The traditional and contemporary birthstone for January is garnet. Even though garnets are a mixture of many mineral species with many similarities, January is most often associated with the deep red form. On the other hand, garnets come in a variety of colors, including deep red, dark pink/purple, yellow, orange, and numerous hues of green. Even a very rare blue garnet could be discovered.
Popularly, garnets stand for friendship and trust. This gem has historically been thought to offer protection to travelers. A garnet is a great stone for jewelry meant for everyday wear because of its toughness.
In This Article...
What birthstone actually falls on January?
The gorgeous and varied garnet is a lucky birthstone for those who were born in January. Although red is the most prevalent color of garnets, they also come in a stunning array of other hues, such as orange, yellow, purple, and vivid green. Even garnets have been known to shift from blue to purple depending on the illumination. The ability of the garnet birthstone to bestow the bearer with good health, riches, and happiness is seen by some to be its genuine value.
What color of gemstone is January?
Garnets are frequently thought of as red gems. Garnets actually come in a variety of hues. They originate from all across the world, and since the Bronze Age, people have used them as jewelry. Nowadays, most garnets are not stones of gem quality. Instead, they are largely employed as abrasives in industry. To create beautiful jewels, only rocks with the ideal size, color, and clarity are cut.
The Latin word granatus, which means seed, gave rise to the name garnet. Small garnet crystals resemble the crimson seeds of the pomegranate, suggesting that the phrase may be a reference to the fruit.
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Characteristics of the January birthstone, garnet
A set of silicate minerals with slightly varied chemical makes up garnets. Garnet crystals may include different concentrations of calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, aluminum, and chromium depending on the environment in which they developed. Due to these variations, garnets are found in a variety of hues, opacities, and hardnesses that range from 6.0 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale.
The majority of garnets are created during metamorphosis, which is the structural alteration of sedimentary rocks like shale under extreme heat and pressure. These circumstances exist where tectonic plates converge. Under these circumstances, minerals recrystallize into structures that are more tolerant of the high pressure and temperature present. Some turn into garnets. Garnets can also be found, though to a lower level, in igneous rocks like granite.
Garnets are hard, so even when weather erodes the metamorphic and igneous rocks they crystallized in, they largely maintain their shape. They end up as sediment, which eventually turns into soil, sand, or sedimentary rock. These formations provide garnets to miners since it is simpler to remove the crystals. Australia provides almost half of the world’s supply. India, China, and the United States are further significant sources.
Garnets come in many colors
Because specific components are present, garnets can have various colors. Almandine crystals are dark red, brownish-red, and black because it contains iron and aluminum. Magnesium and aluminum are the causes of the pyrope garnets’ red color. Manganese and aluminum give spessartine its orange hue. Calcium and aluminum are present in grossular, which results in primarily green crystals as well as red, yellow, and cinnamon-brown ones. Due to calcium and iron, andradite garnets are red, yellow, brown, and green in color. Bright green gems are produced by the unusual calcium chromium garnet type known as uvarovite.
The opacity of garnets ranges from absolutely opaque to translucent. Some garnets have inclusions, which are microscopic fragments of other rocks that reflect light to give the stone a star-like pattern. Additionally, inclusions can make the gemstone appear to change color in certain lighting situations.
Garnets in history
Garnets have been used by humans since the Bronze Age. Jewelry made of red garnet and dating to 3100 BCE was found by archaeologists in the graves of Egyptian pharaohs.
The jewels were esteemed by both ancient Greeks and Romans. They wore garnet jewelry, such as signet rings with cut garnets for sealing documents with wax.
An extensive collection of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork was uncovered in Staffordshire, England, in 2009 by a man using a metal detector. The objects, which go by the name Staffordshire hoard, are from the sixth and seventh centuries. 3,500 pieces of jewelry set with garnets are among them.
The discovery of garnet reserves in Bohemia (in the modern-day Czech Republic) at the beginning of the 16th century ignited a thriving garnet jewelry industry in Europe. Through the Victorian era, the gemstone was still in demand, but by the turn of the 20th century, demand had decreased.
Mythology behind the January birthstone
Garnets and other red gemstones like rubies and spinels are heavily entwined throughout early history and mythology. These crimson gems, known as carbuncles, were difficult for early jewelers to differentiate from one another.
