Color Change Garnet

There are six common species of garnet recognized and based on their chemical composition. They are pyrope, almandine, spessartite, grossular, uvorovite and andradite. However garnets are unusual in they they can blend, Rhodolite garnet is a blend of pyrope and almandine garnet.

Color change garnets are among the rarest and most interesting of all gemstones. They are a rare blend of pyrope and spessatite garnet with unusually high concentrations of vanadium and chromium in their chemical composition. It is believed that the high concentrations of vanadium are what give color change garnets the ability to change color. Color change garnet have the ability to change color depending on the temperature of the viewing light. The finest gems will exhibit a strong change from a blue-green to a red-purple. These gems closely resemble much more expensive alexandrite. In the late 1990s color change garnets were discovered in Bekily, Madagascar where the gems displayed a strong blue in cool lighting turning to a red-purple in warm lighting. This is a very rare phenomenon because until this find garnets were known to exist in every color of the rainbow with the exception of the color blue. Color change garnets are also found in the United States, Russia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Turkey. Other varieties of color changing garnets exist. In daylight their color ranges from shades of green, beige, brown,gray, and blue, but in incandescent light they appear a reddish or purple/pink color.
Healing properties of gemstones has been believed by many cultures for thousands of years, garnet is no exception. Garnet is believed to help with or heal problems of arthritis, toenails, varicose veins, and the pancreas.
Garnet is the designated birthstone of January.
Garnet is a reasonably durable stone with a hardness of 6.5 to 7.5 and is a good choice for all types of jewelry. Color change garnets are rare and something different for you January babies.