60 mesh (250 micrometers) and 200 mesh (74 micrometers) are normally used for water jet cutting. The remaining garnet pieces that are finer than 200 mesh (74 micrometers) are used for glass polishing and lapping. Regardless of the application, the larger grain sizes are used for faster work and the smaller ones are used for finer finishes. There are different kinds of abrasive garnets which can be divided based on their origin. The largest source of abrasive garnet today is garnet-rich beach sand which is quite abundant on Indian and Australian coasts and the main producers today are Australia and India. This material is particularly popular due to its consistent supplies, huge quantities and clean material. The common problems with this material are the presence of ilmenite and chloride compounds. Since the material has been naturally crushed and ground on the beaches for past centuries, the material is normally available in fine sizes only. Most of the garnet at the Tuticorin beach in south India is 80 mesh, and ranges from 56 mesh to 100 mesh size. River garnet is particularly abundant in Australia. The river sand garnet occurs as a placer deposit. Rock garnet is perhaps the garnet type used for the longest period of time. This type of garnet is produced in America, China and western India. These crystals are crushed in mills and then purified by wind blowing, magnetic separation, sieving and, if required, washing. Being freshly crushed, this garnet has the sharpest edges and therefore performs far better than other kinds of garnet. Both the river and the beach garnet suffer from the tumbling effect of hundreds of thousands of years which rounds off the edges. Gore Mountain Garnet from Warren County, New York, USA is a significant source of rock garnet for use as an industrial abrasive. Cultural significance Garnet is the birthstone of January. It is also the birthstone of Aquarius and Capricorn in tropical astrology. In Persia this birth gem was considered a talisman from nature's forces like storm and lightning. It was widely accepted that garnet could signal approaching danger by turning pale. United States Garnet is New York State's official gemstone, Connecticut has almandine garnet as its state gemstone, Idaho has star garnet as its state gemstone, and Vermont has grossular garnet as its state gemstone. Since 2003 New York State has ranked first in industrial garnet-production in the United States.