A diamond birthday is the birthday when your age matches the last two digits of the year you were born. Born in 1985, you have it when you turn 85. Born in 2012, you had it at 12. Traditionally, the phrase also means a 60th birthday, after the diamond jubilee. Both are rare, both are worth marking, and you can find yours below in a few seconds.
Find yours
Enter your date of birth to see your golden and diamond birthdays.
The two meanings of a diamond birthday
The modern meaning: your age matches your birth year. This is the version that spread on social media, sometimes called a Beddian birthday. Take the last two digits of your birth year; the birthday on which you turn that age is your diamond birthday. It happens once in a lifetime, and for anyone born after 2000 it arrives in childhood.
The traditional meaning: your 60th. Sixty years has been linked to diamonds since the diamond jubilee, which marks sixty years of a reign, a marriage or a founding. When someone says they are planning a diamond birthday party for a parent, this is usually what they mean. A few people use the term for a 75th, borrowing from the diamond wedding anniversary, but 60 is the common reading.
Diamond birthday vs golden birthday
| Golden birthday | Diamond birthday | |
|---|---|---|
| The rule | Your age matches the day of the month you were born | Your age matches the last two digits of your birth year, or you turn 60 |
| Example | Born on the 21st, golden birthday at 21 | Born in 1966, diamond birthday at 66 |
| How often | Once in a lifetime | Once in a lifetime |
| When it falls | Between ages 1 and 31 | From childhood to old age, depending on the year |
Your golden and diamond birthdays fall on the same day only if the day you were born matches the last two digits of your birth year. Born on 25 June 1925, both arrived on 25 June 1950, when you turned 25. It is extraordinarily rare, which is exactly why people share it. Read more in our guide to golden and diamond birthdays.
How to work out yours by hand
- Write down the last two digits of your birth year. Born in 1972, that is 72.
- That number is the age of your diamond birthday.
- Add it to your birth year to find the year: 1972 + 72 = 2044.
- For the traditional meaning, add 60 to your birth year: 1972 + 60 = 2032.
If your birth year ends in 00, your diamond birthday was the day you were born, so the 60th is the one to celebrate.
What to give for a diamond birthday
The occasion names its own gift. Diamond is also April’s birthstone and the stone of 60th and 75th anniversaries, so a diamond piece reads as considered rather than generic. A lab-grown diamond carries the same hardness, brilliance and fire as a mined one, which makes a more substantial stone possible at the same budget.
Diamond stud earrings. The piece most likely to be worn every day after the party. Between 0.50 and 1.00 total carat weight is the classic range. Shop lab-grown diamond studs
A tennis bracelet. An unbroken line of diamonds suits a milestone that comes once. Choose a box clasp with a safety latch. Shop tennis bracelets
An eternity band. For a 60th that is also a wedding anniversary, a full circle of diamonds says both at once. Shop eternity bands
A pendant with their number. For a child’s diamond birthday at 12 or 13, an initial or a small diamond pendant in solid gold grows with them. Shop initial jewelry
How to celebrate it
Lean into the number. Sixty candles is a fire hazard; a single diamond-cut candle and a cake decorated with the birth year and the age side by side makes the coincidence the point. For the modern meaning, put the year and the age on the invitation: “1985 / 85” explains itself. And photograph the moment: once-in-a-lifetime is the whole reason people share it.
Questions
What age is a diamond birthday?
In the modern sense, the age that matches the last two digits of your birth year. In the traditional sense, 60.
Is a diamond birthday the same as a golden birthday?
No. A golden birthday matches your age to the day of the month you were born; a diamond birthday matches it to your birth year, or marks your 60th.
What is a diamond birthday gift?
Diamond jewelry is the natural choice, because diamond is the stone of the occasion. Studs, tennis bracelets and eternity bands are the pieces most often given.
Are lab-grown diamonds real diamonds?
Yes. They are carbon crystallized in the same structure as mined diamonds, with the same chemical, physical and optical properties. Every Peelerie diamond is lab-grown and ships with its grading certificate.
