Beads that slide to fit or a tennis row, then the month's stone, then the wrist length
Choose beads or a tennis row first. The pearl, turquoise and garnet bead bracelets slide to fit most wrists, and they were about three in five bracelets bought here. Sapphire tennis rows fill most of the case, and each comes in a single length, so measure the wrist before you order. Every piece is 14K gold. For a month whose stone is missing here, ask the live chat.
Bead or tennis: beaded birthstone bracelets and gemstone tennis bracelets
Start with a bead bracelet if it is a gift. Each strings its stone with 14K gold beads and closes on a slide, so it draws in to most wrists. They weigh under 3 grams. The cultured pearl style sold more than any other bracelet here in the year, and the two turquoise styles came next.
A tennis row is the dressier buy, matched stones set edge to edge in prongs. Most of the rows measure 3 to 4 mm across. The tennis bracelet bought most in the year was a slim rainbow row, 2.7 mm wide. Nearly every row and bangle comes in yellow, white or rose gold.
By month: the birthstone bracelet for each month
Seven months have a bracelet in their own colored stone. September's sapphire fills about four pieces in five, in rainbow, red, blue, pink and green. July has four ruby rows. May has three emerald rows. June is the pearl bead bracelet, December the turquoise beads, January the garnet beads and October an opal row.
For July, buy a title that says ruby, since a row called red, fire or blood red sapphire is sold as sapphire. Fifteen bracelets here carry diamonds, April's stone. For February, March, August or November, see the birthstone jewelry page below or ask the live chat.
Length: what size birthstone bracelet to buy and how to measure
Measure before you buy a tennis row, because each comes in a single length. Wrap a paper strip snug around the wrist bone, mark where the ends meet and read the mark against a ruler. Order about half an inch more than that so the row can move. Most rows run 7 or 7.5 inches. A small wrist may suit the 6.5-inch rows. The bead bracelets slide to size, and so does the Ocean Blue sapphire row, the only tennis piece whose title says adjustable.
Daily wear: which birthstones hold up on the wrist
A bracelet takes more knocks than a pendant. Sapphire and ruby rate 9 on the Mohs scale, just under diamond, and wear well in a tennis row every day. Emerald is hard enough but brittle, so keep it away from desk edges. Garnet wears well on a cord. Turquoise, pearl and opal are soft, so take the opal row off for the gym. Slip the bead bracelets off before washing hands or showering, put perfume on first, and wipe them with a dry cloth.
Natural or lab-grown: the sapphires, the emeralds, the pearls and the diamonds
Most listings here never tell you how the stone was made, so if a mined one matters, ask us before buying. The Emerald Tennis Bracelet lists lab-grown emeralds, and the Midnight Sky row lab-grown sapphire. The bead bracelet's pearls are cultured, grown on a pearl farm. Five bracelets name lab-grown diamonds in their titles. Nine more call their side diamonds natural. A lab-grown stone has the same crystal and hardness as a mined one. Ask the live chat, or call or text 212-872-9692 from 10 AM ET.