Gemstone Feature- Garnet (January’s Birthstone)

Garnet, a deep wine colored semi-precious stone, is the birthstone for January.  Garnet is a symbol of courage and compassion and is linked with harmonizing energy, stimulating sexual desire, and unleashing the imagination.   Color:  Although the garnet is commonly found in reddish-brown hues, it also comes in pink, purple, yellow, orange, violet, green, colorless, black and brown. Green tsavorite garnets are rare and valuable. Source:   Primarily it comes from the Czech Republic, Africa, and Spain. Deposits exist all over the world, though, including Australia, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, Russia, Myanmar, Canada and US. Age:  The use of garnet goes all the way to the Bronze Age. Artisans of the Egyptian Nile around 3100 BCE made jewelry with it. Family:   Garnets are classified into different groups according to their chemical compositions, which include Pyrope, Andradite, Spessartine, Glossularite, Uvarovite, and a few other less common groups. Hardness:  6.5-7.5 on the Mohs scale Gemstone … [Continue reading]

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