January birthstone

Garnets are such beautiful stones – I love to use the very deep blood reds from Mozambique, so rich and wearable.  The colour reminds me of pomegranate, red apples, and dramatic fairy tale reds.  They are sometimes considered to represent love, and are the brithstone for January.

On the Mohs scale which ranks mineral hardness (where diamond is 10) garnet has a hardness of around 7.  Interestinlgy, to me they look to have an orange hue before theyre set, then look very dark once encased in the metal.

They’re said to have been used for thousands of years, and can be seen in Roman and Anglo-Saxon pieces.

 “By her who in this month (January) is born
No gem save garnets should be worn;
They will ensure her constancy,
True friendship, and fidelity.”