January Birthstone
January Birthstone – Garnet
Birthstones have been used for eons as a way to personalize jewelry and mark the month the wearer was born. In 1912, the American National Association of Jewelers came up with a standardized list of what gem birthstone goes with what month and this list shows Garnet as the birthstone for January. This is what we call the “modern” list of birthstones. Prior to this, other birthstones were associated with the birth month and these are referred to as “traditional” stones.
January is the first month of the year in the Gregorian calendar and is one of 7 with 31 days. It has the distinction of having “New Years Day” as it’s first day. The birthstone of January is the Garnet. The name "garnet" comes from the Latin granatus, a grain possibly in reference to malum garanatum (pomegranate) a plant with red seeds similar in shape, size and color to some garnet crystals. Although we think of this birthstone as being red, it can also be yellow, brown, black, green or even colorless. If you have a loved one born in January and want to buy them jewelry with their birthstone visit our Garnet Jewelry Showcase where many fine pieces of birthstone jewelry for January are on display.
The birthstone jewelry of January, garnet, is thought to protect the wearer from accidents and was often worn by travelers in ancient times. It is believed to increase blood circulation and help heal blood toxicity and food poisoning as well as increase positivity and self esteem.
Six common varieties of garnet are recognized based on their chemical composition. They are pyrope, almandine or carbuncle, spessartite, grossularite (varieties of which are hessonite or cinnamon-stone and tsavorite), uvarovite and andradite. The garnets make up two solid solution series; 1. pyrope-almandine-spessarite and 2. uvarovite-grossularite-andradite.
This beautiful birthstone has been used in jewelry since before 3000 BC and has been popular for use in jewelry, amulets and talismans. The victorians cherished it for it’s deep dark color and antique jewelry with garnets is quite collectible today. This beautiful stone looks great in almost any setting and you don’t have to be born in January to wear it or appreciate it’s beauty!
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This article was derived fully or in part from an articles on Wikipedia - - the free encyclopedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
Articles used include: January,
Garnet
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