Garnets in the gemstone world are known by many colors, but most people think of the deep, burgundy red or pinkish scarlet for Garnet. Red Garnets share the same mineral family as green garnets (called demantoid or tsavorite) and bright yellow to red tones of spessartite or hessonite. Color comes from the presence of calcium chromium in green garnets (tsavorite and demantoid) and manganese aluminum or iron (spessartite and red stones). Red garnets range in color and are categorized by Pyrope and Rhodolite. Rhodolite usually has pinkish-purple hues, while the Pyrope variety is generally deeper crimson and pomegranate to darker root beer red.
Because the Garnet is a family base compound with varying additives to render different colors, the make-up of the vibrantly colored stones is also different. Garnets are usually faceted to show off their brilliance and fire, but can also be found in cabochons which are sometimes faceted from beneath to add radiance and dimension. Garnets were popular during the Civil War era as well as in Victorian and Bohemian jewelry. Both the red and particularly the green varieties of this gemstone were favorites of the famous Russian jeweler Carl Faberge.
Compound : Neosilicates
Mohs Scale(Hardness) : 6.5-7.5
Found : Africa, Canada, Kenya, Madagascar, Siberia, Spain, Tanzania, United States
