Garnet is a group of gemstones that occur in a virtual rainbow of colors. The name garnet is derived from the Latin word for grain, because of the round shape of the crystals, as well as the Greek word “granatum” for the pomegranate seed. The most common garnets are the reddish varieties, which bear the names Almandite, Pyrope, and Rhodolite. These gemstones occur in a range of colors from medium to dark reddish orange (Almandite and Pyrope) to purplish red to reddish purple (Rhodolite). Garnet is the traditional birthstone for the month of January, however, red need not be your color of choice if you were born in the first month of the year. Other more interesting gems from the garnet family, being used in jewelry today, consist of pinkish orange tones (Malaia) to those that exhibit a variety of colors that have the ability to change tones, depending on the light source, and are known as color change garnets. Lesser known garnets occur in a yellowish orange (Spessartite) to the more rare varieties that occur in green tones (Tsavorite and Demantoid).
