Wanna have a garnet? Good choice! But what kind of garnet do you desire?
Isn’t it just a garnet? Or are there more?
Yes, you will be surprised to know that there are numerous varieties of garnets that can be found all over the world. You may choose from more than eight types of garnet for your exquisite jewelry. Isn’t it awesome?
The most common garnet is red and provides a new dimension to red gemstones’ meaning. Still, as a consumer, you should know that garnets are available in nearly every color imaginable, including oranges, greens, pinkish oranges, purplish blues, etc., to fit your exquisite preferences.
However, before adding this stunner to your treasure chest, we suggest you understand its types and quality parameters, including 4 Cs (cut, color, clarity, and carat), to understand the garnet you are investing in.
So, let’s start the journey of exploration.
Types of Garnet: Everything You Need to Know About
Do you know? The garnet you will choose for your garnet ring cannot be natural. The first information you should ask is the nature of the stone, such as natural, lab-created, treated, etc., as these factors significantly impact the stone’s overall cost.
Natural Garnet
Natural garnet is created in nature and is found in abundance; hence you will see them practically everywhere. They are readily available in all hues except blue. But the catch is that some of their varieties are costly as they are rare.
Lab-Created Garnet
Everything here is similar to natural garnet except for the fact that they are constructed in a controlled facility with state-of-the-art technology. Lab-grown garnets have the same chemical, visual and physical properties as natural garnets., and only a trained eye or expert can spot the difference.
They demand less price than natural garnet as they can be synthesized anytime to meet the overgrowing demand in the market. You may have a blue garnet in this form.
Treated Garnet
You will be glad to know that garnets rarely undergo treatments; all credit goes to their natural color and clarity. It means, amid all treated stones in the market, you may lay your hand on a 100% natural garnet for your unique jewelry choice. How cool is that?
Imitations
The garnet, well known January birthstone, is a trendy jewelry item. Unfortunately, many fake things are available on the market right now. You need to check the authenticity card before signing for this excellent stone.
It is crucial to verify your garnet stone’s seller to avoid any funny business. Demanding a certificate of originality from the stone provider is a good move. In the case of a lab-grown piece, the certificate of authenticity of the lab will put all speculations at rest.
Also See: Top 10 Famous Gemstones
Types of Garnet: Names you Must Not Miss
Garnet has wide varieties to cater to your peculiar demands based on colors and various properties. So, let’s know them and see what makes them one-stop solutions for different jewelry designs.
Pyrope Garnets
Pyrope is one of the most well-known varieties of garnets, which is famous for its deep red color hue (deep pomegranate color). Derived from the Greek word meaning “fire-eyed,” pyrope garnet is an excellent gemstone choice for alluring, distinctive, and beautiful jewelry.
Almandine Garnets
Almandine is another superior-quality garnet specimen with a color spectrum ranging from purplish red to dark red.
It is one of the unique members of the garnet family and offers its wearer numerous garnet benefits in terms of astrology. You will be joyous to know that there are deposits of red garnet on every continent, making them widely distributed and available to cater to various industry demands.
Spessartine Garnets
If you are looking for a garnet in orange with a little red tint, then spessartine is the garnet for you. Discovered in the 1880s, spessartine is known for its brilliance and attractive firey appearance when cut.
Hessonite Garnets
Yes, it shares a resemblance with citrine and topaz, but it is not the same thing. It is a distinctive variety of grossular garnets, but unlike the popular green color of grossular garnet, it exhibits an unusual orange-brown hue. One of the prime stones for astrology believers, it is thought to foster fortune, success, and longevity.
Mali Garnets
The hue of mali garnets is strikingly distinct and can range from golden to chartreuse yellow, brownish green, or, in sporadic cases, mint or chrome green. As the name suggests, it is found in the Mali region in West Africa and showcases a hybrid of the grossular and andradite garnet species. Now, that’s different.
Tsavorite Garnets
When it comes to rating the finest colored gemstone, tsavorite is one of the top names on the list. Thanks to its high dispersion levels and refractive index, it is one of the best gemstones in brilliance and sparkle. This rare gem has drawn the interest of collectors and jewelry enthusiasts due to its exquisite, pure green hues, durability, and purity.
Demantoid Garnets
Demantoid garnets are a rare variety of andradite garnet species and are famous for their exquisite forest green hues and high refractive index.
Rhodolite Garnets
Rhodolite garnets come in various colors, from pink to purplish red, and are termed after the “rhodon,” a Greek word for rose. It is another popular hybrid species, categorized as pyrope and almandine. Due to their stunning color and typical lack of inclusions and defects, rhodolite garnets are widely sought-after for usage in jewelry.
Ant Hill Garnet
Have you ever heard about a gemstone being mined by ants? Well, this garnet gemstone is. What?
Really, The ants pull up little garnets along with the grit and soil as they dig and construct their nest. Collectors find these jewels at the base of the slope where they fall. Ant hill garnets are often less than one carat due to how they are mined. The Navajo reservation in Arizona is where this phenomenon is most commonly found. Now, that is one super interesting garnet.
