Garnet, the Warrior Stone
The sparkling stone of garnet is indeed one of the most semi-precious stones associated with ancient times’ legends.
It might even be one of the first stones to appear in biblical stories that go back thousands of years ago. It is believed that Garnet was the only stone carried in Noah's ark to be the source of light during their nights.
Since garnet, especially red garnets, has a vivid red hue resembling fire, it guided Noah to tell the day from the night.
After Noah's times, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Celtics, Anglo-Saxon and Americans built many legends around this unique stone.
Ancient Egyptians for example saw the fire-resemble stone as the light that would guide the dead on their journey to the afterlife.
Probably, ancient Egyptians got this idea from Noah’s legend and the famous Greek legend of Persephone, and Hades.
The myth says that Hades, the God of death and the underworld, fell in love with Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter.
Hades kidnapped Persephone and took her with him to the underworld. Under Zeus' threat, Hades had to release Persephone but he gifted her with a pomegranate, as he knew that this fruit will bond Persephone with him forever.
Thus, Persephone upon eating the fruit remained connected with Hades for eternity. She spends three months (the winter season) every year in the underworld.
From this day till today, garnet, which is derived from the Latin word “garanatus” which means “Pomegranate” due to its colour resemblance to this beautiful fruit, refers to eternal connection between different worlds, loyalty, and love.
Another significant of garnet is protection. Since Noah used it to protect and guide them, garnet is the protection stone that was given to warriors, and travellers in almost all human nations of ancient times.
The Chemical Characteristics of Garnet
After the brief history of garnet and its representation in the ancient world legends, let us talk science. Let us understand what garnet is.
Garnets are a group of silicate minerals that are similar in physical characteristics but differ in chemical composition. These different groups are pyrope, almandine, spessartine, and grossular.
Due to the above chemical composition that varies, garnets have different atomic bonds. Thus, the hardness of garnet ranges from 6-07.5 on the Mohs scale.
Garnet stones are famous for their fire-like colour, red. However, garnet comes in various colours in nature such as pink, orange, green, black and honey brown.
Garnet in Jewellery
Garnet is one of the most popular and favoured stones to be used in jewellery due to its amazing natural hues.
Since the bronze age, garnets were used in various ways. However, since the 1500s in Bohemia, I.E Cheque Republic, garnets have been used heavily in jewellery. The most popular garnet stone is the red one, and they are usually cut in round shapes to imitate pomegranates. Above all, red garnets are available abundantly compared to other colours such as green garnet stones.
To date, many people love to wear garnets because they believe in their spiritual and healing properties. To mention a few;
Garnets are believed
* To protect and enhance bravery, and it was worn by ancient warriors in battles.
* To heal the heart chakra. Therefore, garnet pendants are among the most favoured items in jewellery.
* Aid to recover the trauma and illness.
* To increase prosperity and decrease financial troubles.
* The symbol of loyalty and eternal love, and this led to using garnet stones in wedding, engagement and eternity rings.
The best ways in which garnets are used in jewellery
- Cocktail Rings
The amazing vibrant colours of garnet stones make them a perfect choice to adorn cocktail rings.
- Wedding, Engagement & Eternity Rings
As we mentioned above, garnets were associated with love and loyalty since the Greek times. Therefore, they are the best options for wedding and engagement rings.
Adding to this the fact that garnet is the 25th anniversary stone, makes it the most suitable stone for an eternity ring.
- Pendants
Being the heart chakra stone, garnet stones are used a lot as pendants in gold or silver necklaces.
- Drop Earrings
Especially, red garnet stones that are cut as pomegranates work perfectly to stud a pair of gold earrings.
Of course, this lovely stone can be used in any type of jewellery, as it adds an aesthetic touch to any fine design.
Before closing our brief discussion about garnet, it is worth mentioning that this beautiful stone that captures the hearts and the eyes is the birthstone of the month of January and of the Zodiac sign Capricorn.
If you know a special person who is a Capricorn or a January born, then a jewellery set studded with garnet stones is a unique gift for them.
