Garnet: The January Birthstone

Garnet is sometimes wrongly thought of as a low-priced dark red gemstone whose only claim to fame is that it is the traditional January birthstone.  The fact that it has been around for so long, (it has been found in graves from pre-historic times) and the fact that it was popular in 18^th and 19^th century jewelry has caused garnet to have a somewhat undeserved  reputation as a dull, old-fashioned gem.  The fact is, garnet comes in many beautiful colors, so if you were born in January, lucky you!  There are gorgeous green, orange, yellow and purple varieties of garnet that you can and should claim as your very own.

The January birthstone color is generally thought to be dark red, and much of the garnet birthstone jewelry sold today is the dark red variety of pyrope, which is readily available and is mined in the Kimberley and the DeBeers mines in South Africa.

Pyrope garnet is sometimes confused with ruby and/or spinel.

Almandite is a deep red to violet-red type of garnet that usually has fewer inclusions than pyrope.  It is often cut into cabochon form with a hollow bottom that allows more light to shine through it, making it brighter.

Rhodolite is a purple-y red variety of garnet. It is thought to be superior to pyrope and rhodolite, because it tends to be brighter than pyrope and it has fewer inclusions than alamandite.

Other Popular Garnet January Birthstone Colors

• Spessarite garnet is an orange-red variety of garnet that usually has a feathery look to it.  It is very hard to find spessarite that is “clean”, i.e., doesn’t have these inclusions.
• Hessonite is a beautiful brown-orange to brown-yellow color.  It has swirling inclusions that are actually apatite crystals.
• Tsavorite is a gorgeous lime to emerald green color. It was found in Kenya in 1968, so it has not been known to the jewelry world for very long.  Most emerald green Tsavorite crystals that are found are small; at under 2 carats each, they tend to be more expensive than the brighter lime green variety.

  
• Malay garnet is found in Mali, and can range from brown to apricot to peach and green.
• Demantoid garnet is a bright green color, is extremely rare, and is not usually found in sizes greater than 1 carat.  It is only found in the Ural mountains of Russia.  It has more fire than diamond, and so it is very sparkly when cut.  It is not very hard, however, so if it is faceted, there is the danger that the facets will eventually wear down.  Interestingly, the inclusions in this garnet look like horsehair, but are actually particles of asbestos.
• Color change garnets are very popular, and are a combination of pyrope and spessarite.  They are greenish in daylight, and magenta-red in incandescent light.  In the early 20^thcentury, some very good synthetic color change garnet was manufactured, so look out for that in any vintage or estate garnet birthstone jewelry you find.

  

As you can see, your grandmother’s dull, dark red garnet jewelry is not necessarily what you have to accept as January birthstone jewelry today.  There are some great alternative colors available, so go ahead and jump into the wonderful world of garnet birthstone jewelry with some bright, beautiful, green, orange, yellow or purple January birthstone jewelry!

Happy Shopping!