Garnet

My Jeweler

Jewelry 101--Colored Stones

Garnet

Garnets differ from most other gemstones in that they encompass a variety of different minerals that are closely related and come in several different colors, even though garnets generally are thought of as only dark red. In addition to red, the color of different varieties of garnet include green, yellow, orange, brown, pink, purple, gray, and black. Furthermore, garnets are also one of the oldest gemstones, they were found as beads in a necklace that dates back to 3000 B.C

Unlike other gemstones Garnets are actually a group of closely related minerals and come in many different colors, though dark red is the most well known.
One of the most common and widespread of gemstones, red garnets are found in metamorphic rocks (which are rocks altered by heat and pressure) on every continent.
Garnets vary in chemical composition but they have pretty much the same crystal structure.
Almandine (also called almandite) is the most common garnet and is the most widely used garnet gemstone, even though it is usually opaque. The less common and more transparent almandines are used as gemstones.
Andradite has different varieties including demantoid, topazolite, and melanite.

Demantoid. A rare and famous green Garnet and variety of andradite.

Melanite. Lustrous, opaque black or very dark red variety of andradite garnet.

Topazolite. Yellow to brownish-yellow variety of andradite garnet.

Grossular (grossularite) is the most varicolored form of garnet.
Pyrope is especially known for its transparency and generally lack of flaws or inclusions.
Rhodolite is beautiful purple-red garnet that is usually considered an intermediary variety between the pyrope and almandine.
Spessartine (also called spessarite) is an orange garnet that usually has iron impurities that gives it an reddish-orange or brownish-orange color.
Tsavorite is a somewhat rare green garnet that also occurs in metamorphic rocks but needs unusual rock chemistries and special conditions to form.
There is another species, uvarovite, that is sometimes used in clusters in jewelry. Uvarovite, is rarely used because this green garnet generally occurs as crystals too small to cut.
Signet rings with carved garnets were used in ancient Rhome to stamp the wax that secured important documents.
The discovery of the famous Bohemian garnet deposits in central Europe around 1500 increased red garnet’s availability. This source became the center of a regional jewelry industry that reached its peak in the late 1800s.
One of the oldest gemstones, people have used garnets for jewelry and decorative objects for millennia. Garnet necklaces and talismans have been found by archeologists from ancient Egyptian tombs and mummies.
Garnets were found as beads in a necklace worn by a young man in a grave that dates back to 3000 B.C.
The word “garnet” comes from the Latin word granatus for seed or grain, most likely a reference to the seeds of the pomegranate fruit.
Garnet is traditionally given for the 19th anniversary of marriage and may also be used as a gift for two-year and six-year anniversaries.
Garnet is the birthstone for January.

Specs

Chemical Formula	Garnet is a series of several different minerals with unique chemical formulas.	Mineral Class	Garnet
Color	Red, Green, Yellow, Orange, Brown, Pink, Purple, Gray, Black
Crystal System	Isometric	Hardness	6.5-7.5
Transparency	Transparent to translucent	Luster	Vitreous; some forms adamantine or submetallic
Refractory Index	1.714 - 1.888	Double Refraction	None

Legends

In ancient times the term carbuncle was often used to refer to red garnets and other red gemstones. Carbuncle was thought to be one of the four precious stones given to King Solomon by God.

The red garnet was favored by clergy and nobility in the middle ages.

It is said that Noah brought a garnet into the Ark as a source of light. According to Jewish tradition, this precious stone provided light during the Flood, replacing the light from the Sun and Moon which no longer shone. The stone shone “more brilliant by night than by day, so Noah could distinguish between day and night.”

The belief that garnets have the power to shield their wearers from harm is very widespread. Saxon and Celtic kings favored garnet inlaid jewelry because of this supposed protection. Native American healers similarly believed that garnets had protective powers against injury and poison.

It is believed that King Solomon wore garnets into battle. According to Judeo-Christian tradition and Christian and Muslim warriors both wore garnets during the Crusades.

Garnet’s color and inner fire was believed to stir a person’s creative energy.

Garnets have been associated with life force, especially the feminine life force.

The clergy valued garnets as symbols of Christ’s blood and sacrifice, in Europe during the Middle Ages.

With associations with the heart, blood, inner fire, and life force, garnets have long been considered symbols of love.

In Greek mythology, Persephone, the goddess of vegetation, was kidnapped by Hades, the god of the Underworld. She could only return to the surface world if she didn’t eat any food in that realm. Since she ate some pomegranate seeds, she had to remain in the Underworld for several months out of the year resulting in the months of winter.

Garnets, said to protect travelers on their journeys, were often exchanged between friends as tokens that they would meet again.