Color Change Garnet
Do you want to give something different to your special one? How about a color change garnet? Yeah. These are a scarce hence desirable variety of garnet. You may notice the color shift in these stones from blueish purple to blueish green or from greenish yellow to purplish red. This phenomenon is a result of the interaction of at least three different garnet species’ mineral compositions.
Star Garnet
Star garnets are renowned for their asterism attribute. You will notice a star-like reflection when you move the object, and you may see this in both pyrope-almandine and almandine varieties.
Andradite Garnet
The andradite variant of garnet is regarded as one of the most sought-after garnet varieties due to its limited supply and remarkable light dispersion capacity. It is divided into two significant sub-varieties in addition-Melanite and Topazolite.
Also See: Gemstone Names and Colors
Types of Garnet: The Role of Cut, Carat, Clarity, and Color (All Quality Parameters)
Learning about a gemstone’s overall quality parameters is crucial as it will allow you to see through the properties of the stone that you may otherwise overlook.
The Importance of Color in Garnet’s Value
Would you buy a gemstone that doesn’t have a good appearance and vibrancy in terms of color? Most of you will be saying no. Color plays a vital role in any gemstone’s overall appeal, and garnet is no different.
The most prevalent type of garnet color is red. However, garnets are also available in other hues, such as orange, brown, yellow, pink, green, blue, and colorless. Rare gemstones include peach, blue, colorless, and green (tsavorite).
It has been observed that darker colors trail behind brighter and lighter ones regarding likeability. According to current market trends, greener colors—like Tsavorite and Demantoid Garnets—are valued more than traditional saturated red hues.
All credit goes to their closer resemblance to emeralds, and blue color garnets are more valuable, thanks to their exceptional rarity.
One more exciting fact about garnet colors that enhance their desirability quotient is they look different in natural and artificial light. You will see more of these phenomena in Spessartine and Pyrope members of the garnet.
Garnet Varieties and the Impact of Cut
Being a hard stone and a holder of high refractive qualities, garnet is a cutter’s joy and is used for almost all kinds of cuts and shapes to make a piece of beautiful garnet jewelry.
A skilled cutter can bring out the actual brightness of the stone. Because of this, with a few exceptions, inclusions have a detrimental effect on garnet prices. To retain the maximum carat weight, rare and precious garnets like tsavorite and demantoid are cut into various forms to form one-of-its-kind jewelry designs.
The Demantoid Garnet shows off characteristics similar to those of a diamond, and a good cut can allow it to exhibit unmatched brilliance.
How Does Clarity Impact Garnets?
When you evaluate garnets in terms of clarity, you will find that they are typically eye-clean and exhibit excellent clarity.
Clarity varies depending on the type of garnet. For instance, the red garnets almandine, rhodolite, and pyrope often do not include inclusions that are apparent to the naked eye. You may know with that fact that the price of a faceted cut tsavorite garnet might be slashed in half if there are visible inclusions.
Inclusions can frequently be seen with the naked eye in some orange garnets, such as hessonite, spessartine, etc.
In the case of garnets, the stone’s clarity could be more significant in a few circumstances. The star garnet comes in that rare category. In its unaltered state, it is opaque and more brown than red. The “star effect” is caused by rutile impurities, but they need to be appropriately oriented to do so.
Types of Garnet and the Importance of Carat Weight
There is no shortage of garnet in the gemstone industry. Stones that are one carat or less are frequently found and cost a few dollars.
But garnet gemstones weighing three carats or more are unusual and consequently more expensive, while gems weighing more than ten carats are genuinely uncommon.
The Demantoid and Tsavorite garnets are typically the most expensive among the more widely accessible varieties, and the cost per carat tends to rise sharply with larger stones.
Also See: Different Types of Gemstones
What Types of Garnets Should You Choose for Your Next Jewelry Purchase?
Garnets are ruling the hearts of many due to their fantastic variety, hue, and luster. Besides their stunningness, these gemstones are famous for their hardness and durability. When choosing a garnet gemstone for your next jewelry purchase, you should consider your budget and how rare or expensive the stone is, as well as the size and quality of the stone.
By knowing various types of garnets, you will be able to pinpoint your purchase and will be able to style your desired jewelry the way you want.
Now, that is something you won’t want to miss. Right?
Enjoyed what you read? Also, go through how to take care of garnet bracelets and how to clean garnet bracelets to be more caring of this precious gemstone.
FAQs
Tsavorite is the rare garnet in the world and boasts a vivid green hue. Known for its high refractive index and dispersion levels, this green gemstone offers captivating brilliance and has fewer inclusions than emeralds.
The nature of this gemstone determines its quality. Garnets of the red kind are often inclusion-free and eye-clean. The red category’s almandine garnet occasionally has asbestos fiber inclusions and is prized for its rarity.
Occasionally, garnets and rubies can be challenging to distinguish from one another. There are a few ways to evaluate this gemstone, such as checking for double refraction or determining its hardness rating. However, if you still feel confused, we advise seeking professional guidance.
