Today is QHS's Birthday, as it was first incorporated on 26th January 1995, when even back then it was a Gem of an idea. Plus we discovered today that the birthstone for 26th January is Garnet?
We understand that Garnets are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. So as its our birthday, here at QHS we have published a picture of a Garnet as now we know its "our" adopted birthstone.
According to Wikipedia all species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different species are pyrope, almandine, spessartine, grossular (varieties of which are hessonite or cinnamon-stone and tsavorite), uvarovite and andradite. The garnets make up two solid solution series: pyrope-almandine-spessartine (pyralspite) and uvarovite-grossular-andradite (ugrandite).
Garnet species are found in every colour, with reddish shades most common. Blue garnets are the rarest and were first recorded as existing during the 1990’s. Garnet species' light transmission properties can range from the gemstone-quality transparent specimens to the opaque varieties used for industrial purposes as abrasives. The mineral's lustre is categorized as vitreous (glass-like) or resinous (amber-like).
As Michael Caine would say “Not a lot of people known that”