Garnet, while seems to be one kind of stone actually refers to a whole group of minerals which, besides the traditional red garnets also include (but are not limited to) Rhodolite Garnets and Tsavorite as well. Garnets are considered to be Semi precious stones and rank a mediocre 6.5 – 7.5 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness. While there are a lot of different kinds of Garnets around, we shall focus on the traditional Red Garnets in this article as these are the most popular variety of stones around.

The Red Garnet is the officially the birthstone for the month of January. Fortunately, it is abundantly available and does not regularly require heat treatment or enhancement in order to make its color more prominent. Because of its easy availability, Garnet based jewelry is usually very affordable and offers very good quality for the price as well. Because of its deep red color, Garnet jewelry can actually substitute Ruby based jewelry for those people who are on a budget.
When searching for Garnet based jewelry, it is important to note the Clarity distinction given for them. Garnets are classified based on the clarity that ranges from VVS1 (Extremely Fine Quality) to I3 (Poor Quality). Here is the complete knockdown:

1. VVSI1 – Very Very Slightly Included Grade 1. This type of Garnet is pretty rare, even for Garnets. Garnets with this quality distinction will have inclusions and deformities which would be hard to detect even under a 10x microscope.

2. VVSI2 – Very Very Slightly Included Grade 2. Nearly as good as the previous grading, however Garnets under such distinction have slightly visible inclusions when placed under 10 x magnifications.

3. VSI1 and VSI2 – Very Slightly Included, Grade 1 and 2. The inclusions start to become more prominent. Mind you, this is still under 10x magnification and these inclusions are not at all visible to the naked eye.

4. SI1 – Slightly Included Grade 1. The inclusions are now visible to the naked eye however you will have to look really hard to find them, meaning they will not distract the viewer.

5. I1, I2 and I3 – Included Grade 1, 2 and 3. The inclusions are more or less prominent enough to be detected when the stone is looked at.

As always, when buying Garnet based jewelry, be sure to ask some questions about the stone’s origins, its quality rating and what metal it comes with.