JewelStruck Blog

Here we go with another post on Garnets, with our Gemstone Each Month Series (GEMS) for January. We would be discussing about metaphysical and healing properties of Garnets.  If you would like to share anything on Garnets, send it asap to info@jewelstruck.com – only two days left for this month of Garnet to end :-)

Metaphysical Properties

• Color – Garnets species are found in many colors including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, black, pink and colorless. The rarest of these is the blue garnet, discovered in the late 1990s in Bekily, Madagascar. It is also found in parts of the United States, Russia and Turkey. It changes color from blue-green in the daylight to purple in incandescent light, as a result of the relatively high amounts of vanadium. There are some beautiful orange garnets. A green tsavorite garnet is a very rare and high-priced stone. The dazzling beauty of garnets is responsible for their widespread use as gemstones.

• Luster – Garnet species’s light transmission properties can range from the gemstone-quality transparent specimens to the opaque varieties used for industrial purposes as abrasives. The mineral’s luster is categorized as vitreous (glass-like) or resinous (amber-like)

• Structure – Garnets are most often found in the dodecahedral crystal habit, but are also commonly found in the trapezohedron habit. They crystallize in the cubic system, having three axes that are all of equal length and perpendicular to each other. Garnets do not show cleavage, so when they fracture under stress, sharp irregular pieces are formed.

• Hardness – Because the chemical composition of garnet varies, the atomic bonds in some species are stronger than in others. As a result, this mineral group shows a range of hardness on the Mohs Scale of about 6.5 to 7.5. The harder species, like almandine, are often used for abrasive purposes. The hardness of garnets and their sharp fracture make them suitable as abrasives for wood, leather, glass, metals, and plastics.

Sterling Silver Garnet Brooch with a gold wash

Healing Properties

• Garnet is supposed to be an excellent assistance for blood deficiency diseases. It stimulates bloodstream and pituitary gland, relieves rheumatism and arthritis pain.
• It is believed that if a garnet is put under a pillow it will cure depression and impure thoughts
• Garnet gives energy and courage. It is said to encourage robust good health and sexual desire.
• The stone is also believed to enhance the wearer’s imagination.
• The Garnet is known as the stone for a successful business.
• Asiatic tribes carved garnets into bullets in the belief that their fiery color would inflict more deadly wounds.
• They were ground into powder for the treatment of fever or jaundice. If the cure didn’t work, the apothecary was accused of using an imitation.

So that was all about metaphysical and healing properties of garnets, next we would be discussing on how to take care of garnet and garnet jewelry.

Credits: wiki, Image by: antiqueopals