The birthstone for January is garnet.
Garnet is one of the most exciting gems on the market. This hard, durable and often very brilliant gem offers great versatility because of its variety. Believed to represent faith, loyalty, truth and devotion, garnet is known as the stone of commitment. Most people think of garnet as a single type of gem that is dark red in color. Actually, garnet is a gem family that spans a range of red, green, yellow, orange, purple and brown shades.

Garnets are mined in many locales around the world. Some of its more important sources include Africa, Australia, Brazil, India, Madagascar, Russia, Sri Lanka and the United States.

Garnet is both hard and durable. Most garnets can be cleaned using an ultrasonic cleaning machine, any commercial jewelry cleaner or plain soap and water using a soft brush. Do not steam clean garnet. Be sure to rinse and dry your jewelry thoroughly after cleaning.