Quick Myths: Garnet!

Cabachon-Cut Garnets

Garnet is the birthstone that represents the month of January.  They come in a wide range of colors, including all colors except blue.  There most common color is a purplish red that comes from Austria and Hungary.  The fine green ones, Demantoids, are mostly found in the Ural Mountains of Russia.  Other garnets can be found all over the world, including Australia, Argentina, South Africa, Brazil, Switzerland, Tanzania, Myanmar, and also Arizona in the United States. The word Garnet comes from the Latin word "granatus" which means grain. The stone's luster is very high but its transparency is often flawed, even in very clear stones.  The cabochon cut is frequently uses with garnets.

Demantoid garnet and diamond ring.

Garnets are stones that are surrounded by myths and lore.  Garnets were believed to ward off evil and by absorbing the negative energy, curse, or evil eye the stone would turn darker.  Garnets were used as gifts between good friends because if you gave a garnet to someone it would guarantee that you would meet again.  They are thought to help with blood and heart disorders.
  

Garnet in matrix.

Garnets have been a part of different types of cultures as well. The earliest recorded use of stones in jewelry dates back all the way to 3100 BC.  The Egyptians used them as talismans and amulets and were buried with their dead.  Legends say that a large garnet led the way for Noah's Ark. Garnet also could have been on one of the carbuncles on the Israelite's high priest breast plate. In the Native American culture it is believed that garnets cured depression and warded off nightmares.