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.
In This Article...
Sun/Star, Planetary and Talismanic Stones for:
The list of stones designated as birthstones for the twelve
either as a January calendar month or as a Sun/Star, Planetary, or Talismanic
stones for Capricorn or Aquarius zodiac signs. due to these
Parts of January and February are spanned by two Zodiac signs; both are listed.
here in the table.
The Capricorn signs of the horoscope
both Aquarius
eleven stones total, including agate, garnet, lapis lazuli, onyx, amethyst, and ruby
opal, sugilite, jasper, moss agate, and turquoise.
Is Ruby the birthstone for January?
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.
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.
Garnetis it a crystal?
Red is frequently the first color that people think of when they hear the word garnet. This stone, however, is not limited to just that. The Latin word granatus, which means grain, is whence the word garnet got its name. The small red crystal grains that make up garnet deposits are embedded within rocks.
Its crystallography exhibits a variety of shapes, including isometric, trapezoid, and dodecahedron. The sporadic ones, on the other hand, are Cube and Octahedron.
One of the most complicated stones among gems is garnet. There are numerous species of garnet listed. Almandine, Demantoid, Andradite-Grossular, Hessonite, Transvaal Jade, Malaia Garnet, Chrome Pyrope, Umbalite, and many other kinds of garnet are among the most well-known. Strangely, garnet is never mined or acquired in its pure form.
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.
What shade of stone is garnet?
There are actually numerous types and colors in the garnet family, despite the fact that it is best famous for its red hue. The more popular garnet gemstones and their colors are listed below:
- The most popular garnet, almandite, is a red with a violet tinge.
- garnet that is rhodolitepurplish crimson or rose in color
- Pyrope, a fiery, deep-red stone that frequently has a brown tinge, is derived from the Greek
- Brownish-red or cinnamon-colored hessonite
- Orange to red-brown in color, spessartite is also known as mandarin garnet for its purer forms.
- Malaiaorange, reddish-orange, or pinkish-orange
- bluish-green to tsavorite green
- The word, demantoidgreen to bluish-green, refers to a luster resembling a diamond.
- Lotus garnet is a more recent variant that was just identified in late 2015 and has a distinctive pinkish orange to orangey pink tint. It is a combination of pyrope, spessartine, and almandine garnet and is frequently discovered alongside spinel or rhodolite garnet.
Garnets all have identical crystal structures, but depending on where they are found, different traces of calcium, magnesium, iron, and aluminum give them different colors. They can be found in the US, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Madagascar, Canada, and Europe. The majority of mined garnets are crushed and utilized in garnet paper and other abrasives; just a small portion are of gemstone quality. Garnet is typically not treated to enhance its color or clarity.
Any garnet with vivid, clear hues and little inclusions will fetch a greater price. Tsavorite and demantoid garnets, with their green tones, are the rarest and most expensive varieties. Both rare and precious minerals include rhodolite, which has reddish undertones, and spessartite, which has vivid orange-red undertones.
Are there two birthstones for each month?
Although each month has a single birthstone traditionally, certain months have numerous birthstones. This fact does cause some confusion, but the variety of possibilities for some months was developed to give customers a choice of less expensive selections in addition to the more typical, pricey stones.
Why is garnet used?
Garnets have traditionally been thought of as symbols of love due to their connections to the heart, blood, inner fire, and life force. The meaning of garnet includes friendliness as well. These relationships are surprisingly evil, though.
In Greek mythology, Hades, the deity of the Underworld, abducted Persephone, the goddess of plants. If she didn’t consume any food in that domain, she would only be able to return to the surface world. She had to spend those many months of the year in the Underworld because she consumed some pomegranate seeds, which causes the winter months.
Garnet has come to symbolize a friend or loved one’s safe return due to its link with pomegranate seeds. Garnets were frequently traded between friends as a sign that they would re-connect and were believed to safeguard travelers on their voyages. (However, in the myth, Persephone is forced to go back to Hades by the pomegranate seeds.)
The cost of garnet stone
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 falls on January 7th?
Garnet. The Middle English word gernet, which means “dark red,” was used to describe garnet in the 14th century. The name, which derives from the Latin word granatum, which meaning “seed,” was given to the gemstone because it resembles the red pomegranate seeds.
