The word Garnet is derived from the Latin word granatum, which meant ‘pomegranate,’ a reference to the stone’s similarity in form and color to a pomegranate seed. Garnets were used in the former Czechoslovakia as far back as the Bronze Age, and in Egypt more than five thousand years ago. They were used in Sumeria around 2100 B.C. and in Sweden between 1000 and 2000 B.c.
They were also popular in ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Aztec and other native American peoples used Garnets in ornamental objects as well. In Bohemia, Czechoslovakia, there was a major stone-cutting and jewelry-making industry centered around the native red Garnets, which began in the early 1500s and still exists today.
Simmons, Robert; Ahsian, Naisha. The Book of Stones, Revised Edition (p. 202). North Atlantic Books. Kindle Edition.