Hold a garnet up to a candle and it glows from inside, like a pomegranate seed. A garnet ring carries that dense, almost secret red everywhere you go: quiet in the shade, fiery as soon as light shines through it.
The red of the Frankish kings
The name comes from the Latin granatum, pomegranate, because the small crystals set in the rock looked like its seeds. Garnet is one of the oldest gemstones worn as jewelry. It turns up in pieces from ancient Egypt, the Romans cut it for their seals, and Merovingian goldsmiths set thin slices of it into little gold cells. The garnets from the tomb of Childeric, father of Clovis, are still the most famous example. Travelers, the story goes, carried one to make it home safe and sound.
Who to give a garnet ring to, and when
Garnet is January's birthstone, and it gives its name to the garnet anniversary, celebrated after two years of marriage. It's often linked to Aries and Capricorn. Garnet stands for vitality, commitment and lasting love, which makes it a more meaningful promise ring than a plain solitaire. And if it's a surprise, good news: our garnet rings are adjustable, so there's no size to guess.
How to choose your garnet ring
Start with the stone. Sovereign Passion has a generous, smooth 8 x 12 mm oval cabochon that shows off the full depth of the color. Square Passion focuses the sparkle on a 7 x 7 mm stone in a beaded setting, for a crisper, more geometric red. Prema, Sanskrit for love, has a free-flowing, organic setting. All three are silver-plated, and the cool metal brings out the warmth of the garnet. Garnet is tough (6.5 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale) and barely affected by sunlight, so it's happy being worn every day.
Read the full story in our garnet guide, and browse all our garnet jewelry and gemstone rings.
