Garnet is the birthstone for January and the gem used to celebrate and recognise the second wedding anniversary.
Red garnets have a long history, but modern gem buyers can pick from a rich palette of garnet colours; greens, oranges, pinkish oranges, deeply saturated purplish reds and even some blues. Red garnet is one of the most common and widespread of gems. But not all garnets are as abundant as the red ones. A green garnet, tsavorite, is rarer and needs rarer rock chemistries and conditions to be able to form.
Why are we in love with Garnet?
- Gemological Challenge: Figuring out how each new gem garnet fits into the six mineral species is a real challenge for professional gemologists.
- Horsetail Inclusions: Horsetail inclusions in green demantoid garnet are one of the few internal features that can increase the gem’s value.
- Fire: Due to demantoid garnet’s high dispersion, well-cut, fashioned gems display an amazing amount of fire.
Healing Properties
Garnet is known to aid the circulation within the human body and any other blood related issues. Associated with the First Chakra, it is a stone of physical love and relationships, also a spiritual stone of psychic protection.
Quality Factors
Colour
Garnet includes more affordable dark red varieties, rare and valuable greens, and many other colours in between.
Clarity
Garnet’s clarity depends on the type of garnet gem. Red garnets often don’t have any eye-visible inclusions.
Cut
Many garnets are cut into standard shapes and calibrated sizes to allow setting into manufactured jewellery a bit more of an easy task, and means there is a lesser risk of the gem getting damaged during the process
Carat weight
Garnets can be found in all different sizes and weights, although some varieties are a lot rarer to be found in large sizes.
Care and Cleaning
The most efficient way of cleaning a garnet gem is with warm soapy water and a soft bristled brush if you feel that it may be required. Using ultrasonic and steam cleaners could cause significant damage to the gemstone.
Shop now your birthstone earrings, made of 9ct gold, ready to wear. Find the full collection on our Birthstone Collection and gift yourself and your beloved with their lucky birthstone jewellery!
Read more about birthstones on our Gemstone Edit blog category and find out what is your birthstone and why do we love these gems so much!
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