Jewelry Box

In these hard economic times, it can be difficult for people who are considering marriage. Men want to impress their prospective fiancées with massive diamond rings, but with unemployment through the roof and everybody cutting back, that’s just not as possible as it was a decade or two ago. If this is the situation that you’ve found yourself, don’t be afraid to tell your girlfriend the issue. Propose as planned but fill the box with a garnet ring instead of a diamond.

Explain that diamonds just aren’t feasible right now, but you don’t want to put your plans on hold just because of funds. Hopefully she’ll understand the situation. And the best part about a garnet ring is that the stone is still extremely beautiful. She’ll be getting a lovely piece of jewelry along with her romantic proposal. And if she wants, perhaps the ring can be exchanged for a diamond once the job market and the economy in general show some promising signs of life.

Most people associate garnets with jewelry like garnet necklaces, bracelets and earrings. But before becoming your birthstone these rocks must become minerals. Garnets are formed when higher-grade metamorphic processes occur. These gems are often present in stones like schist and gneiss.

While most garnets are formed by the standard metamorphic process, others are formed when certain rocks are rolled between two moving surfaces. The rolling surfaces can pick up and preserve the lower-grade metamorphic rocks that would normally be decimated by higher processes. Because of their hardness and variety in color garnets are one of the most popular gems used in jewelry making.