Birthstones are popular as gifts for their beautiful array of colors and the personal sentiment they can represent. In the modern tradition, there are one to three gemstones representing every birth month of the year, but Enesco chose to use only one in this case. Birthstones can be crafted into rings, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings, as well as other keepsakes.

We just knew it wouldn’t take Disney long to exploit this trend and create a new twist on the theme with these Mickey and Company Birth Stone Figurines:

Even though birthstones had already become an international trend rooted in centuries-long practice, some claiming even Biblical origins, there was still no consensus on the list of birthstones. But in the year 1912, the National Association of Jewelers met to officially standardize the list of American birthstones and each month that they represented. A primary concern was that the stones they chose would be practical for American jewelers to sell and promote in large quantities. Some changes have been made over the years with mainly stones being added.

Mickey is standing about 2″ tall but 2.5″ tall with the paper base. I have elected to leave him on his base as it lists the date and the stone being represented. I have seen examples for sale on the Internet with no base stating simply “Yellow Stone”, or some such, which isn’t very helpful if you are looking for your exact birth stone.

Enesco has partnered with Disney on many products and is especially known for giftware. In 1958, Enesco was the import division for the N. Shure Company. The name “Enesco” was an acronym from the N. Shure company, “N S Co”, so phonetically we have ‘EnEsCo’.

I have no intention of seeking out the entire set of twelve. The prices on the used market range from $10.00 – $50.00 US or more. I paid only $5.00 CAN for this one at a flea market. I can’t pinpoint a year of manufacture.

For the record, here is a complete list of the main birth stones for each month that Disney and Enesco used for this line of merchandise:

January — Garnet
February — Amethyst
March — Aquamarine
April — Diamond
May — Emerald
June — Pearl
July — Ruby
August — Peridot
September — Sapphire
October — Opal
November — Topaz
December — Turquoise