It may well be that garnets have gotten an undeserved bad reputation. Garnets have many good qualities. They have high indices of refraction, are hard, have pretty colors, are transparent, lack cleavage, and are durable. Nevertheless, for some reason, they are viewed as an inferior gemstone. Interestingly enough, the reason for their poor reputation may be the fact that they are relatively easy to come by and, therefore, comparatively inexpensive. Garnets can vary greatly both in color and variety. Some are both beautiful and rare and so are classified as precious gemstones. The garnet is January’s birthstone.
The most common shape for a garnet is the rhombic dodecahedron, a crystal with twelve-sides, with diamond-shaped (rhombic) faces. No other crystal shape is so specifically paired with a mineral group like the rhombic dodecahedron. Most garnets are red and so many people believe that garnets are available only in that color. Not so. Garnets come in any number of other colors, including reddish brown, brown, black, green, colorless, orange, ruby red, pink, and bright green. The garnet is well shaped. The shape of the crystal, their color and luster, make beautiful stones. They also partner well in jewelry with other more expensive minerals.
The garnet is found in history going back as far as the Bronze Age (3000 BC). Most relics of this period, found among the graves of a village of lake dwellers, were very primitive. Other relics, also of this period were found in Sweden (1100 and 2000 B.C.), and in Samaria (2300 B.C.) and in Egypt (3100 B.C.). The Egyptians used garnets in their amulets and talismans and often buried garnets in tombs of the dead to light their way in dying and to protect them on that journey. In Greece, as far back as 400 B.C., signet rings have been discovered. The Greeks began using garnets widely in their jewelry and they are credited with giving names to the different garnet stones.
There is mention of garnets in the Old Testament, where it is believed that Noah used the garnet to light his way. The garnet was also used to illuminate the Ark and it is one of the twelve stones on the breastplate of the high priest Aaron (Exodus 39). The garnet represented the tribe of Judah, a son of Jacob.