January Birthstone Beads

January birthstone beads: garnet in deep red, orange hessonite and rare green, the stone of the first month on both the modern and the traditional lists. Garnet is a family of minerals rather than one stone, so the beads here run from the wine red of almandine and the brighter red of pyrope to the cinnamon orange of hessonite and the green of grossular, in smooth, matte, faceted and microfaceted finishes from tiny 2mm rounds to 10mm. At 7 on the Mohs scale it wears well in everyday bracelets. In metaphysical belief garnet is associated with vitality, commitment and protection on a journey, and it has been a traveler's stone since the Middle Ages. The full range is on the garnet beads page.