By Katherine Cook
Happy birthday, January babies! January’s birthstone, the garnet, symbolizes many honorable qualities, including a kind heart, loyalty, and passion. Though a garnet can come in a variety of colors, including orange, green and purple, it is the deep red garnet that is commonly used to represent January birthdates.
In celebration of January’s birthstone, here are 15 facts about garnets:
Buying Information
Garnet is the traditional stone for the second and sixth wedding anniversary. A perfect time to gift your significant other with a garnet ring or pendant.
Garnets are a mineral group that consists of various stones with similar physical and chemical properties. Types of garnet include almandine, demantoid, pyrope, and rhodolite, to name a few.
The most common and affordable variety garnet is the almandine. Almandines are reddish-brown and can be easily found.
The pyrope garnet is a deep, blood-red color and is better quality than the almandine garnets.
The most expensive and rare type of garnet is the demantoid. They are a variety of andradite garnets that are transparent green. Demantoid garnets give off more light than a diamond.
Garnets come in many colors, but not blue.
On the Mohs Scale of Hardness, a garnet is between 6.5 and 7.5, depending on the variety. While it is quite durable, anything with a harder rating can scratch the garnets’ surface.
If you own any antique jewelry that you believe contains a garnet stone, you should have it inspected for authenticity. Many antique pieces were made with dark red glass rather than actual garnet stones.
Garnet Halo Ring by Zander’s Creations
History
You can find garnet in jewelry dating back to the time of ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
In the Victorian era, garnets were one of the most popular gemstones used in jewelry.
Because of its resemblance to the deep red seeds of the pomegranate, garnet gets its name from the Latin word granatum, which means “seed.”
Throughout the 14th through the 19th century, Czechoslovakia was one of the largest garnet jewelry producers. However, they can be found all over the world, including (but not limited to) Wyoming, Greece, Russia, Tanzania, and India.
Symbolism
Legend says garnets light up the night and protect from nightmares.
Some believe that when you wear garnet and do good, more good will come. However, should you do bad, bad things will come.
If you value your friendship with someone deeply, garnet makes the perfect gift as it is often thought to symbolize meaningful and lasting friendships.
Garnet Pendant by Zander’s Creations
You cannot go wrong giving a friend or loved one a gift with their birthstone, due to the personal significance attached. If you have a loved one who has a birthday in January, consider gifting them with a garnet ring or pendant.
Zander’s Creations is owned and operated by Wayne Cook in Mesa, AZ. He has 20 years of experience in creating fine, custom jewelry pieces. Pre-designed pieces can be purchased online at ZandersCreations.com as well as on Etsy, or you can contact Wayne and he can help you with a custom design.