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Historians have traced the origin of the birthstones back to the Breastplate of Aaron. In the Bible's Exodus 28, 15-30 "and call for the twelve stones of the Twelve Tribes of Israel to be set in four rows," there is a description of how one can simulate the Breastplate of Aaron. Ancient Hebrews believed that wearing the gemstones made it easier to talk with Elohim, or God. The gemstones corresponded the Zodiac signs at the time, not what we in present time, would consider calendar month time. Our modern calendar month system was not in use back then and so birthstones were always attributed to one's corresponding zodiac sign. The writings of Josephus in the first century and the writings of St. Jerome in the fifth century suggest a connection between the twelve zodiac signs and the Breastplate. The wealthier people could afford to carry all twelve gemstones with them, which was a common practice, but others could not afford such extravagances. Some theorize that this may be why people started wearing only the stone that corresponded to their zodiac sign. It is more common today for people to associate their birthstone with their calendar month of birth, but some people still prefer to use their zodiac sign as a reference.

Using astrological signs to find one's gemstone, or even personality traits, predates using the calendar month of birth. The common thread among historians studying the origins of this tradition is that it descended from the Jewish religion. However, the zodiac signs themselves are said to have started thousands of years before that, even before Christ. The zodiac refers to the yearly cycle of twelve signs along the ecliptic, meaning the supposed path of the Sun across the heavens, which are divided into twelve equal zones of the celestial longitude. The division of the Sun's orbit into the zodiacal originates in Babylonian astronomy during the first half of the 1st millennium BC. The word "zodiac" comes from the Latin word "zodiacus", which is derived from the Greek word "zodiakos kuklos" meaning circle of animals. This refers to the commonly used Greek zodiac calendar that is represented by animal and animal-hybrid creatures.

Today, much of western culture uses the Gregorian calendar which was written by Calibrian doctor Aloysius Lilius and decreed by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. This calendar does not align directly with the zodiac calendar which is the reason that some of the zodiac gemstones overlap the traditional calendar birthstones. We may never know why people began wearing zodiac gemstones or why we still wear them today. Some may wear zodiac gemstone jewelry because of the properties they believe that stone possesses, some wear them to get in touch with their spiritual side and others may wear them as fashion statements. Whatever the reasoning, one cannot deny the power or the symbolism these stones have. This trend has survived thousands of years over a myriad of cultures and is not going anywhere anytime soon.