Throughout the ages, garnet jewelry has been incredibly popular. You probably know garnet for its deep, wine-red colour. Garnet is the birthstone for the month of January.
Did you know that most garnet is mined for industrial purposes? Massive garnet is crushed and used to make abrasives. Only a very small number of garnets are pure and flawless enough to be cut as gemstones.
Garnets are a group of minerals with different chemical compositions and virtually all colours! Red-brown garnets are the least expensive ones, maybe you have also seen green, bright orange, yellow and black garnets. Blue garnet is the fourth rarest gemstone in the world and can be priced up to €1.5 million per carat!
Garnets are widely believed to be one of the earliest gemstones worn in jewelry, dating back as far as the Bronze Age. Garnets were also around during the ancient Egyptian time, in which they graced the necks of the pharaohs. In Ancient Rome, signet rings with carved garnets were used to stamp the wax that secured important documents. Throughout history, it was widely believed that the red color of garnets was associated with the heart and blood. People believed in the mystical ability of garnets to prevent haemorrhage and improve circulation as well as stir the herd to great deeds.
If you love garnets, see more of The Antique Ring Shop's beautiful collection
