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Colour: Various colours Found in: US, Russia, Kenya, Tanzania, Myanmar, Argentina, India, Zambia, Sri Lanka, Bavaria, Italy, Namibia, Madagascar, Mexico, Mali
Mohs Hardness: 6.5-7.5
Lustre: Vitreous
Formula: General formula for garnet: A3B2C3O12 |
Along with the favoured lapis lazuli, turquoise, and carnelian, garnet was often used in ancient Egyptian jewellery to depict symbols and stories sacred to the culture.
In the Roman era, the jewels of the wealthy would often feature garnets of a rich colour, carved either into cabochons or into cameos of prominent figures or gods.
Both in ancient Rome and ancient Greece, garnet signet rings were used as the seals on significant documents.
During the Middle Ages, garnets were widely regarded as a gem with valuable protection properties.
For this reason, they were often inlaid into the armour or decorative pieces of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic kings headed into battle.
In these early times, the many varieties of minerals and the differences between them were so poorly misunderstood, any red-coloured gem cut as a cabochon was referred to as a ‘carbuncle’.
They may have been a ruby, spinel, or in many cases, the almandine and pyrope varieties of garnet.
Around the turn of the 16th century, a deposit of pyrope garnet was discovered in Bohemia that later became an important source for centuries to come.
These Bohemian garnets were famous for their fiery-red hue, becoming the gem of choice for jewellery of the Victorian era, as well as mourning jewellery for Queen Victoria following the death of Price Albert in 1861.
In 1780, the French mineralogist R.J. Haüy, often titled the ‘Father of Modern Crystallography’, began to assess the physical properties of minerals in order understand, separate, and classify them.
His work and the ongoing work of others led to the eventual establishment of six varieties of garnet by the early 20th century; pyrope, almandine, spessartine, uvarovite, grossular and andradite.
In modern times, the discovery of green, purple, orange, pink, and even colour-change varieties has led to garnet featuring in a wide range of jewellery designs covering all price points, offering jewellery connoisseurs a garnet for almost every taste.
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| Above: Louis Vuitton; Sanjay Kasliwal |
Given the relative abundance of almandine and a hardness more suited to regular wear than that of glass, composite gems have long been manufactured both as a cheaper alternative, and to potentially deceive.
Garnet topped doublets (GTDs) are faceted stones that are primarily glass (or similar cheap or soft material), with a thin sliver of almandine garnet secured to the crown.
Often, these composites are not be recognised by the untrained eye and may be confused with ruby – a gem of significantly greater value.
However, when you know what you’re looking for garnet topped doublets are one of the easiest tricks to spot.
Another feat made possible by modern technology is the synthetic gem material known as Yttrium Aluminium Garnet (YAG) and Gadolinium Gallium Garnet (GGG).
These purely synthetic gems have no natural counterpart and are not silicate minerals as natural garnets are because they do not contain any silica.
Regardless, YAGs and GGGs crystallize in the cubic crystal system in an arrangement very similar to that of the natural garnets, producing the familiar garnet dodecahedron forms.
The presence of rare earth elements in YAGs and GGGs results in striking vivid colours, popular with lapidarists who fashion them into fantastic gems reminiscent of kryptonite.
A staple revered throughout history and, to this day January’s birthstone, the family of gem garnets has cemented itself as a versatile and notable gem.
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