January Birthstone - Garnets

January birthstone - Garnet

The birthstone for January is a garnet. The word ‘garnet’ comes from the latin word ‘granatum’ which means seed or seed-like referring to the form of the pomegranate. The reference is understandable, as the small garnets look a lot like the red seeds found inside of a pomegranate.

Garnets are usually recognised as a dark red colour (Almandine and Pyrope), coming from a rich palate of oranges, pinks, deep purplish-reds. However, some garnets come in greens (Tsavorite and Demantoid) and blues too, these are more rare. Garnets are found across all continents as small pebbles in streams, inside metaphoric rocks. Green garnets are also found in metamorphic rocks, however for a green garnet to form it needs unusual rock chemistries and special conditions.

This type of gemstone can be quite hard-wearing, and rates at a 7 to 7.5 on the mohs hardness scale. Red garnets though are known to be the more abundant ones. Although they are hard-wearing they aren't the toughest stone and some may have inclusions, these are thought to add to their beauty overall.