Garnet

Garnets are found in a variety of colors but most commonly red. There are five types of garnets, Rhodolite, Grossular, Spessartine, Grossular, Andradite, and Uvarite, all with varying colors and make-ups. Most are aluminum silicate minerals. Their hardness is 6.5 to7.5. The name derives from the Latin granatus or seed, referring to the pomegranate seed. Garnets have been used since the Bronze age mainly in the former Czechoslovakia, which produced a major stone cutting and jewelry making industry, centered on its native red garnets. They are mined in the USA, Africa, Sri Lanka, Brazil, and India. The Garnet is the official state mineral of Connecticut and is the January birthstone.

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