Garnet – Did you know?

• Garnet is the modern birthstone of January.
• Garnet can be found in all colors of the rainbow except blue.

• Garnet was thought to offer protection in the afterlife, this is probably the reason why it was often found in ancient burial sites.
• During the Middle Ages people believed that the red stones would stop bleeding.

• The word “garnet” comes from the Latin word “granatus,” meaning “grain” or “seed.”
• Garnet has a hardness of 6.5 to 7.5 on Moh’s scale.
• One Biblical legend is that Noah hung this gem on the ark to light his way through the dark and stormy nights of the divine flooding.

• The garnet is considered the protective gem of journeyers. A gift of garnet is thought to be symbolic of love and the desire for a loved one’s safe travel and speedy homecoming.
• If a red gemstone is being advertised as an ‘American Ruby’, ‘Arizona Ruby’ or ‘Cape Ruby’ it is actually a red garnet, so be aware.

• One great variety of garnet is tsavorite garnet. This grossular species of garnet is a vibrant, intense green. Tsavorite garnet is found in Kenya, Tanzania and Pakistan.

• Rhodolite – this garnet has a purple hue that can range from a light rose color to a deep lavender resembling the amethyst. This variety of garnet contains iron which gives the gemstone its purple hue.One legend says that it helps cure broken hearts and create romantic circumstances.

• Hessonite – this type of garnet is a reddish-orange color similar to cinnamon.

• Another variety are the yellow garnets also named Mali garnets, which are a variety of the grossular species usually mined in yellow and green. Topazolite garnets are also yellow.

• The hydrogrossular garnet, known also as “Transvaal Jade“  is often used as a cheaper substitute for jade.
• Asians used garnets as bullets in the belief that their strong red color would inflict a deadly wound. Such bullets were used as recent as 1892 during a rebellion in India.

• The most expensive garnet is the brilliant green variety called demantoid (diamond like), which approaches emerald shade and exceeds the diamond in fire or dispersion. The finest of these garnets, which are quite rare, are found in the Ural Mountains.

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Tags: american ruby, birthstone, garnet, garnet jewelry, gemstones, january birthstone, tsavorite