Gemstone Meanings for Men: What Every Stone Stands For

Every gemstone a man wears has a story attached to it. Onyx has been worn for strength, emerald for growth, ruby for protection and tiger's eye for courage, some of them for thousands of years. Whether you choose a stone for what it stands for or simply for its color, knowing the meaning gives a necklace, bracelet or pendant a little more weight.

Below we go through every stone we use, what each one has traditionally been linked with, and how to choose the one that suits you.

Ruby, amethyst, amber and emerald hues on one chain. Featured: Gemstone Necklace (Gold).

Jump to:

• Natural stone or the look of the stone?
• Gemstone meanings at a glance
• The multi-stone pieces
• What each gemstone means
• The other stones in our range
• Where pearls fit in
• How to choose your stone
• FAQs

Natural Stone or the Look of the Stone?

Before the meanings, it helps to know what you're actually wearing, because our range uses two kinds of stone.

• Natural stone beads. Our bead bracelets and necklaces are strung from stone beads such as howlite, tiger's eye, obsidian, onyx and sodalite. Because they're cut from stone, the color and veining shift from bead to bead, so no two pieces are quite the same.
• Stones made to match a gem. Real emeralds, rubies and sapphires are rare, and priced accordingly. Our emerald, ruby, sapphire and citrine pieces use stones cut and colored to match them, and our clover pieces are inlaid to replicate onyx, malachite, mother of pearl, lapis and coral. You get the color and the meaning that goes with it at a fraction of the price.

The name on each product tells you the stone it's made to match. Some are named by color instead: our Blue, Red and White clover pieces carry lapis, coral and mother of pearl.

Gemstone Meanings at a Glance

If you only want the short version, this is it. Every meaning here comes from tradition and belief, not science, which is how we'd suggest you take them.

The Multi-Stone Pieces: Where Most Men Start

If you can't settle on one stone, you don't have to. The Gemstone Necklace is our fastest selling necklace ever, and it puts ruby, amethyst, amber and emerald hues on one chain, each handset in a bezel or four-claw frame, with larger round-cut opals spaced between them. It comes in gold and silver.

Read it as a necklace of meanings: ruby for power, emerald for growth, amethyst for a clear head, amber for warmth. Mostly, though, men wear it for the color. Against a plain T-shirt or an open collar it does all the work, so it needs very little else around it.

The Gemstone Bracelet is the matching piece, and our fastest selling bracelet ever, in gold or silver. For more sparkle, the Iced Gemstone Necklace swaps in red and amber crystals with oval and square-cut mother of pearl. If you're weighing up a gemstone bracelet against beads or a tennis bracelet, our guide to what a gemstone bracelet is sets them side by side.

The bracelet to match. Featured: Gemstone Bracelet (Gold).

What Each Gemstone Means

Here's every stone in the range, starting with the ones our customers choose most.

Onyx: strength and self-control

Black onyx is the stone men wear more than any other, and it isn't hard to see why. It's dark, polished and quiet, so it goes with everything. For centuries it has been linked with strength, discipline and self-control, and it's often called a protector stone, worn to keep a steady head under pressure.

We use onyx in more forms than any other stone: the Onyx Clover Stone Bracelet, matte beads on the Matte Onyx Stone Bracelet, and our onyx rings. Our full guide to black onyx for men goes deeper into its meaning and how to wear it.

Black clovers, framed in silver. Featured: Onyx Clover Stone Bracelet (Silver).

Emerald: growth and renewal

Emerald is the green of new leaves, and its meaning follows the color: growth, renewal and a fresh start. It's the birthstone for May, and it has long been tied to loyalty and to keeping negative energy at a distance, which is why it turns up so often on crosses and protective pieces.

Ours are emerald-colored stones in gold claws and bezels. The Emerald Stone Pendant is a single deep green stone on a Cuban chain, the Emerald Stone Cross is set with rows of them, and the Melted Emerald Gemstone Bracelet wraps them around the wrist. Green is one of the easiest colors to wear, especially with navy, black and denim. Our emerald guide goes further into the stone.

One green stone, four gold claws. Featured: Emerald Stone Pendant (Gold).

Rows of green stones in gold bezels. Featured: Emerald Stone Cross (Gold).

Malachite: protection and change

Malachite is the green stone with bands of light and dark running through it, like the rings in a cut tree. It was once ground down to make green paint, and it has a long history as a protective stone, said to absorb negativity and to help the wearer through change.

Our Malachite Clover Stone Bracelet sets deep green inlays, made to replicate natural malachite, into gold clovers, and there's a Malachite Clover Stone Necklace to go with it. The clover adds a second meaning of its own; our guide to clover bracelets and necklaces covers why men wear it for luck. For more on the stone itself, read malachite for men.

Malachite green against black leather. Featured: Malachite Clover Stone Bracelet (Gold).

