The birthstone for January is Garnet, which takes it's name from the latin granatus - which means pomegranate, you can definitely see that in the tradtional deep juicy red colour.
But, as you can see from the picture above, garnets come in a range of colours, from purple and deep red, through orange, to green! This is because Garnet is actually a group of minerals. Five of these – pyrope, almandine, spessartine, grossular and andradite – are typically used as gems. Pyrope and almandine range from purple to red. Spessartine shows oranges and yellows, while andradite is mostly yellow to green.
Grossular garnets seem to have the widest range, from colourless, yellow to reddish orange and orangey red, as well as a the gorgeous green tsavorite.
Folklore
In Indian astrology, garnet is said to eliminate negative feelings and instil greater self-confidence and mental clarity. In ancient and medieval times, gems like garnet were thought to be remedies for inflammatory diseases and to soothe an angry heart.
Where are they from?
Garnets are found in multiple locations, from Kenya, to Brazil to India, making it a bountiful gemstone.
Care & Treatment
Garnets are around 6.5 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale - making them a little less hard wearing than rubies, but still perfect for jewellery.
You can view my birthstone jewellery collection here.