Garnets, January and Capricorn Birthstone

When many of our customers ask for garnet jewelry, they have in mind the warm, brown garnet with hints of red or purple; a gemstone having an air of stability and trustworthiness. In other words, they have in mind an Almandite Garnet or a Pyrope Garnet, the attractive garnet gemstones usually carried by commercial jewelry stores.

However, there are other types of beautiful garnets that display their richness with many other colors.

For instance, the reds of some kinds of garnets range from raspberry to blood-red. The greens of other kinds of garnets can excel the greens of emeralds. As well, you can enjoy garnets in a wide range of yellows, oranges, and browns for your jewelry.

To read about the colors, lore and names for each member of the garnet family, click on the links below:

CHOOSING GARNETS FOR YOUR JEWELRY

Garnet is the birthstone for January, for Capricorn, and for the second anniversary of marriage.

There are so many fine colors, and such a variety of textures, lusters, and liveliness among members of the garnet family that you may have trouble deciding which to choose. To choose the variety of garnet, think about such characteristics as skin tone, color preference, way of living. Is the jewelry for business or for formal wear?

If you can't find the garnet jewelry you are looking for, Mitsuko will be happy to to help you choose and to design jewelry using your choice.

THE PRICE OF GARNETS

You can buy a particular variety of garnet in any price range. Look for the variety of garnet that you want first, in the color that you want and then consider its cost.

Brownish red to reddish brown garnet gemstones generally can be purchased at a reasonable price.

Violet and purple garnets are becoming increasingly rare and may be difficult to match in larger sizes and quantities.

Red and slightly purplish red garnets are not difficult to find but larger sizes are fairly expensive.

Green garnets are becoming increasingly costly but remain a good value because of their attractiveness. You will be pleasantly surprised.

GARNET - A DURABLE GEMSTONE

All varieties of garnets require only the usual care you give to your jewelry. You can be assured of the durability of garnet's color since these gemstones receive no special color enhancement.

So, how do you choose one and leave the others behind? Will your special garnet be an almandite, an andradite, a grossularite, a pyrope, a rhodolite, or an uvarovite? What variety should it be? What is the best color? What will the appropriate jewelry design be?

Mitsuko always suggests that you look at gemstones and listen to the ones that speak to you. Fortunately, because of garnet's reasonable price compared to its value, you can choose more than one kind of garnet for yourself or for the one you love.