January Birthstone: Garnet

Richly hued in deep crimson, garnet is the much-coveted January birthstone. The color of love, blood, passion and power, garnet is a statement-making gem.  Feisty January babies are the lucky wearers of garnet jewelry, although women born during the other 11 months have also been known to find garnet’s lovely allure irresistible.  Read on for the history, myths and metaphysical properties of the January birthstone:

Garnet History & Myth

Since garnets have been mined for over 2,500 years, they have a long and storied history. They were first mined in Sri Lanka and have since been found and mined in the Americas, Australia, Europe, Africa and India.  Interestingly, though garnets call to mind a fiery red hue, the gemstone also comes in (much less common) green, yellow and a purplish red color.

Garnets have been used in jewelry and as talismans throughout history, with one of the earliest references in the Bible.  Supposedly Noah used a garnet gemstone on the front of his ark to guide him through the dark, stormy nights. After the biblical reference to garnet being used to guide Noah, travelers and voyagers carried garnets with them for protection and guidance.  Garnets were very popular jewelry gemstones in the Victorian era, and have retained their popularity throughout the centuries thanks to their fire and beauty.

Garnet Metaphysical Properties

The January birthstone is associated with many positive metaphysical properties. The most common metaphysical use for garnets is as a guiding stone that provides courage and light, probably thanks to its history of use and legends as such. Today, some healers also use the garnet gemstone to provide relief from nightmares, depression, stress, inflammation and unpure auras.

Beautiful Garnet Gifts for January Birthdays

Garnets are such an eye-catching gemstone that they make the perfect jewelry gift for women born in January. The sparkling red color looks beautiful in white gold, yellow gold and silver, making it as versatile as it is lovely. Here are three of our favorite garnet rings for gifting:

Cusion-Cut Garnet and Diamond Ring

When you want to really impress the one you love, this cushion-cut garnet and diamond ring is just the piece of jewelry to give. The bold center stone is over a carat and is set off beautifully by the halo of sparkling diamonds set in 14K white gold.

Handmade Sterling Silver Garnet Flower Ring

This pretty garnet-dotted ring features a fresh, youthful design. The large sterling silver flower is surrounded by four garnets set in 14K yellow gold for a pop of unexpected color and contrast.

Vintage Filigree Diamond Ring in 14K White Gold

For women who love an ornate, vintage piece of jewelry, this ring is a perfect pick. The rich design is reminiscent of the romantic Victorian era, and the beautiful garnet gemstone in the center adds visual interest that aligns with Victorian style and sensibility.

Gemstone Ratings

When buying a colored gemstone, many people do not pay adequate attention to the gemstone’s rating.  Since colored gemstones are less expensive than diamonds and their colors tend to help hide flaws in the stone, people tend to be more forgiving with their analysis of the gems they purchase. However, when determining whether a particular piece of jewelry is a great deal or whether it is overpriced, knowing the gemstone’s rating is very important. To help educate customers on finding out the value of a gemstone, we’ve pulled together a quick guide to gemstone ratings.

How Gemstones Are Graded

As with diamonds, colored gemstones are valued and rated with the 4 C’s: cut, clarity, color and carat.  Once the gemstone has been evaluated on these four criteria, a final grade is given to the gem. The final grade falls on a scale of AAA – D, with AAA being near perfect and D being a poor quality gemstone.

What The Gemstone Grades Mean

A Rating: An A rated gemstone is a good quality gemstone. The gem is well cut, has a good transparency and lets light through, and has few inclusions. For top quality gemstones, there is also an AA and AAA rating. These ratings are reserved for exceptional gems, especially with precious stones like rubies, emeralds and sapphires. Semi-precious stones such as amethyst and garnet seem to pass more easily with a AA rating.

B Rating: B rated gemstones have minor to light inclusions, and the color of the stone isn’t the optimal color. The stone is still transparent, however, and many B quality stones are still used for smaller gemstones in jewelry.

C Rating: C rated gemstones have visible inclusions, as well as portions that are not entirely transparent.  The translucency does not allow as much light to pass through, which makes these stones less sparkly and more flat (dull) to the eye. C rated gemstones are rarely used in larger sizes, and are sometimes used as chip stones in pave and micro pave sizes.

D Rating: D rated gemstones are heavily included, obviously translucent and allow minimal light through. D rated gemstones are suitable for use as cabochons or rock-like pieces, but do not have a high value. 

Gemstone Rating Tips to Keep In Mind

Unlike a specific grading report where a gemstone is evaluated clearly on each of the 4 C’s, a gemstone’s grade is somewhat open to interpretation and can be fuzzy. Gemstone grades can be particularly confusing to the untrained eye of a consumer, and some unscrupulous jewelers take advantage of this fact by inflating the grading on their colored gemstones.

When in doubt, or when buying a very expensive gemstone, ask for the full grading report that has detailed information on the 4 C’s to evaluate the gemstone’s worth. For most gemstone purchases however, if the color is the hue what you want and the ring looks beautiful and sparkly to the eye, it is probably a good quality gem.

Check out our lovely selection of gorgeous, high quality gemstone jewelry at Apples of Gold.