Garnet - The Birthstone For January

Garnet, the birthstone for the month of January, has been in use since time immemorial. Garnet rings and Garnet earrings make a wonderful gift for any occasion.

garnett shoes

Availability
Garnets are found in many places including Kenya, Sri Lanka, Mexico, China, India, Canada and USA. One of the largest garnet deposits have been found in New York.

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Garnets are available in many colors including red, orange, yellow and green. They are usually available in the shops as a deep-red colored gemstone. Shades of green and yellow are not uncommon; however, blue garnet is a rarity. Garnets exhibit great brilliance, due to their high refractive index. The shape of a garnet is generally round like that of a grain; hence, the name. The color and shape of garnets resemble that of ripe pomegranate seeds.

Composition and Varieties
Garnets are basically silicate minerals, composed of silicon and oxygen, along with minerals like manganese, magnesium, Iron, aluminum or Calcium. Garnets are actually a family of minerals having similar physical and crystalline properties. Six common species of garnets are recognized based on their chemical composition.

They are pyrope (red), almandine (deep red to purple), spessartine (red to fiery orange), grossularite (brownish yellow), uvarovite(green, due to presence of chromium) and andradite (black or vivid green). Of these, the best known and largely available is the red garnet, the pyrope. The most prized among the green garnets-the andradites- is the rare demantoid.  

Properties and Uses
Garnets are fairly hard (7-7.5 on the Mohs scale) and hence, are easier to maintain or to work with.  Although their primary use is as a gemstone, they are also used for abrasive purposes as well. Garnets are the symbol for health and passion. They help stimulate the blood flow in the body and help in controlling depression or negative feelings by provoking the pituatary glands.

The garnet is also the stone for the second year wedding anniversary. Further, it is known as the stone responsible for a successful business. The price of the garnets varies with the availability of the particular type in the area, and the desired quality. A 10mm red garnet is available at an affordable price range of 5 to 10 USD per carat

Garnet - The Birthstone For January

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January Birthstone

January - Capricorn BirthStone

garnet engagement rings

With every calendar month, there is a specific gemstone that serves as a birthstone for people born during that moment. It is widely believed that these jewels are lucky. Not only are birthstones considered to be good fortune, but they also have specific meanings that are often said to reflect a personality trait of the holders.

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The birthstone is a sign of a precious material that symbolizes the month of birth. It's meaning and significance according to month. There have been many different sets of birthstones used throughout history and in different cultures.

Zodiac is divided by astrologers into twelve equal divisions featuring individual signs. Therefrom, astrology is known as the study of the movement and relative positions of celestial bodies and their supposed influence on human affairs. To put it simply, zodiac jewelry is that which features your sign as determined by astrology and your birthdate.

What's the sign of January?

Capricorn is the tenth sign in the zodiac and is the term given to anyone born between December 22nd and January 19th. Thought to be disciplined and reliable, individuals who carry this sign are also said to be careful and practical. Zodiac jewelry representing Capricorn will feature the Goat.

The birthstone for the month of January and the anniversary gemstone for the second year of marriage is Garnet. All species of garnet have been used as gemstones. Garnet displays the greatest variety of color of any mineral, occurring in every color.

This gem is usually dark red in color but can range through yellow to brown to orange shades. The rarest garnet by far is the blue garnet, a recent find only occurring in color-change stones. These are stones which change according to the type of light they are under and are themselves very rare.

Garnet is fairly inexpensive and looks good set in both gold and silver. To give a garnet is a symbol of loyalty and devotion. it was believed to have magical properties, assuring the wearer of love and faithfulness.

January Birthstone

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January Birthstones - Garnet and Auld Lang Syn

January's birthstone is garnet, a stone with an inner fire that defies even the coldest winter days. And the month of January is filled with those. January is named for Janus, the two faced Roman God of beginnings, endings, gates and doors. This is because January pays tribute to the year just past and harbingers the journeys we'll make into the New Year.

garnet pendant

As we make those journeys, whether as trips or metaphorical resolutions, no more fitting birthstone could guide us than garnet. This is because ancient cultures like the Romans, Greeks, Egyptians and even Sumerians used garnet beaded jewelry as protective talismans for journeyers. The garnet appears in the bible as the fourth stone in Aaron's breastplate and Noah is said to have used a garnet lantern to guide his Ark at night.

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For those seeking garnet's sure guidance, garnet beaded jewelry is ideal. But garnet rings are particularly popular birthstone jewelry for January, because a ring represents the completion of the yearly cycle.

