Birth stone 925 sterling silver jewelry-January birth stone Garnet

A birthstone is a gemstone that represents a person's period of birth that is usually the month or zodiac sign. Birthstones are often worn as jewelry or as a pendant necklace.

The beginning of a new year and Garnet month! Garnet is the birthstone for January.

To many people that means the dark red/brown Pyrope garnets our grandparents wore. Boring right?...Actually no. Garnet is one of the most revered of gemstones and is produced by mother earth in a startling array of colors and hues.

Dazzle the senses - Due to their incredibly rich color spectrum which assault our visual senses, garnets have made a name for themselves by keeping pace with the evolution of style and the color trends in fashion. In the jewelry world lately, garnets are a huge inspiration to work with.

Garnets are hard, garnets are bright and being a singly refractive gemstones their color hues are strong and very suited to fashion which glories in robust hues. They are also one of the only gem types on the planet today which undergo no gemological treatments whatsoever.

Let's take a look at a few ..... 

TSAVORITE (GREEN GARNET )

Tsavorite colors vary from a light yellowy green to deep, rich forest green color. It has a particularly high brilliance that cannot be compared with other green gemstones. They are now becoming one of the trendiest Garnets in the gem/jewelry market. This can be accredited to the fact that it is only found exclusively in the beautiful, wild area of Tsavo along the Kenya and Tanzania border. Tsavorite has very few inclusions and is occasionally flawless. It is also one of the world’s oldest gemstones, forming 60 million years ago and is the rarest garnet… What a wonderful gem to have as a birthstone!

Tsavorite is the gemstone of kindness, strength, wealth, energy and confidence. It is said to help one find their inner beauty, directing one to their destiny. Thus it works as a stress reliever, improves clarity of perception, knowledge about love and understanding for your partner. Most of all though, they are truly beautiful!

RHODOLITE GARNET ( PINK/ PURPLE/RED GARNET )

The name Rhodolite Garnet originates from Greek “Rose Stone”. This Garnet boasts a beautiful array of reds, pinks and a shade of violet, which showcases all the brilliancy and the beauty of the Garnet. The Umba River valley along the Kenya- Tanzania border is regarded as the source of the world’s finest Rhodolite. There is one shade of Rhodolite Garnet, a stunning pinky, violet color (just like the round Rhodolite above) that is know as "Spirit Color", named by the local miners as it resembles the color of meth-elated spirit. These are particularly coveted by collectors and are extremely rare.

Rhodolite Garnet is the gem of inspiration; it encourages kindness, compassion, love and helps one to fulfill their life’s purpose. It is also a warm, sincere and trusting gemstone, which acts as a source of inspiration thus illuminating positive energy.

MALAIA GARNET ( RED/ORANGE / PINK/ORANGE GARNET )

The term Malaia Garnet is borrowed from a Swahili word “Malaya” which means “misfit”. They were discovered whilst Rhodolite Garnet was being mined, the miners found these gems but they were not the same color and they did not know what they were – they did not fit/match with what they were mining.

This stunning gemstone varies from a gorgeous light to dark pinkish orange, to reddish orange, to yellowish orange.  Malaia Garnet is a beautiful, very rare gem with explosive brilliance. It is only found in one location of the world, the Umba Valley region in Tanzania.

Malaia Garnet is a happy and sharing gemstone, it brings joy, friendship, pleasure and family togetherness. It promotes companionship, affection and intimacy.

COLOR CHANGE GARNET

One of the most exceptional and rare gemstones is the Color Change Garnet. A fabulous gemstone that changes color  from green to red under different light sources. Whilst most Color Change Garnets in the market today are actually "color shift" Garnets in that they do not display a complete change in color. Fine Color Change specimens exhibit a full color change from green to red in different lights just as Alexandrite does. This wonderful gemstone is sought out by gem collectors for its beauty and extreme rarity.

Some people call this gem an aura stone, because it exhibits many different colors at some point during the day.

Color Change Garnets provide the wearer with a protective influence, as well as a calming sensation. This garnet can come in handy as a dream catcher and give the owner pleasant dreams.

Garnet the energizer gemstone, it revitalizes, purifies and balances energy.