Mother of pearl: calm and prosperity

Mother of pearl is the smooth, shimmering layer that lines the inside of certain shells, the same material a pearl is built from. Because it forms slowly, layer over layer, it has long been linked with calm and patience, and it's believed to bring prosperity to the person wearing it.

Our White Clover Stone Bracelet carries a pearly white inlay designed to replicate mother of pearl, and the White Clover Stone Necklace brings the same sheen to the neckline. White is the lightest way to wear a stone: it reads clean, and it looks especially good in summer. There's more on its long history in menswear in mother of pearl for men.

A soft white sheen, in silver. Featured: White Clover Stone Bracelet (Silver).

Tiger's eye: focus and courage

Turn a tiger's eye bead in the light and a band of shimmer moves across it, a little like the eye of a cat. That golden brown flash is where the name comes from. The stone has traditionally been carried for focus and courage, and soldiers were once said to wear it for protection in battle.

The Tiger's Eye Obsidian Bead Bracelet pairs it with black obsidian, a stone tied to grounded strength, so the warmth of one sits against the edge of the other. For the neck, the Tigers Eye Beaded Necklace uses two sizes of bead. Both are natural stone, so every one is slightly different. For more on how bead pieces are made and worn, see our guide to the beaded bracelet. The stone itself gets a full write-up in tiger's eye for men.

Golden brown tiger's eye between black obsidian. Featured: Tiger's Eye Obsidian Bead Bracelet.

Ruby: power and protection

Ruby has been called the king of gemstones, and its meanings are suitably bold: power, passion and protection. It's the birthstone for July, and red has been worn as a sign of strength and confidence for about as long as people have worn jewelry.

The Ruby Stone Pendant sets one ruby-red stone in a four-claw setting on a Cuban chain, and the Melted Ruby Gemstone Necklace lines up ruby and rose colored stones in molten gold bezels. Red is the boldest color in the range, so one red piece is usually enough. There's more in our guide to ruby for men.

A ruby-red drop of color. Featured: Ruby Stone Pendant (Gold).

Sapphire: wisdom and loyalty

Sapphire is the deep blue stone that royalty and clergy have worn for centuries, and its meanings have always leaned toward wisdom, loyalty and a calm, clear mind. It's the birthstone for September.

The Sapphire Gemstone Necklace leads with sapphire-blue stones and adds amber, amethyst and rounded opals between them, in gold or silver. Blue is the coolest color in the range, and it suits silver as well as it suits gold. For famous sapphires and what sets the blue, read sapphire for men.

Sapphire blue leads, amber and amethyst follow. Featured: Sapphire Gemstone Necklace (Gold).

Lapis lazuli: wisdom and truth

Lapis lazuli is a deep, almost royal blue, often flecked with gold. It has been prized since ancient times, carved into seals and amulets and even ground into blue pigment for paintings, and it's traditionally linked with wisdom, truth and inner peace.

Our Blue Clover Stone Necklace sets deep blue inlays made to replicate natural lapis into gold clovers. If you like sapphire blue but want something more matte and earthy, this is the one to look at.

Lapis blue, set in gold clovers. Featured: Blue Clover Stone Necklace (Gold).

Red coral: protection and abundance

Red coral comes from the sea rather than the ground, and sailors once wore it as a charm for safe passage. Its meanings have stayed close to that: protection, and an abundance of good things.

The Red Clover Stone Bracelet sets coral-red inlays into gold clovers, and the Red Clover Stone Necklace carries the same color in silver. Next to ruby it's a softer, warmer red, so it's easier to wear day to day.

Coral red, framed in gold. Featured: Red Clover Stone Bracelet (Gold).

Citrine: abundance and positivity

Citrine is the sunny yellow stone, and it has picked up the nickname the merchant's stone because it was kept close for luck in business. It's linked with abundance, optimism and positivity, and it's one of the birthstones for November.

Our citrine pieces are both necklaces: the Yellow Gemstone Clover Necklace sets radiant-cut yellow stones between small gold clovers, and the Melted Citrine Gemstone Necklace holds citrine-colored stones in molten gold bezels. Yellow works best in gold, against white, black or a summer tan. We make the full case for it in citrine for men.

Citrine yellow, cut to catch the light. Featured: Yellow Gemstone Clover Necklace (Gold).

Howlite: calm and patience

Howlite is a white stone threaded with fine gray veins, so every bead looks a little like marble. It has a reputation as one of the calmest stones you can wear, linked with patience and a quieter mind.

The Howlite Bead Bracelet is strung from natural howlite beads on a stretch-fit core. Its plain white makes it the easiest bead to add next to a watch or a darker stone. Why it's so often dyed blue, and how to look after it, is covered in howlite for men.

