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garnet
Featured Gem GARNET
January’s birthstone, the garnet, is not actually a singular stone. It’s an entire mineral family! Garnets come in a wide range of colors, though they are typically seen in a deep red. They get their name from the French word for seed, as they bear a resemblance to pomegranate seeds. Garnets, like other red gems, were once associated with the concept of ‘lifeblood’ and thought to promote health.
BIRTHSTONE: JANUARY
overview
You might think of garnets as only red, but they are found in a great variety of colors. Of the choices of colors, you can find garnets in greens, purples, reds, oranges, and pinkish colors. Red is only more common than the other colors of garnets. The rarest is the tsavorite, the green garnet.
tsavo park
Tsavorite garnets were found by Campbell Bridges near Tsavo National Park in Kenya.
faberge
Demantoid garnets were used by the imperial Russian jeweler for intricate designs in jewelry.
3800 BC
A stylish red garnet bead necklace found in a grave in Egypt is more than 5,000 years old.
QUALITY FACTORS
All of these factors are taken into consideration to determine a garnet's value.
color
Garnet gemstones are in many different colors from deep reds to the rare greens.
clarity
Often, the red garnets do not have inclusions. The other colors usually do have visible inclusions.
cut
It is normal to see garnets cut into the standard shapes to be place in jewelry settings.
carat weight
Some garnets might be rare in the larger sizes, but most can be found in a variety of weights.