Garnets - January's birthstone, beloved of the Ancient Egyptians

By Chloe Tomasik - 04/01/2008

Until the late 1990s garnets could be any colour but blue, with the rarest and most valuable colour being green. But for most people garnets are red - the colour with the greatest historical associations.

The Ancient Egyptians used a lot of garnets in their jewellery - which made them one of the first transparent coloured stones used for decoration. And of course, as with many gems, they had supernatural qualities attributed to them. The Ancient Egyptians even used them as a form of payment to the gods by burying their dead with garnets, thereby ensuring safe passage to the next world.

In this world, however, red garnets tended to be associated with blood, as it was believed that that they could control the flow of blood round the body. As such they were used for a wide variety of ailments, from preventing haemorrhaging of wounds to detoxifying blood and even assuaging melancholy. It was not uncommon for soldiers to set garnets in their weapons to protect them from deadly injuries.

And for the Christians, the blood red of the garnet came to symbolize the blood of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

But although garnets were supposed to staunch blood, there grew up in parts of India a belief that garnets were more deadly than normal bullets and so in 1892 during a rebellion in Kashmir the Hanza tribe fired garnet bullets against the British, hoping that the potency of the gem would prove stronger than the conventional lead ones. (They did not!)

A more delightful association with the colour was that Noah’s ark was supposedly lit by the glow from a huge garnet.

Garnets have been found all over the world. Their abundance, rich colours and ease of mining have meant that widespread groups have been able to afford jewellery set with them. In Ancient Greek and Roman times large deep red carbuncle stones were set in gold which gave a wonderful richness and warmth of colour to their jewellery. These designs were later echoed in the glorious portraits of Henry VIII.

In Georgian times thinner slices of a more pink garnet had thin pieces of silver foil placed at the back to give greater luminosity in delicate necklaces and dangling earrings. Mid-Victorian jewellery returned to heavier settings and larger stones using the carbuncle shaped garnet.  And late Victorian jewellery saw the rise of 'Bohemian' garnets. These were mined in modern day Czechoslovakia and were small many-faceted stones, set close together in low grade gold (often called garnet gold) and made into a wide range of jewellery. This carpet of small stones created a similar richness of colour to the larger carbuncles but this style could be afforded by those of modest means.

Green demantoid garnets, discovered in the late 19th century in the Urals, are a bright leaf green gem with lots of sparkle. These were frequently set into animal or flower jewellery of this period. Their luminosity and the fact that they are rarely found above 4 carats make them the most valuable type of garnet.

The relative cheapness of red garnets in the past meant that it was not worthwhile to imitate them. However, should you suspect the authenticity of your stones, 15th century advice would have you cover the stones with honey and oil. If wasps or flies settle on the gems you have been cheated. (This practice is not recommended today, though.)

The origin of the name garnet comes from the Latin 'granatus' perhaps linked to the word pomegranate which was similar in colour, shape and size to some garnet crystals.

Garnets are not one mineral but a range of minerals falling into two main groups depending on crystal structure and chemical composition. The hardness goes from 6.5 to 7.5. But beware: although garnets are tough stones they can still chip. Cleaning them in warm water with a toothbrush and washing up liquid, and then rinsing off the soap will keep them sparkling. However, do not do this if the stones are set in a solid backing, because the silver foil in some antique pieces can be damaged by water.

Practitioners of crystal healing today call garnets the 'stones of health' and they use them to remove negative energies from a subject and transfer these energies to a more beneficial form. Garnets are also believed to strengthen love and bring devotion and commitment to a couple.

And finally, garnets are the stone for the second wedding anniversary.