Thursday, January 27, 2011

Birthstone for January ~ Garnet

"Better late than never...." 
Here we are....almost at the end of the month....but I didn't want to forget Garnet.


Garnet Beads
  Garnet is another gemstone that is available in a variety of colors ~ from deep red-orange, the more familiar deep purplish-red, as well as yellow, a range of greens and gray. The rarest of all of the colors is blue.
   Garnet's colors derive from the presence of various minerals, including calcium, iron, aluminum and chromium.
  Besides its familiarity as a gemstone, garnet is used industrially in creating sandpaper and other grinding materials. It is also used in geology to help identify the development of igneous and metamorphic rock in which it is found, because it is relatively resistant to alteration. So, it may be used to gauge a "time-line" of temperature fluctuations in a particular rock outcropping.

   Lore associated with garnet gives it the ability to promote steadfast love, and to foster both personal and business success. It is also thought to provide protection for travelers.

   Garnet is one of the "oldest" gemstones, having been used in ornamentation and jewelry going back to the Bronze Age.

Tsavorite Garnet Crystal