JANUARY BIRTHSTONE - GARNET

The name ‘garnet’ is derived from the Latin word ‘granatum’ meaning ‘pomegranate’ because the crystals resemble the red color and seed-like form of this fruit.

It is often thought that all garnets are red, but in fact, it exists in colours ranging from red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, to brown. The rarest colour is the blue garnet, discovered in the late 1990s in Madagascar. It is also found in parts of the USA, Russia and Turkey. Not all garnet is of gem quality and as it is a very effective abrasive it is used commercially for grinding and polishing. Garnet coated sandpaper is one such example of industrial use. The garnet shows a range of hardness on the Mohs Scale of 6.5 to 7.5.

The Garnet was considered to be a gem of faith & truth. Chinese and Japanese warriors made bullets out of garnet because they believed that these would inflict severe wounds on their intended victims. In 1892, during the troubles in Kashmir, garnet bullets were fired at British soldiers. Garnets were once believed to hold medicinal powers that would protect its wearer against poisons, wounds, nightmares and bad dreams, and cured depression. Red garnets relieved fever, hemorrhages and inflammatory diseases. To modern users, the garnet symbolises a light heart, loyalty and enduring affections.