Garnet - RG34

Aren't garnets those wonderful deep-red gemstones you often find in antique jewelry?

Well yes, to a certain extent, a deep, warm red indeed being the color most frequently found in garnets. It is true to say that red is the color most often encountered, but the garnet also exists in various shades of green, a tender to intense yellow, a fiery orange and some fine earth-colored nuances.  Garnets are much sought-after and much worked gemstones.

Garnets have been known to Man for thousands of years. Noah, it is said, used a garnet lantern to help him steer his ark through the dark night. Garnets are also found in jewelry from early Egyptian, Greek and Roman times. Many an early explorer and traveler liked to carry a garnet with him, for the garnet was popular as a talisman and protective stone, as it was believed to light up the night and protect its bearer from evil and disaster. Today, science has taught us that the garnet's proverbial luminosity comes from its high refractive index.

A garnet variety, also red, is the rhodolite. a mixed crystal of almandine and pyrope. This popular garnet is of a magnificent velvety red with a fine violet or raspberry-red undertone. Originally found in the USA, it now comes mainly from the gemstone mines in East Africa, India and Sri Lanka.

Anyone who loves what is pure and natural and the warm, sun-bathed colors of late summer will be fired with enthusiasm by the color spectrum of the garnet. Today, garnets mostly come from African countries, but also from India, Russia and Central and South America. The skilled hands of cutters the world over work them into many classical shapes, but also increasingly into modern, imaginative designer cuts. Garnets remain convincing with their natural, unadulterated beauty, the variety of their colors and their tremendous brilliance. Anyone acquiring garnet jewelry can be assured that the joy he or she derives from this beautiful gemstone gift from Nature will be long-lasting and undimmed.