Garnet is January's Birthstone
If you're still young enough to remember your birthday, you
probably also remember the special birthstone assigned to it.
But at your age, we bet you don't really know the SIGNIFICANCE
of your birthstone and what power the ancients felt would be
bestowed about you by wearing it.
January's birthstone: Garnet Garnet Powers: Facilitates night
vision, ensures success Alternative Birthstone: Emerald
Garnet is the birthstone for the month of January and the
traditional anniversary gemstone for the second year of
marriage. Archaeologists have found primitive garnet jewelry
among the graves of lake dwellers which dates the use of this
popular gemstone to the Bronze age. Today they are mined in
Brazil, India, Madagascar, India, Siberia, Africa, Sri Lanka,
and the United States.
Not all garnets are of gem quality. "Raw" garnets make a very
effective abrasive and used commercially for grinding and
polishing. Believe it or not, garnet-coated sandpaper is popular
for industrial use.
Color Me Beautiful Garnets are extremely diverse and offer
enough variety in appearance (and color) to suit every taste.
Although you may think of garnet as a red gem, the truth is that
the garnet family of gemstones comes in a broad spectrum of
colors, except blue.
Garnets of muted yellows, vibrant oranges, rosy pinks, lime
greens, and violets are all part this gemstone's rainbow of
hues. The diversity is due to unique combinations of elements
within each particular gem, such as iron, calcium, and manganese.
What's In A Name? Look at the seeds of a pomegranate and you'll
immediately understand how the word "garnet" was derived from
the Latin word "granatus," meaning "grain" or "seed." Garnet
earned its name because of its close resemblance to the
succulent red pomegranate seed. But don't bite into a garnet!
Like a diamond, a garnet is strong. It has a Moh's scale
hardness 6.5 to 7.5