Garnet is the traditional birthstone for the month of January.  This stone was given its name by the ancient Greeks because the color reminded them of the “granatum”, or pomegranate seed.

Garnet is found in every color of the rainbow, excluding blue. Garnets can range from the deep red Bohemian Garnet to the vibrant greens of the Russian Demantoid and the African Tsavorite. The oranges and browns of Spessartite and Hessonite hail from Namibia and Sri Lanka and the subtle pinks and purples of the Rhodolite, named after the rhododendron flower, are also available.

Garnets are said to represent friendship, enhance the self, and provide protection from harm.

Garnet- A Family of Colors

When most people think of garnet, they see only images of a dark red gemstone. But look a little deeper into garnet’s many varieties, and you’ll discover every color of the rainbow except blue. Few gems can rival garnet in the diversity of colors available. The green of summer grass, the gold of freshly harvested wheat, the orange of fiery hot steel, the pink of a delicate rosebud – garnet offers all these colors and more.

Garnet has popularity dating back over 5,000 years to ancient Egypt, where the gems were worked into beads or set into hand wrought jewelry. Jewelry set with dark red garnets from Czechoslovakia was extremely popular in the nineteenth century. Pieces set with these Bohemian garnets are still in high demand today for their beauty and uniqueness. Today’s gemstone collector knows that garnet offers a myriad of color choices in every shade imaginable, except blue.

Origins

Garnets are mined in many locales around the world. Some of its more important sources include Africa, Australia, Brazil, India, Madagascar, Russia, Sri Lanka and the United States.

Treatments

There are no treatments commonly used to enhance garnet.

Care

Garnet is both hard and durable. Garnet can be cleaned using an ultrasonic cleaning machine, any commercial jewelry cleaner or mild soap and lukewarm water using a soft brush. Be sure to rinse and dry your jewelry thoroughly after cleaning.

Content provided courtesy of GIA & AGS