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When we hear someone say they were given garnet engagement rings our minds eye envisions a pretty red stone. The truth is that garnet engagement rings may be colored red, and oranges, and green, or blue, or purple, or black, and pink, or even without color. Cheap garnet rings will not be blue in color. The blue variety is the rarest of these items and was not even discovered until the 1990s. It is primarily found in Madagascar, but has also been discovered in the United States, Russia, and Kenya and in Turkey. It has a high amount of vanadium and actually changes from the blue color in the daylight to a deep purple hue in the evening. Cheap garnet rings will likely be fashioned out of the red variety and will not be created from this or the other color changing varieties. Garnet gemstone rings are most frequently created with the red stones. These red stones have been used in garnet gemstone rings since the Late Antique Roman world. They are frequently made as birthstone rings in the United States because garnet is supposed to be the gemstone that represents the birth month of January. The different colors are created by different amounts of different properties in the gemstones. These differing properties also create difference in the actual hardness of the stones. Because of these differences these items are used for more things than just making pretty trinkets or baubles. They are used as tools to help make our lives easier. Generally the ones that are used to make jewelry will be vitreous or more like glass. The versions used for tools will be more like amber or resinous. Garnet also has industrial uses. Not all garnet is of the same hardness and properties. There are some varieties that are perfect for jewelry making and there are some varieties that are so hard they are use as industrial abrasives. When the substance is mixed with high water pressure it can be effective in cutting steel. The garnet sand is also used in water filtration systems. Cabinet builders prefer garnet paper when they are sanding the bare wood. The garnet paper produces a smooth finish to the wood without damaging or leaving scratches on the surface area. The many different colors and variations of this substance remind us that there are many different purposes for the things we see every day. Just because we typically see something applied in one manner does not mean that is the only use for that item. Garnet engagement rings are generally red in color, but they may be several other colors. The cheap garnet rings are never made from the pure blue garnet found in Madagascar.
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