So what color should garnet connoisseurs wear?

Blood red garnet beaded jewelry stands out like a blooming rose against January snows; the gemstone's name itself derives from the pomegranate, a fruit with sparkling seeds that resemble garnet beads. Certainly, deep crimson is garnet's most popular and iconic shade.

But January's birthstone can be any shade, and garnet beaded jewelry can be found in a rainbow of hues. For a time, it was believed that garnets came in every color but blue, but the discovery of blue garnets in Madagascar in the 1990s put that idea to rest. Now, smoky blue garnet is amongst the most prized gems both for its rarity and its ability to change color in different light.

Unusually colored garnets each have their own names. For example, purple garnets are known as Rhodolite, mandarin orange garnets are called Spessartine, brown or black garnets are known as Andradite, and emerald green garnets go by the name of Tsavorith. This is to name only a few.

This wide variety of names for January's birthstone stems from the fact that garnet is not a single gemstone, but rather, a family of related stones. What all varieties of garnet share is a common formation and cubic crystalline structure. Garnets are uniformly brilliant, natural, and durable. Garnets are also amongst the hardest gemstones, rating between a 7 and 7.5 on the Mohs Hardness Scale, and garnet beaded jewelry is generally affordable, making an ideal birthstone.

In fact, there are no known enhancements for garnets, so it's difficult to fool a consumer with inferior quality garnet beaded jewelry. Perhaps it is this inviolable purity that turned garnet into a symbol for remembrance and faithful friendship. After all, historically, garnet has been a gift exchanged between good friends who are parting, to ensure that they meet again. January's birthstone is even said to rekindle old feelings.

Thus, in a month when we gather with family and sing of old acquaintances forgotten and never brought to mind, garnet birthstone jewelry stands as a tribute to January's two aspects-reminding us of the past and guiding us into the future.

January Birthstones - Garnet and Auld Lang Syn

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Garnet: The January Birthstone

For those who are born in the month of January, they should be familiar to their birthstone, which is garnet. It is a wonderful stone with great properties and a variety of uses. It is recognized as the birthstone for January and is used as a gem for jewelry, but it is also a material that is used in industrial processes.

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Garnet is a wonderful gemstone that comes in many different shapes and colors. But there is more to garnet than being a birthstone of January. Let's take a look at some of the facts about this wonderful gem.

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The Uses of Garnet

Garnet is considered to be one of the most, if not the most versatile gems in the world market today. The use of garnet can be traced back to the ancient times, particularly the Bronze Age, when it was primarily used as an abrasive and a gemstone. Today, industrial garnet is far more valued in aggregate terms than gem garnets. The production of garnet for industrial processes is at least 50 times bigger than the production of gemstone garnet.

The first documented use of garnet for industrial processes can be traced back in 1878, when Barton Mines Corp. manufactured it as a coating for sandpaper. Today, aside from being an abrasive, it is also used to cut steel in water jets under high pressure. States like Alaska, California, Arizona, Colorado, Montana and Idaho have wonderful sources of garnet.

Garnet is also used as an indicator for determining the stages of rock formation. It is used in the process of defining the metamorphic stages of rocks. It is also used to detect the formation of igneous rocks.

Pure garnet crystals are commonly used as gemstones for jewelries. Let's take a look at the different qualities of a garnet as a gemstone.

Garnet Gemstones

Garnet gemstones come in different colors and can change colors if they are placed against different kinds of light. The more popular colors of garnet gemstones are pink to purple red or brownish red. Actually, the colors of garnet gemstones cover the color spectrum pretty well. Some people would say that one can find any color of garnet except for blue. In reality, there has been documented evidence that there exists blue garnet. A blue garnet specimen was discovered in the last decade in Bekily, Madagascar.

Almandine and Pyrope are popularly known as the most common types of garnet, and perhaps the most affordable ones. Rhodolite is also a popular type and this is usually mined in places like India, Africa, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Another type of garnet is the Tsavorite, which is usually found in Kenya and Tanzania.

History had been witness to the different mystical powers that are associated with garnet. Modern legends would tell us that garnet stones are associated with night vision and success. In the tradition of the Hebrews, garnet is believed to be one of the twelve stones in the breastplate of Aaron. While in Christian tradition, garnet is associated with the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus Christ and is therefore connected with the concept of salvation. It is also believed that in the story of Noah, he used a large piece of a red-colored garnet to be able to illuminate his ark during the great storm. The Quoran also refers to garnet as the light of the fourth heaven.

There are also beliefs that garnet can be used to ensure safety during trips. It is also believed that garnet can cure diseases and food poisoning.

