The striking Garnet is the official birthstone for January!
Throughout the centuries, cultures, and changing times, royal garnets have remained a treasured and meaningful stone. It signifies protection, friendship, trust, commitment, and love!
The most commonly found color of garnet is dramatic red. These rich red hues range from dark, Burgundy wine to flashing crimson. The abundance of these red varieties is why garnets are often mistaken for a single, uniform stone. In fact, the term “garnet” actually refers to an entire family of gemstones.
Because of the mineral diversity of garnets, these gems have been discovered in nearly every color of the rainbow. Red may be the most abundant, but garnets can also appear as vibrant green, golden orange, warm yellow, soft pink, and even near-black shades. There are even some rare varieties of garnet that change color depending on the light they are in.
Do you have a loved one with a January birthday? Perhaps you’re coming up on your milestone in marriage. Garnets are traditionally a wedding anniversary gift for both the 2nd and 18th years of marriage! You can’t go wrong with an “I love you” – Joslin’s style! Symbolic of love, life, and healing, garnets are proven to withstand the test of time.
Garnets
Joslin’s has a great selection of classic red garnet and unique green garnet pieces!
Garnets can range from completely opaque to sharply translucent. There are also garnets found with inclusions – inclusions that may create interesting star-shaped patterns or even a change in color as the gem reflects rays of light. Certain garnets, such as the rare green demantoid garnet, boast a higher dispersion than diamonds, allowing them to produce exceptionally vivid, high-fire sparkle.
Garnets have been discovered in a diverse range of hues thanks to their formation from a wide range of minerals. Mineral compositions and their associated garnet colors are:
- Almandine: Typically deep red, but may also appear as a dark brownish red or black.
- Andradite: Red, yellow, green, and brown tones.
- Grossular: Mostly green, but may also be brownish red or yellow.
- Pyrope: Red. The most common type used in early jewelry pieces.
- Spessartine: Orange.
- Uvarovite: Bright green.
Garnets are found around the world, often as individual crystals or pebbles, or sometimes as inter-crystal clumps. They form deep within the Earth’s crust under intense heat and pressure. Many of the garnets used in today’s jewelry are found on the African continent in Kenya, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania, and Madagascar. Garnets are also found in the United States, Brazil, China, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Poland, Finland, Russia, Myanmar, and more!
Stunning Garnet Ring at Joslin’s Jewelry
Garnet Jewelry
Joslin’s has a wide variety of garnet jewelry available in deep reds and also bright greens. Garnets are rated a 6.5-7.5 on the Mohs Hardness scale. This means they are strong enough to be used in many jewelry applications – but are not recommended for pieces that are designed for daily wear, like engagement rings, for example. When wearing and storing garnets, it’s best to keep them out of contact with harder gems, as those harder stones may cause damage to the garnet if they have repeated contact or friction.
Although garnets may not be a stalwart of daily wear, they are excellent for special occasion pieces such as pendants, earrings, brooches, and more!
