Garnet is the birthstone of January. Telltale states that Garnets illuminate the night and safeguard their keepers from frightening dreams. Garnets have been carried by people who mostly travel to keep them away from accidents. 

Symbolism: Peace, prosperity, and good health

Garnet History

Garnet can be traced dating back to the Bronze Age. Other sources go back to 3100 BC when the Egyptians made use of garnet as inlays in their jewelry and other designed crafts such as carvings. The Egyptians claimed it was the symbolic representation of life. The garnet was also very famous with the Romans during the 3rd and 4th Century.

This precious stone was likewise worn as an amulet for safety especially for warriors who set off to battle. Some early healers and wise men also put garnets in injuries and recognized its therapeutic strengths.

These days, the garnet could be seen in a collection of jewelry items. As the garnet comes in a variety of colors, exceptional garnets in green or blue create spectacular jewelry pieces.

Properties

Garnet comes in a range of colors and the most common is the dark red Pyrope Garnet of the Ivory Coast. Other colors include yellow mali of the Mali Garnet, red almandine of Madagascar, green tsavorite of Tanzania, orange spessartite of Mozambique, pink malaya of Tanzania, green merelani mint of Tanzania, green demantoid of Namibia, purple rhodolite of Mozambique, and the orange hessonite of Sri Lanka. Majority of these garnets are mined from.

In the garnet group of gems, the most frequently found minerals are the following: almandine, andradite, grossular, pyrope, spessartine, and uvarovite. All of them have a glasslike shine and transparency. They are mined individually or in massive occurrences. Below are their distinct physical properties.

Watch out for more posts similar to this in the months to come as we cover birthstones for each month.