{january's birthstone}
The garnet is a stone most commonly known for its dark red color, but garnets exist around the world in a range of colors including green, orange, pinkish and purplish hues. The word garnet is believed to come from the Latin term granate, meaning "seed" due to the red garnet's similarity to a pomegranate seed in color. My favorite version of garnet is a dark bordeaux or inky crimson, like the bracelet from my collection featured in these pictures. Its richness and depth of color is so beautiful, and I have found this dark glittering gemstone to be universally flattering on all skin tones.
A Little History
Due to their highly refractive properties (they’re very sparkly), the garnet has a long history of being known as a protective stone, especially during travel and at night. Many travelers and early explorers kept a garnet with them during their journeys to light up the night and protect themselves from evil or disaster. Historians even believe that Noah used a garnet lantern to help him steer his ark through the dark night and Egyptian pharaohs commonly wore necklaces adorned with garnets as a form of protection.
Strong & Beautiful
Here's an interesting fact: besides creating beautiful jewelry, garnet has long been used as an effective abrasive in many types of manufacturing. When crushed, it breaks into angular pieces that provide sharp edges for cutting and sanding. The small granules are either adhered to paper to create a reddish sandpaper or screened to a certain size to create abrasive powders. Garnet granules can also be used for water jet cutting, sanding blasting and water filtering.
classic stretch bracelet in dark garnet, $85
I think it's no coincidence that the garnet is our January birthstone. It protects us with its strength and beauty at the beginning of the year when we are all preparing for the journey of the next twelve months, and lights up the short days of the winter with its beautiful sparkle.
And you know...when I think about the lovely ladies in my life with January birthdays (you know who you are!), they are just like their stone: beautiful, bright and strong.
{And I'm lucky to have each one of you in my life!}
xo...
ki
p.s...If you would like to purchase the bracelet featured in today's post, you can purchase below, or send me a message with the form if you'd like to see it in another color.