Garnets are a beautiful crystal gemstone with a grainy type of appearance. Garnet comes from the Latin word for grannatus, meaning grain. Garnets have been used for jewelry throughout the history of the world, first by the ancient Egyptians who would place garnets on a tomb for the safe passage of the deceased. Later on in history, garnets were used to rid a home of evil spirits or to repel insets. Today, besides beautiful jewelry, garnets can be used in many industrial products such as sand paper and in sand blasting to cut steel.
Garnets come in a multitude of hues including red, green, orange, yellow, black, brown and purple. Until recently garnets did not come in the color blue. In 1990, garnets were found with ability to change colors from blue to red and pink. Up until 1990, the only color change garnets were alexandrite. Alexandrite is very rare and can cost thousands of dollars per carat but for most people the color change qualities is less than to be desired.
The garnet is the birth stone for January and is associated with trust and loyalty. Many people give the garnet as a gift to show their devotion for another. Garnets are a wonderful gemstone to use for jewelry. There are many types of jewelry that garnets can compliment including rings, charms, bracelets, earrings and necklaces. While red garnets are the most popular, you can find many different hues or even multi hued garnets that will accent any piece of jewelry accordingly.
