2023 is a great time to start being more brilliant than ever before! life in the facet lane

Got Garnet ?

Ok, so the majority of holidays are behind us, whew! That was fun. But we have other things to celebrate this year. How many January babies do we have? Well, you’re in luck, then. While a January birthday is worth celebrating, we also don’t want to ignore other
gemstone-loving fans who simply adore January’s birthstone. It is garnet.

Need to Know
A little back story: The word garnet is a 14th century Middle English word meaning dark red. It was a derivative of the Latin granatum because vibrant garnets often look like pomegranate seeds. Victorian society ladies made garnet a must-have gemstone because it kept the theme of dark stones that Queen Victoria popularized during her decades-long mourning period after her husband Prince Albert died unexpectedly. But—what if you’re not feeling the deep sultry tones of dark red garnet? Have we got news for you. Garnet is also produced in myriad tints found in deposits around the world.

A Global Phenom

Purple Garnet Dreamscape™
cut courtesy John Dyer Gems
Photo by Ozzie Campos

This natural beauty needs no enhancements (as do many colored stones) and it’s durable too, ranking 6.5-7.5 on the Mohs scale. Found globally in places like the United States, Greece, Czech Republic, Russia, India, Tanzania, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka, it delights collectors with its dazzling hues.

Take Mozambique garnet for instance. This luscious grape tinted stone is a recent find from Southeast Africa. Unlike other shades of garnet, this one bursts hot pink glints off its facets producing exciting flashes of light with the slightest movement of the stone. Its extraordinary purple color inspires the most sophisticated designers to create magnificent pieces that flaunt the color—like OMI Privé (www.omiprive.com) for example. Because this is an unexpected garnet hue, it is highly collectible for all lovers of colored gemstones.

Celebrated gemstone cutter John Dyer (www.johndyergems.com) remarks, “Mozambique purple garnet is lovely and rich, accenting nicely with our fantasy-style cuts and is a big hit with our jeweler clients.”

We’d like to give a special nudge to January babies who may not be drawn to more common deep red garnet varieties. Collectors should wear what they like since they are also a unique original too, right?

Featured Photo: 18K gold Mozambique purple garnet earrings with pink pear tourmaline and white diamond. Courtesy; OMI Privé

DIANA JARRETT  GG RMV

Contact Diana Jarrett at diana@dianajarrett.com Read www.color-n-ice.com  or  www.dianajarrett.com