Explore the Gemstore

Knoxville's Treasure Chest

January

Home / Birthstones / January

january

garnet

Garnet

Garnett has a history spanning more than 5000 years, driving its name from the Latin word for “seed”, granatus, garnet was so named because of its similar color to pomegranate seeds.

Just the facts

Even though there are many types of garnets (including trade hand historic, there are currently 38 known garnet names), appearing in as many colors, when you say garnets, most people automatically think of small, dark red gemstones. In fact, garnets offer enough variety for every taste and you can consequentially keep up with the last pace of change in fashion.

Garnets Include:

Andradite, Champagne, Color-Change, Demantoid, Hessonite, Malaia, Mali, Merelani Mint, Mozambique, Pyrope, Rhodolite, Spessartine, Star , Tsavorite, Umbalite

Garnet	January’s Birthstone
Major Sources	India, Kanya, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Russia, Sri Lanka & Tanzania
Colors Found	Various
Family	Garnet
Hardness	6.5 – 7.5
Refractive Index	1.72 – 1.94; SR
Specific Gravity	3.62 – 4.30
Crystal System	Cubic