Moving across a multitude of colors is a gem that has animated centuries of fascination and demand. The garnet, with its rich assortment and withstanding flair, remains a classic beauty in the world of luxury.
The name “garnet” comes from the Latin word “granatus,” meaning “grain.” Garnet crystals are easily associated with the red grains of the pomegranate or punica granatum. The garnet occurs in six types of parallel crystal formation. Its presence and use goes back to the Bronze age, with abrasives and ornaments found containing this gem. Evidence of garnets used as jewelry was found in a five thousand year-old grave. With its resemblance to the pomegranate, a common element in Greek mythology, the early Greeks recognized garnet as a gift signifying eternal love.
While garnets are commonly known for their red visage, this gem actually comes in a variety of colors. There are colorless ones and lightly colored ones, in colors such as yellow and pink. Vibrant garnets come in green, purple, brown, red and the rare blue. Some varieties even change in color over time. The garnet manifests a glass-like or vitreous radiance due to its prominent refractive quality and does not exhibit inclusions.
The versatility of this gem is its occurrence in different hues. One of the most prized varieties is the blue garnet which was found in Bekily, Madagascar in the late 1990s. The pyrope is a species of this mineral that is commonly known as the Bohemian garnet of Cape Ruby, with its bloody red color. Other varieties include the Almandine, the Grossularite or Gooseberry garnet, the Carbunucle, the Hessonite or the Cinnamon stone, the Uvarovite, the demantoid and the Topazolite.
The Grossularites are those of yellow, green and brown hues. In the late twentieth century, an abundant deposit of dazzling grossalutaires was discovered in Mali. Another rare kind of garnet is the green Tsavorite such as those found in Africa. The more favored green variety of garnets, however, is the demantoid. The demantoid was discovered in 1868 in the Ural mountains of Russia. This variety has long been revered by popular jewelers such as Carl Faberge for its excellent luminosity that experts claim rivals that of the diamond. The garnet’s Dutch name even means ‘diamond-like.’ The Russian demantoids are not found in sizes beyond three carats, and have patterned chrysotile inclusions. Compared with other garnets, this species in general is softer and more brittle, thus should be handle with extra care.
When the garnet species of almandine and pyrope are combined, a beautiful crystal of splendid red and violet called the Rhodolite is produced. This variety was first discovered in the United States. Most Rhodolites in the market, however, are from East Africa, Sri Lanka and India.
An orange and red variety called the spessartite was found in Germany. Later, more of these gems were found in the Kunene River along the border of Namibia and Angola, and in Nigeria. Dubbed as the Mandarine garnets, these gems exhibit a certain uniqueness and vibrance that caused a festive stir in the 1990s.
The popularity of garnets rose significantly with the trend set by Czechoslovakia in the eighteenth and well on into the nineteenth centuries. The Czechs got deep red and brownish garnets from northeastern Bohemia and fashioned them into intricate jewelry with a number of small stones surrounding a larger central treasure. This rosette design was very popular during the Victorian era. Varieties of garnets, especially the pyrope, were fashioned into bracelets, necklaces and brooches. During the middles ages, the red variety was named the carbuncle stone.
Many legends involve the garnet. The King of Saxony was alleged to own more than 465 carats of garnet, while Plato was said to have had his portrait carved on a garnet. The garnet is an ancient gem that has been used by the Ancient Egyptians as ornaments and by some Asiatic tribes as bullets and abrasives. Legend even has it that Noah made use of the garnet’s brilliance in maneuvering his ark through the dark.
The garnet’s relative hardness makes it suitable as abrasives for materials such as wood, glass, plastics, metals and leather, and is also used to cut steel. They are also used in sand blasting, in place of silica. It is also used as a medium in the water filtration process. Since this mineral has proved to be durable throughout the ages, it has been used in determining the presence and stages of metamorphic rocks.
Other than having contemporary industrial benefits, various cultures have believed garnets, like other gemstones, possess metaphysical powers. It is believed to have a healing ability such that it stimulates the flow of the blood, aiding blood deficiency, and eases body pains due to arthritis and rheumatism. It protects vital organs such as the spleen and stimulate the functions of our glands. The power of the garnet extends to the cleansing of the mind from bad and negative thoughts.
Spanish astrology associates this gem with the sun. This probably explains why garnet is believed to protect travelers, a belief imbibed by the early explorers who carried with them amulets of garnet in their journey across seas.
Indian culture on the other hand links the force of this stone with the duties of warriors who used garnets as pellets and arrow tips. While these native tribes saw garnet as a bringer of injury, other cultures sought protection against evil with this stone. And of course, with its link to a Greek tradition, the garnet is also known to ensure a return and restoration of bonds, such as Persephone’s return to Hades.
From legends to tangible pieces of classical glamor, garnets emit a timeless beauty.
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