We hope the Holiday Season was good to you and we wish you a very happy new year!

Now that the hustle and bustle of the holidays is over, it's a good time to stop in to Hager Jewelry and find what we have in store for you. To start the new year out right we currently have a coupon sale going on until February 28th. Click here to print out coupons for 10% off in-stock merchandise or for a free ring cleaning and check.

While you're in our store be sure to fill out a Wish List, or print one out on-line and bring it in already completed. By completing the information everyone will know what to get you throughout the upcoming year.

Birthstones

Birthstone jewelry always makes a fantastic gift. To read more about the Janaury birthstone of Garnet, continue on below.

For the "official" Wikepedia>/Jewelers of America birthstone list click here.

Garnet

It is true to say that red is the color most often encountered in garnets, but the garnet also exists in various shades of green, a tender to intense yellow, a fiery orange and some fine earth-coloured nuances. The only color it cannot offer is blue. Garnets are much sought-after gemstones - the more so today because it is not only the classical gemstone colors red and green which are so highly esteemed, but also the fine hues in between. Furthermore, the world of the garnets is also rich in rarities such as star garnets and stones whose color changes depending on whether they are seen in daylight or artificial light.

Garnets are durable with a good hardness of 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale. It is the reason for the excellent wearing qualities of these gemstones. Garnets are relatively insensitive and uncomplicated to work with. The only thing they really don't like is being knocked about or subjected to improper heat treatment. A further plus is their high refractive index, the cause of the garnet's great brilliance. The shape of the raw crystals is also interesting. Garnet means something like 'the grainy one', coming from the Latin 'granum', for grain. This makes reference not only to the typical roundish shape of the crystals, but also to the color of the red garnet, which often puts one in mind of the seeds of a ripe pomegranate. In the Middle Ages, the red garnet was also called the 'carbuncle stone'. And even today, fantasy names like Arizona ruby, Arizona spinel, Montana ruby or New Mexico ruby are still rife in the trade.

Garnets have been known to Man for thousands of years. Noah, it is said, used a garnet lantern to help him steer his ark through the dark night. Garnets are also found in jewelry from early Egyptian, Greek and Roman times. Many an early explorer and traveller liked to carry a garnet with him, for the garnet was popular as a talisman and protective stone, as it was believed to light up the night and protect its bearer from evil and disaster.

For more information check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/garnet