in the crystal structure. But over the vast spans of geologic time, other forces work within the zirconium silicate crystals.
There are three birthstones for the month of December: tanzanite, zircon and turquoise. All three of these stones are a deep blue color and have their own history and chemical composition. One of the more interesting of the three is tanzanite, a gem you may not have heard of before.