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Garnet the January Birthstone
Garnet species are found in a rainbow of colors including red (almandine, pyrope and hessonite), orange (spessartine), yellow, green (tsavorite, uvarovite and andradite), purple, brown, blue, black, pink, and colorless, with reddish shades most common. One variety of pyrope from Macon County, North Carolina is a violet-red shade and has been called rhodolite, often confused with ruby.
It is considered a great gift to symbolize friendship and trust. Garnet also symbolizes a light heart, loyalty and enduring affections.
As with many precious and semi-precious stones, these semi-precious gems were once believed to hold medicinal powers. In Medieval times, it protected its wearer against poisons, wounds and bad dreams, and cured depression. Red garnets relieved fever, hemorrhages and inflammatory diseases.
In the former Czechoslovakia, evidence of garnet jewelry dating to the Bronze age was found in ancient graves. Garnet jewelry has also been discovered dating back to 3100 B.C. in Egypt, 2300 B.C. in Sumeria, and 2000-1000 B.C. in Sweden. They were treasured in 3rd and 4th century Greece. They continued in popularity during Roman times as both jewelry and abrasives. Across the Atlantic, Pre-Columbian Aztec and Native Americans also used these gems in their jewelry and ornaments and as abrasives.
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