January’s birthstone is the beautiful Garnet – new series and free printable!

New Birthstone Series

January is the time for new beginnings, and this year I thought I’d celebrate each month of the year with a new series featuring pretty birthstones.

January Garnet

Garnets symbolize vitality, love, and friendship, and have been used as gemstones since the bronze age. Often worn by royalty, a garnet was thought to offer protection against injury and harm. Interestingly, Native American healers also believed they offered protection from poison and injury, and used garnets for their protective powers.

Birthstones were very popular during the Victorian era, but fell out of fashion after the 1800s. But, in recent years birthstones have seen a resurgence in popularity. Garnets make a popular gift for a January birthday, and are also a symbolic gift for a second anniversary. And while garnets come in a wide range of colors, red is the most common, with blue garnets being the most rare.

Birthstones

The history of birthstones can be traced back to the first century, with descriptions found in the book of Exodus. However, the modern birthstones we use today were chosen in 1912 by what is now called the Jewelers of America, and the list was updated in 1935. The U.S. list is very similar to the UK list and is the one I’ve chosen for this series.

Download your free ‘January Garnet ‘ Birthstone Series printable by clicking the button below

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Sources:

gemsociety.org
wikipedia.org
borsheims.com
wikipedia.org