Garnet’s name comes from the old English term “Gernet” which refers to the color “Dark-red”. The word may be derived from how garnet stones resemble pomegranate seeds, which are a rich red and look like precious jewels. Late Antique Romans liked to inlay them in gold, and the stone was also popular in Greece and with the Anglo Saxons.
The gem is considered January’s birthstone in the United States. In the Zodiac, they represent Aquarius, the constellation of a water carrier in the sky that was carried away by the Greek God Zeus. People with this sign are generally friendly and honest while staying loyal in the toughest of times.
Garnet stones come in a variety of colors. While red is the standard tint, you can also get them in orange, yellow, green, blue, transparent clear, black, pink and brown. Blue garnet by far is the rarest. The stones can refract light either the way glass or amber does.
Another name for blue garnet is Pyrope–spessartine and can change to purple depending on the light conditions. Other subtypes of garnet include almandine, pyrope, spessartine, Andradite, Grossular, Knorringite, Majorite, Goldmantite, Rhodolite, Demantoid, Melanite, Topazolite,Mali, Color Change Garnet, Gadolinium Gallium, Hessonite, Hibschite, Hydrogrossular, Transvaal Jade, Tsavorite, Malaia or Malaya, Proteus, Chrome Pyrope, Umbalite, Mandarin, Yttrium Aluminium, and Uvarovite. You can always find a piece of garnet to wear.
In general, garnet is an abrasive stone in terms of texture. For that reason, industrial processes use it to cut steel, for sandblasting, and to polish glass. It ranks between 6.5-7.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, which makes it very easy to crush into fine particles. Either igneous or metamorphic processes can form garnets and the processes can tell us about their history and time period.
When you have emotional imbalances, garnet occurs as a balancer and reinforcer of harmony. You can disquiet any internal quells and restore peace in your life. Red garnets represent love and passion for your daily tasks.
Garnets are associated with the base and heart chakras respectively. You can improve love in your life and all passionate feelings.
In addition, stay more grounded with a brown almandine garnet and connect more to the Earth. Green garnet, especially grossular, can help usher prosperity into your life.
Garnet is a fairly common stone. You can find the river variety in Australia and the rock variety in the American and Asian continents. The variety of stones and sub-types help with distribution. You tend to pay more for high quality than say for texture.
Collectors will tend to pay more for bright and pure colors. Blue garnet being the rarest is the most costly. Gemstones can retail for under fifty dollars, while the rarer and purer colors can go for several hundred US dollars, and sometimes even in the thousands range.
Garnet makes for lovely pendants, rings and bracelets. When you wear garnet jewelry, you are balancing your energies and opening your heart up to love. Other types of garnet like almandine can provide neutral color contrasts.
Purchase a red or orange garnet to start the balancing process. You will also look good with the variety of colors.
Alexandrite color displays a variety range of hues changing effect dependent upon the type of lighting condition.
An alexandrite with good clarity may display a dull color changing effect.
Alexandrite is typically cut into a variety of mixed cuts, including brilliant-cut, step-cut pavilions, oval cut, cabochons, triangular facets and brilliant-cut crowns.
Larger alexandrite that is two carats in weight can significantly be more expensive and rare than a diamond.
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