Welcome to the second blog in a series on birthstones. Being January, the stone in question this month is the versatile Garnet.
The term 'Garnet' does not refer to a specific stone, rather it describes a group of minerals with related chemical compositions. These minerals, whilst sharing their compositions with one another, all feature varying colours, refractive indices and specific gravity. Many semi-precious stones differ in colour and tone, but the garnet is the only stone in which has different names altogether for the different colours it can appear in. The garnet colour that springs to mind in presumably most people, is the deep blood red such as those pictured here, however, they can appear in almost every single colour except blue.
There are 7 different versions of Garnet that find themselves to be the most important and popular, and therefore found most commonly within jewellery:
Pyrope - A fine orange/red
Almandine - A magnificent purple/red
Spessartite - A golden yellow
Grossular - A light green
Hessonite - A brown/orange
Demantoid - A deep green
Uvarovite - An emerald green
The popularity and therefore value of these different garnets' changes with time. For example, the Pyrope garnet was extremely fashionable during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Demantoid garnet is arguably more valuable than any other for a number of reasons. Firstly, it can only be found within the Ural mountains in Russia, making it far scarcer than many other garnets. Secondly, the stone itself features a brilliant lustre and deep fire, that can only really be likened to a diamond. It is said that this stone can also show variations of colour, including black and yellow. In my years, i have never come across nor seen one of these garnets, so they are clearly rather rare.
Here we have some examples of jewellery featuring garnets that we have in stock:
This Garnet Gypsy ring is a classic style of mens rings in which features a traditionally coloured garnet set within a very subtle and safe setting. Whilst this style of ring was originally intended as a more masculine ring, it is now considered fairly unisex; one of those styles that will find itself blurring the lines of gender requirements, whilst maintaining itself as a timeless piece. It weighs just under 4g, the garnet is approximately 0.60ct and is set within 9ct yellow gold.
Click HERE to view the ring in our shop.
This beautifully ornate ring features a heavy carat of garnet, reaching approximately 2.13ct in total. This ring is perfect for a garnet lover, as it certainly doesn't try and do things with subtlety. Designed in a flower style, it features 11 stones in total, with 10 representing the petals surrounding the large center stone. The ring is of 9ct yellow gold, and weighs 5g due to its heavier stone content. If you are looking for a truly vintage garnet ring, then this is definitely the piece for you!
Click HERE to view the ring in our shop.
This ring shows how well Garnets can be paired alongside other stones. The most popular choice of pairing would be with the opal. The contrast between the deep dark garnet and the innocently mysterious opal works wonders in making a show stopping piece. Not all jewellery needs to be filled with the largest and brightest of diamonds to stand out, and the pairing of garnet and opals is a testament to that. This ring features roughly half a carat of both garnets and opals and weighs 3.9g in 9ct yellow gold.
Click HERE to view this ring in our shop.
Thank you for reading! Written by Jamie.