January birthstone: garnet

If you were born in January, garnet is your birthstone. Most people know it as a deep red stone, but garnet also occurs in orange, pink and even green. In vintage jewellery you often see it in small clusters, or as a large stone surrounded by pearls or small diamonds.

Colour: Deep red, sometimes orange or green
Hardness (Mohs): 6.5 – 7.5

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Where does the name come from?

The name garnet is usually traced back to the Latin granatum, pomegranate. Break open a pomegranate and you will see why: the red seeds look like tiny cut garnets. Garnet is not actually a single stone but a group of related minerals, such as pyrope and almandine. They differ in colour, but they are all garnet.

Garnet in vintage jewellery

In the nineteenth century, large quantities of deep red garnets were found in Bohemia, in what is now the Czech Republic. A whole jewellery industry grew up around them. These Bohemian garnets, often small and set closely together, can still be seen in antique brooches, earrings and rings. Garnet remained popular later on too, thanks to its warm colour and affordable price.

Is garnet suitable for everyday wear?

Garnet has a hardness of 6.5 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale. A garnet ring can therefore be worn often, as long as you take it off for sport or heavy work. To clean it, use lukewarm water, a drop of mild soap and a soft brush.

A garnet gift

A piece of garnet jewellery makes a personal gift for someone with a January birthday. If you do not know their ring size, choose earrings or a pendant. You can read more about the stone itself on our garnet page.

Frequently asked questions

What colour is garnet?

Usually deep red to brownish red. Orange, pink and green garnets also exist, but you see them less often in vintage jewellery.

Is a garnet worth a lot?

Most garnets are reasonably priced. What a piece is worth depends mainly on the gold, the craftsmanship and the age of the piece.

What is a Bohemian garnet?

A deep red garnet from Bohemia, in what is now the Czech Republic. They were used mainly in the nineteenth century, often in clusters of small stones.

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