White stone, gray veins, no two beads alike. Featured: Howlite Bead Bracelet.

The Other Stones in Our Range

A few more stones appear across our pieces, usually alongside others rather than on their own:

• Sodalite: deep blue with soft gray, linked with clarity and emotional balance. You'll find it on the Sodalite Stone Bracelet.
• Obsidian: glossy black volcanic glass, tied to grounded strength, paired with tiger's eye on our bead bracelet.
• Green quartz: a lighter, fresher green, worn for positive energy. It sits with malachite on the Green Quartz Gemstone Necklace.
• Amethyst, amber and opal: the supporting cast of our multi-stone pieces. Amethyst is linked with a clear head, amber with warmth, and opal, the October birthstone, with creativity.
• Mixed stones: the Stone Beaded Bracelet mixes greens, whites, amber and black in one strand, so no two are the same.

The clear, sparkling stones you'll see set around many of our gemstones are AAA-grade stones, there to catch the light rather than to carry a meaning.

Where Pearls Fit In

Pearls aren't stones in the strict sense, because they grow inside a mollusc, but they sit naturally alongside them, and pearl is the birthstone for June. Unlike the clover pieces above, our pearl pieces use real freshwater pearls.

They have a story all of their own, so we've given them their own guides: start with why men wear pearl necklaces, see how to tell whether pearls are real, or find the right pearl bracelet. You'll find everything in our men's pearls collection.

How to Choose Your Stone

Start with the meaning

If one of the meanings above made you stop, that's a good sign. Plenty of men choose a stone for what it stands for at a particular moment: tiger's eye before a new job, emerald for a fresh start, onyx for a steadier head. The meaning is personal, so there's no wrong answer.

Or start with the color

If meanings aren't your thing, choose by color and what you already wear. Black onyx and white howlite go with everything. Green and blue sit easily with denim, navy and earth tones. Red and yellow stand out more, so they work best against plain, dark clothes.

Match your metal

Gold warms a stone up and makes reds, yellows and greens glow. Silver cools it down and suits blues, whites and black. If you already wear one metal most days, choose your stone in the same one.

Choose a birthstone as a gift

A birthstone turns a piece of jewelry into a personal gift: emerald for May, ruby for July, sapphire for September, citrine for November. If you don't know the month, onyx is the safest choice there is.

Gemstone Meaning FAQs

What do gemstones mean for men?

Each stone carries its own long-held associations. Onyx is linked with strength and self-control, emerald with growth, ruby with power and protection, sapphire with wisdom, tiger's eye with focus and courage, and citrine with abundance. These meanings come from tradition and belief rather than science, so most men treat them as a personal reminder rather than a promise.

Which gemstone is best for a man to wear?

Black onyx is the easiest place to start, because it goes with everything and works in gold or silver. If you want color, emerald green and sapphire blue are the simplest to wear with everyday clothes. Beyond that, the best stone is the one whose meaning or color you connect with.

Are your emerald, ruby and sapphire pieces real gemstones?

No. Our emerald, ruby, sapphire and citrine pieces use stones cut and colored to match those gems, which gives you the look at a fraction of the price. Our clover pieces are likewise designed to replicate onyx, malachite, mother of pearl, lapis and coral. The stone in each product name tells you the look it's made to match.

Which of your gemstones are natural stone?

Our bead bracelets and necklaces are strung from stone beads, including howlite, tiger's eye, obsidian, onyx and sodalite, so the color and veining vary from bead to bead. Our pearl pieces use real freshwater pearls.

What is my birthstone?

The modern birthstones most often used are garnet for January, amethyst for February, aquamarine for March, diamond for April, emerald for May, pearl for June, ruby for July, peridot for August, sapphire for September, opal for October, citrine or topaz for November, and turquoise, tanzanite or zircon for December.

Can you wear more than one gemstone at once?

Yes. The simplest way is to keep one stone as the main piece and let any others play a smaller part, or to pick stones in the same color family. A multi-stone necklace already does the mixing for you, so it works best with plain metal around it.

Can you shower with gemstone jewelry?

It's best not to. Soap, shampoo and chlorine dull stones and inlays over time, and bead bracelets are strung on a stretch core that lasts longer kept dry. Take your gemstone pieces off to shower, swim or train, and wipe them with a soft dry cloth now and then.

Do gemstone meanings actually work?

There's no scientific evidence that a stone can change how you feel or what happens to you. What a stone can do is act as a reminder: of an intention, a person, or a moment. That's why many men choose a stone for its meaning and then wear it every day.

Find Your Stone

Every stone has a meaning, but the one you'll wear most is the one you're drawn to. Start with the color that feels like yours, or the meaning that fits where you are right now.

Browse every piece in our gemstone jewelry collection, see our stone pendants, or look through the clover stone bracelets and bead bracelets and necklaces.