Garnet
If you know Garnet as the deep red stone almost with an orang-ish tint, you’re right but there is so much more to Garnet than that. There have been some spectacular finds, especially in Africa, that have enhanced the traditional image of the garnet with a surprising number of new colors. Thanks to their rich color spectrum, garnets today can quite happily keep pace with changes of style and the trends of fashion. And thanks to the new finds, there is a reliable supply of them too. In fact, this gemstone in particular is giving quite a shot in the arm to the world of jewelry today.
The classification of ‘garnet’ indicates a group of more than ten different gemstones of similar chemical composition. It is true to say that red is most often encountered, but the garnet also exists in various shades of green, a tender to intense yellow, a fiery orange and some very fine earth-colored varieties. One color you won’t find in the garnet world is blue. Garnets are much sought-after and much recognized gemstones – even more so today because not only the classic colors red and green which are desirable, but also the fine shades in between. In addition, the world of the garnet is also rich in rarities such as star garnets and stones whose color changes depending on whether in daylight or artificial.
Garnet measures 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale which is relatively hard. With a few minor exceptions it applies to all the members of the garnet group, and it is the reason for the longevity of these gemstones. Garnets are relatively insensitive and uncomplicated to work with. The only thing they really don’t like is being knocked about or subjected to improper heat treatment. They also have a high refractive index, the cause of the garnet’s great brilliance. The shape of the raw crystals is also interesting. In the Middle Ages, the red garnet was also called the ‘carbuncle stone’. And even today, fantasy names like Arizona ruby, Arizona spinel, Montana ruby or New Mexico ruby are still doing big business in garnets.
Garnets have been known to Man for thousands of years. Noah, it is said, used a garnet lantern to help him steer his ark through the dark night. Garnets are also found in jewelry from early Egyptian, Greek and Roman times. Many an early explorer and traveler liked to carry a garnet with him, for the garnet was popular as a talisman and protective stone, as it was believed to light up the night and protect its bearer from evil and disaster. Today, science has taught us that the garnet’s glow comes from its excellent refractive index.
In addition to the many notable colors, garnets also have many names: almandine, andradite, demantoid, grossularite, hessonite, pyrope, rhodolite, tsavorite, spessartine, and uvarovite, to name a few. There is also the fiery red pyrope. Its spirited red, often with a slight brownish nuance, was a gemstone color much in demand in the 18th and 19th centuries. Garnets from a find in the north-eastern part of the former kingdom of Bohemia were world-famous at that time. In Europe, they were employed as jewelry, especially in the Victorian period. Genuine Bohemian garnet jewelry was often set with a large number of small stones, which were close to one another like the seeds of a pomegranate. Today too, garnets are still found in former Czechoslovakia and set close together according to the old tradition. If you have a chance to acquire these special arrangements, don’t hesitate.
