The birthstone of January and a red quartz. This stone was named in middle English from the word, “gernet”, which was the fruit of the pomegranate. This gives a great hint to its known nature, that is, the depth of the redness of the stone. It is known as blood red, claret and deep red, as well as being the colour of pomegranates.
However, this isn’t the only story. The truth is that there is a broad range of colours available in the garnet family, just as there are a broad range of places to obtain garnet. I have a small selection of hessionite garnet which, as you can see with these earrings, come in a range of colours going through the yellow/orange/red spectrum and really show off their warming colours. There are also the fresh greens available in a Tsavorite garnet, which look nothing like a pomegranate at all!
The quartz family means that it is a fairly hard stone, able to be worn easily as an everyday gemstone, as well as for that special occasion.
So, if you have a January birthday but are looking for something a little different, don’t feel confined by the colour. Remember also that these colours can go with a range of different coloured metals or even with lace, set in polymer clays, or threaded and combined with other gemstones, from other quartz to haematite, agate, pearls – the choice is yours.