The meaning behind January's birthstone: Garnet
Garnets are commonly red…
but also come in a range of beautiful colors, orange, yellow, purple and vibrant green. Some even change color from blue to purple in different lighting. Some believe that it has the power to bring the wearer good health, wealth and happiness.
Originating from the medieval Latin granatus, meaning “pomegranate,” often a reference to the red color. They’ve been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. Pharaohs of ancient Egypt wore necklaces studded with red garnets. Signet rings in ancient Rome featured garnet intaglios used to stamp the wax securing important documents. The clergy and nobility of the Middle Ages had a preference for red garnets.
Garnet is a group of several minerals. Five of these – pyrope, almandine, spessartine, grossular and andradite – are important as gems. Pyrope and almandine range from purple to red. Spessartine is found in exciting oranges and yellows, while andradite is mostly yellow to green (the gem variety demantoid). Grossular may have the widest range, from colorless through yellow to reddish orange and orangy red, as well as a strong vibrant green called tsavorite.
The antique pyrope hair comb held at the Smithsonian is one of the most famous pieces of garnet jewelry (pyrope is from the Greek pyrōpos, which means “fiery-eyed”).
c. 8th century AD, Anglo-Saxon sword hilt fitting – gold with gemstone inlay of garnet cloisonné. From the Staffordshire Hoard, found in 2009, and not fully cleaned.
Where is garnet found…
Garnets come from many different regions and countries. Bohemia was the primary source of the red pyrope garnets so popular during Victorian times. In 19th century Russia, green demantoid garnets from the Ural Mountains were prized by the Russian royal family and used by the great jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé (1846–1920). Today, the African continent supplies much of the world’s garnet. Namibia is now producing demantoids, and most of the bright green tsavorites in the market come from Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar. Namibia and Tanzania are also key sources of the rich orange-to-yellow spessartine garnets. For many years, Southern California’s Little Three mining area was known for producing this spellbinding gem, The birthstone for January is also found in Myanmar, Brazil, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka, among other countries.
Care and cleaning…
The different types of garnet range between 6.5 and 7.5 on the Mohs scale of hardness. This means that this birthstone is more susceptible to damage than rubies, sapphires and diamonds. So while not all garnets are good candidates for daily wear, they are ideal for earrings, brooches and pendants. Give thought to how you store your garnet jewelry. If you let it rub against harder gems – again, think diamonds, rubies and sapphires – it can be scratched. And in turn garnet can scratch softer gems, such as opals or pearls.
Most garnets are not treated. Rarely, however, some garnets might be fracture filled, whereby treaters try to improve the apparent clarity of the gem by filling surface-reaching breaks with a glass-like substance. Such treated stones require special care. Regardless, use of a soft brush with warm soapy water is always safe for cleaning garnets. Ultrasonic cleaners are usually safe, except for stones that have fractures or have been fracture filled. Steam cleaning is not recommended.