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| Color |
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Orange red to purplish
red |
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| Gem Family |
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Red garnet is a pyrope
or almandine member of the garnet group. |
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| Source |
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Brazil, India, Madagascar,
South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and
the United States. |
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| Clarity |
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Red garnets have are
generally free from eye-visible inclusions. |
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| Size Range |
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Red garnets have are
generally free from eye-visible inclusions. |
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| Shapes Available |
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Ovals, cushions, checkerboards,
round brilliants, trillions, princess cuts, and
opposed bars. Fine red garnet is occasionally available
in Radial Cuts, which add to the brilliance of large
sizes. |
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| Enhancement |
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Red garnet is the exact
color of the rough removed from the mine. It is
not enhanced in any way. |
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| Lore & History |
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Because many ancient
pieces of garnet jewelry are studded with tiny red
stones that resemble a cluster of pomegranate seeds,
scholars believe the name garnet derives from the
Latin for pomegranate. In the ancient world, garnet
was known as "carbuncle." Garnets in legend light
up the night and protect their owners from nightmares.
This gem was carried by ancient travelers to protect
against accidents far from home. Traditional Bohemian
garnet jewelry, very popular in the Victorian age
and still collected today, is set with many small
red garnets clustered like the seeds of a pomegranate.
Garnet is the birthstone for January. |
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| Toughness &
Hardness |
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Red garnet has a hardness
of 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale and it is quite tough. |
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| Care & Cleaning |
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Garnet is very durable
but try to avoid direct impact to the gemstone or
abrupt temperature change. Clean with warm water,
detergent, and a soft brush. |
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| Price Range |
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$10 to $50 per carat. |
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| Special Characteristics |
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Some tiny but firey red
pyrope garnet is actually mined by ants. Called
anthill garnet, these small gems are found in heaps
around the nests of ants in the Arizona desert. |
