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.
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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.
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.
Is Aquarius amethyst or garnet?
The eleventh sign of the zodiac is Aquarius. Garnet and amethyst are the primary birthstones for Aquarius. The red stone symbolizing strength is garnet. Purple amethyst is known as the stone of tranquility.
What uses are there for garnet stone?
The birthstone for January is garnet, a symbol of strength and power. The word “garnet” comes from the Latin word “granatus,” which means “pomegranate” and alludes to the red hue of the Garnet Stone. Despite having a wide range of beautiful colors, this gemstone is most often associated with its red tint. Garnet gemstones come in a wide range of shapes, hues, and sizes and have extraordinary healing and spiritual abilities.
How to wear Garnet stone?
January birthday celebrants wear garnet to mark their second wedding anniversary. It is advised to speak with an astrologer to determine which finger will work best for you. For maximum effects, a garnet ring should be worn on Saturday between 5 and 7 AM and preferably in silver metal. Furthermore, the Garnet gemstone should weigh 1/10th the body weight in carats. A 6 carat Garnet stone, for instance, can be worn by a person weighing 60 kg.
What are the benefits of Garnet gemstone?
- An effective gemstone for controlling blood flow in the body is garnet. Additionally, it heals illnesses associated to blood deficiencies.
- It has the ability to increase hemoglobin levels while lowering the likelihood of hemorrhages and inflammation.
- Garnet cleanses the blood, maintains heart health, and activates and balances the Root Chakra.
- Numerous benefits of garnets exist. It strengthens the spleen and lungs and heals spinal cord damage.
- Additionally, it lessens sadness, and according to legend, the garnet stone shields the user from poison.
- The stone of manifestation and protection is garnet. It shields the wearer from unfavorable and malicious ideas.
- It engenders fervor, fire, vigor, stability, and is thought to bring luck in romantic relationships.
- Garnet is a stone thought to offer success in life and aid in achieving the objectives its owner has set for themselves.
- Garnet activates all of the body’s chakras, from the base to the crown, therefore using it for meditation results in tremendous strength and balance by fostering a spiritual outlook on life.
Why should you purchase Garnet from GemPundit?
It is essential to seek the advice of a qualified astrologer before purchasing this lovely gemstone. Leading supplier of genuine, unheated, untreated, and entirely real gemstones and gemstone jewelry is GemPundit. At GemPundit, we adhere to a strict selection process for gemstones and include originalgem-lab certification with each gemstone. You can browse GemPundit’s large selection of Garnet gemstones with Gem Lab certification.
Additionally, because garnet has potent astrological and healing abilities, one should seek the advice of a professional astrologer before wearing a gemstone to prevent any unavoidable negative effects. With careful examination of the planets in your birth chart, our team of professional astrologers recommends gemstones for you based on your birth chart. In order to meet the demands of the customer and deliver the best service, our knowledgeable gem consultants offer customer support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Use our Free Gem Recommendation Tool for quick and precise astrological gem selections. Or reserve our astrology consultation service right away!
What shade of stone is garnet?
The gorgeous and varied garnet is a lucky birthstone for those who were born in January. While red is the most prevalent color of garnets, they also come in a stunning array of other hues, including 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.
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.
Why are garnets 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.)
Garnets may they be blue?
Despite its beauty, Blue Garnet, a rare and peculiar sub-variety of the already rare Garnet Color Change Umbalite, will always have a limited supply, making it highly collectible and exceedingly special. Blue Garnet was just discovered in 2017.
What is the cost of garnet?
Real garnets in rich green, orange, and purple colors can cost as little as $500 per carat for inclusion-filled stones and as much as $7,000 for flawless, larger stones in the best color. 100 grams of heavily included common red garnet can be purchased for $20.
Garnet Value (Price) per Different Units
We are happy to describe costs of faceted garnets in carats and grams because the value of gem-quality garnets is rarely quantified in ounces, pounds, and kilograms. Raw material costs are stated in ounces, pounds, and kilograms.
TIP: As you can see, garnet costs can vary greatly depending on the grade of the stone, and to make matters worse, the garnet specimen is false. See the article below for the key distinctions between genuine garnets and imitations:
Garnet Value (Price) per Different Colors
The values of garnet for various colors are listed in this table. The most expensive garnets are those that are orange, green, or purple.
Do you know what determines the color of rocks? Discover more in the article below. It is extremely amazing why different rocks have varied colors.
Garnet Value (Price) per Different Type
This table provides an overview of various garnet varieties’ raw and faceted components.
Here is a brief description of the three most challenging and usually misunderstood garnet types so that you can comprehend the various garnet varieties better:
- Uncut garnet: crystal fragments
- Red garnet from the Czech Republic is known as bohemian garnet.
- Pinkish-orange blend of pyrope, almandine, and spessartine garnets known as Malaya garnet
- pure golden andradite garnet, or topazolite