Garnet is a gemstone that got its name from the Greek word "granatus" which literally means "grain." It refers to the likeness of the structure of the gem to a group of grains. It is also associated with the pomegranate fruit, which resembles the color of the most common garnets and whose seeds resemble the structure of the gemstone.

No matter what kind or what color of garnet we might prefer, one's thing for sure- that garnet stones are definitely versatile and beautiful. One doesn't need to use a microscope to be able to appreciate the beauty of garnet. The people who were born in January are very lucky to have garnet as their gemstone.

Garnet: The January Birthstone

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Crystal Birthstone For January - Garnet

For all those born in the month of January, your Birthstone is Garnet.

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Garnet is very common and plentiful stone and can be found in many areas around the world. It has a trigonal crystal structure, and there are different forms according to its mineral base; Almandine, Andradite, Demantoid, Grossular, Hessonite, Pyrope, Rhodalite, Spessatite, Tsavorite and Uvarovite. A common misconception is that all Garnets are a red, when actually they come in a wide variety of colours including purple, red, orange, yellow, green, brown and black.

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Garnet has been widely known for thousands of years, and it has long been known as The Warriors Stone, carried by soldiers the world over as a talisman against death and injury, but it was also said to bring victory, peace and tranquility. Many courageous travellers and explorers wore Garnets for protection, as they were considered popular talismans and protective stones.

It is said that Garnet not only holds the power to protect its wearer from negative energies, but to send those negative energies back to where they originated from. Garnet has been used as adornment for thousands of years and is one of the stones in the breastplate of the high priest.

Garnet is also a stone of romantic love and passion and commitment. Metaphysically it is used to enhance sensuality, sexuality and intimacy. It balances the sex drive and alleviates emotional disharmony. Red Garnet in particular stimulates the controlled rise of the Kundalini and aids sexual potency.

An excellent stone for manifestation and it can assist mystically with building your self-confidence as well as success in your chosen profession. The Garnet is commonly known as the stone for successful business, and is useful in the planning stage of any project.

A Garnet placed under your pillow is said to prevent bad dreams. Wearing Garnet jewellery will help generate popularity amongst your peers, and help alleviate depression. It will also bring constancy to friendships. Garnet has a strong link with the pituitary gland and can stimulate expanded awareness and past life recall. It will sharpen your perceptions of yourself and others. Garnet helps you let go of old, useless, or obsolete ideas. Will remove inhibitions and taboos and will open the heart and bestow self confidence.

Garnet regenerates the body and treats spinal and cellular disorders. It stimulates the metabolism, purifies and regenerates the blood, heart and lungs, and regenerates DNA. It assists assimilation of vitamins and minerals. It clears negative chakra energy. Both the thyroid and spleen may benefit from cleansing and purifying with Garnet.

Crystal Birthstone For January - Garnet

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Birthstones - January - June

A birthstone is a precious metal assigned to a particular month so there are a total of twelve birthstones. Each precious metal or gemstone is associated with characteristics or qualities that describe the month. Others refer to birthstones as birthday stones or anniversary stones. Over time, the list of stones have been changed and been updated according to the times. But in 1912, the national association of jewelers in the US, Jewelers of America, has sought to standardize the list which is still being used today not just in the US but in other countries as well such as Australia and Asia.

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Garnet for January

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Garnet is usually colored red although they can also be seen in various colors of the color spectrum. The name originated from the Latin term granatus which literally means grain and is possibly used as a reference to the pomegranate plant which come with red seeds which resemble the shape, size and color of the garnet crystals.

Amethyst for February

Amethyst usually come in the color of purple or violet and is commonly used as a decoration. The name came from the Greek term a and methuskein which refers to the belief that this gemstone prevents the wearer from getting intoxicated or drunk.

Aquamarine for March

This gemstone usually comes in a turquoise or blue color. The name came from the Latin aqua marina which translates to "water of the sea."

Diamond for April

The name diamond is derived from the Greek term adamas which means invincible. This gemstone is the hardest precious metal known to man that only another diamond can scratch it.

Emerald for May

Emerald comes in the color green or bluish green and is a highly prized gemstone. The name can be derived from the Greek word smaragdos and Latin word smaralda.

Pearl for June

This is the only non-mineral birthstone on the list. Pearls are hard, circular objects produced by mollusks. The largest pearl found came from the Philippines in the year 1934 which was originally tagged as the Pearl of Allah but is now officially known as Pearl of Lao-Tzu.

Birthstones - January - June

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