Numerous urban legends are connected to garnets. Garnets were thought by ancient warriors to bring victory. They served as the Crusaders’ traveling defense against injuries and mishaps. Ancient Asian warriors, however, thought that burning garnet bullets caused more serious wounds. The Hanza tribesmen used garnet bullets instead of lead ones to attack British forces in 1892 during fighting along the Kashmir border because they thought they were more potent.
Like many costly stones, garnets were once thought to have therapeutic properties. People once believed that garnets could cure depression and protected the wearer from wounds, poisons, and unpleasant nightmares. They treated fever with red garnets and jaundice with yellow garnets.
Learn about the birthstones for other months of the year:
The garnet is the birthstone for January. Garnets come in a variety of colors, however red is the most common. These include yellow, green, orange, brown, and black.
Capricorn Crystal: What is it?
One of the main birthstones for Capricorn and the customary stone for January is red garnet. Its energy is all about vigor, desire, and assurance. As it enables the discharge of any resentment, regret, shame, or guilt related to love, sex, or relationships, it is one of the greatest stones to heal from emotional trauma or heartbreak. Red garnet is thought to boost a low libido or balance an overactive one because it awakens the sacral chakra, the energetic center linked to pleasure, creativity, and sexuality. Physically, this energizing stone is supposed to increase circulation and remove toxins from the body. Red garnet, a stone of the earth element, has a specific affinity for Capricorn; its earthy energies support Capricorn’s highly driven and goal-oriented temperament while keeping them grounded.
Are garnets rare?
The most expensive and rarest garnet is demantoid, which is also one of the most uncommon colored gemstones. It is notable for its fire and brilliance. The most expensive demantoid is from Russia and may be identified by special byssolite inclusions with a horsetail pattern. The most costly hue is a bright green, and stones weighing more than one carat are quite uncommon. Approximately $1,000 per carat is the starting price for Russian demantoid. There is also less priced demantoid from Africa available without horsetail components.
Malaia Garnet, commonly referred to as Malaya Garnet or Imperial Garnet, is a pyrope-almandine-spessartite combination. From slightly pinkish orange to reddish orange to yellowish orange, it comes in a variety of colors. Tone ranges from being light to being dark. The Umba River valley, which straddles the border between northern Tanzania and southern Kenya, is where malaia garnet was initially found in the early 1970s. In southern Tanzania, deposits of a related substance were also discovered in 1993. The highly uncommon Pink Malaia Garnets retail for $1,000 to $3,000 per carat, while fine quality stones in bigger sizes sell for $300 to $400 per carat.
Is garnet a valuable gemstone?
A semi-precious gemstone that comes in a variety of colors is garnet stone. The best-known quality of this January birthstone is that it has healing powers.
Do garnets cost a lot?
Prices for garnet stones can vary greatly because they come in such a wide range of colors. They typically cost between $500 and $7000 per carat for larger, flawless stones, depending on the presence of imperfections. Demantoid is the most expensive garnet, with a price that is towards the top of the range.
What birthstone has the rarest stone?
While some birthstones are more accessible than others, precious gemstones in particular are thought to be relatively scarce. However, given that some really expensive stones are not all that rare and vice versa, price tags can be deceiving when it comes to rarity. For instance, although expensive, April’s diamond is less rare than rubies, emeralds, and alexandrite. Speaking of alexandrite, it is now the most expensive and rarest gemstone on the list of birthstones. Additionally extremely rare, black opals are.
Birthstones provide an intriguing way to select jewelry. They enable people to investigate jewels that they might otherwise avoid. However, birthstones are not always what people think they are, so make sure you are buying birthstone jewelry for the right reasons while making your selection.
How does a garnet appear?
Minerals called garnets can be found as single crystals, pebbles, or clumps of intergrown crystals. They are opaque, transparent to translucent minerals. The reddish hues of garnets are the ones that are most frequently found, although they can also be orange, yellow, green, purple, brown, blue, black, pink, and colorless. There are very few blue garnets. The crystals can occasionally have layers of contrasting lighter and darker colors.
What does it mean to be a January 15 birthdate?
For Capricorns born on January 15, comfort is essential. They contribute what they can to improving the world on a physical, emotional, and spiritual level. They are drawn to positive emotions, positive deeds, and positive intentions. Despite enjoying a life of luxury, they never lose sight of what makes life worthwhile.
What color is a Capricorn’s birthstone?
The garnet is the birthstone for Capricorns. The red gemstone garnet is quite valuable. The meaning of garnet is dedication and originality. Born between December 21 and January 19 are Capricorns.
