Birthstone of the Month for January: Garnet

The January birthstone is the truly stunning garnet, a precious stone usually forming in an alluring deep red colour. However, in recent times, buyers have been able to choose from a rich palette of colours as further deposits have been discovered. The garnet family is one of the most complex in the gem world and consists of several species and varieties.

Properties of the Garnet

Colour – The most common hue of garnet comes in an affordable dark red variety, but this precious stone has become available in a whole host of other colours recently. Buyers can expect to find garnet gems in a whole host of colours, including oranges, deeply saturated purplish reds, blues, and even greens. Whilst this stone is best known for its deep red variety, rarer variants of the garnet can be found, including a vibrant green jewel called a demantoid – this particular jewel is one of the most sought-after gems in the world.

Composition – The garnet is an extremely diverse gem and is actually a name for the silicate minerals of almandine, grossular, andradite, pyrope, mozambique, uvarovite and spessartine.

Clarity – The clarity of a garnet will often depend on the type of gem you have. Commonly, red garnets don’t have any inclusions that are visible to the naked eye.

Cut – The vast majority of garnets are cut into standard shapes and calibrated sizes to allow setting into manufactured jewellery.

Carat – Garnets are found in all shapes, sizes and weights. It’s rare for some varieties of the gemstone to come in larger sizes.

Hardness – With garnet gems ranging between 7 and 7.5 on the Mohs Hardness Scale, this stone is relatively durable and is more than capable of standing the test of time. All the minerals which make up the garnet share a very similar cubic crystal structure and chemical composition which enhances their durability.

The garnet is also one of the few untreated gems that you can find on the market today and has become extremely popular due to its versatility, affordability and the wide variety of colours it is available to be purchased in.

Famous Garnet Around the World

Unlike other birthstones, the garnet only has one truly famous piece to its name, The Antique Pyrope Hair Comb – made in the Victorian era, this antique boasts rose-cut Pyrope garnets. The gems in this masterpiece are originally from the mines in Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. The Pyrope Hair Comb was donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 1937 by Alex and Maria Herdlicka.

The Pyrope is sought after due to its fantastic dark, pomegranate colour – in fact, the name Pyrope is derived from the Greek word ‘Pyropos’ which means ‘fire-eyed’ or ‘fire-like’.

The rare demantoid garnets, which were first discovered in 1886, quickly became a favourite of Russian royalty and of designer Carl Fabergé, who often incorporated them into his jewelled eggs. One of the most valuable Imperial Eggs Fabergé made is the Winter Egg, a beautiful work of art created in 1913.

Carved out of transparent white quartz and embodying a winter wonderland, the egg also contains a platinum basket of flowers that include gemstones such as diamonds, jade and demantoid garnet. In 2002, the Winter Egg was sold to the Emir of Qatar for over $9 million.

Please feel free to visit us at either our Lancaster or Kendal store to view our stunning collection of garnet jewellery, as well as other beautiful gemstones we offer. We stock a wide range of birthstone jewellery, and our team of experienced personal shoppers are ready to help you choose a piece that you will cherish for a lifetime.