Garnet is the birthstone for January and everyone knows that a garnet is red, right? Well, yes some garnets are red and some are yellow/orange or orange or green or
purple-
red. While most gems stones are a single mineral with a specific chemical formula and crystal structure, garnets are a group with similar chemical formulas and essentially the same crystal structure. Within the garnet group you find pyrope, almandite, spessartite, grossularite, andradite, and uvarovite.
Pyrope, almandite and spessartite form one series and grossularite and andradite form the other. It is rare to find a pure pyrope, almandite or spessartite. What we do find are gems with properties of pyrope-almandite or almandite-spessartite or pyrope-spessartite. Pure pyrope garnets are red in color and pure almandite garnets are purple in color. The well known garnet, Rhodolite, is from the pyrope-almandite series and is a purple-red color. Spessartite in a pure state is orange in color and garnets from the pyrope-spessartite series can be pink-orange in color or will actually change colors depending on the light source.
Grossularite garnets are known by the names of Hessonite and Tsavorite. Hessonite is yellow or orange in color and Tsavorite is green. Tsavorite is my favorite garnet. The green color varies from a medium light bluish green which will rival an emerald, to medium slightly yellowish green. Tsavorite was first discovered in the Tsavo National Park in Kenya.
So if you are lucky enough to be born in January and don't like red gems, look for Tsavorite, Rhodolite or Hessonite and enjoy the many colors of your birthstone.
If you like any of the pieces of jewelry on my site, please contact me for the price.
Gloria Q.
