the.com/garnet
the birthstone that survived being mistaken for cheap glass for centuries.
means A deep-red (sometimes other-colored) silicate mineral used as a gemstone and the birthstone of January.
from From Old French 'grenat,' meaning 'red like a pomegranate,' which traces back to Latin 'granatum' — the pomegranate, that fruit packed with glistening red seeds (Latin 'granum,' a grain or seed). Look at a cluster of garnet crystals and the comparison makes itself: tiny, glowing, seed-like beads of dark red. So the stone is named, quite literally, after the inside of a fruit.
- name origin
- Named for pomegranate seeds it resembles.
- not just red
- Comes in green, orange, even color-changing.
- industrial grit
- Crushed into sandpaper and waterjet cutting abrasive.
- mantle deep
- Forms under heat and pressure miles underground.
- medieval armor
- Crusaders wore it to ward off wounds.
almandine garnet — most common garnet variety, comprises 95% of garnets used in industrial abrasives and jewelry
demantoid garnet — rare green garnet from russia's ural mountains, prized for jewelry with refractive index of 1.88
tsavorite garnet — green garnet discovered in tsavo national park, kenya in the 1960s, used as diamond alternative in gemstones