Garnet is a gemstone that has been in use since ancient times, indeed it is among the stones mentioned in the surviving literature of all ancient languages.
Properties of Garnet
Garnet is actually the name given to a family of silicate minerals whose members are:
- Almandite
- Andradite
- Gossular
- Pyrope
- Spessartine
- Uvarovite
Its hardness is rated as being between 6.5 to 8.5 (it has roughly the same hardness as quartz at 7 Mohs).
Garnets occur in almost all colours:
Almandite– Deep red to reddish-brown, occasionally with a violet or brown hue
Andradite– Red, green, yellow, brown, black; rarely clear
Grossular– Clear, white, green, yellow, pink, brown, orange and orange-red
Spessartine– Brown, orange, and pink
Pyrope– Deep red to nearly black; rose-red to violet, blue (as pyrope-spessartine)
Uvarovite– Emerald-green
Industrial Uses of Garnets
Garnets are used as an abrasive in industrial applications, the harder varieties of almandite are crushed and mounted on paper and called garnet paper.
Gemstone Uses of Garnets
The characteristic deep red shade has made it extremely popular and has been appearing in jewellery since ancient times through to modern day.
The most popular dark red variety is pyrope because of its attractive deep red colour and because it is normally free of inclusions ready for gemstone use in jewellery. It is also less expensive than almandite.
Garnets often appears as a doublet. A doublet is a composite stone i.e. a stone that has been fused or cemented together with another stone. In the case of garnets, usually an almandite garnet upper layer is fused to coloured or clear glass and then faceted. This is to make the most of the more expensive, durable stone.
Garnet Traditional Associations
Garnet is the birthstone for January, as this excerpt from a poem of unknown author attests:
By her who in January was born
No gem save garnets shall be worn
They will ensure her constancy
True friendship and fidelity
It is also the stone for Aquarius the Water Bearer in the Astrological table.
There is another list which associates stones with the day of the week a person was born on. Garnet appears in this list for the day Tuesday.
The twelve tribes of Israel each had a gemstone associated with them, and garnet was for Levi. Garnet was also associated with the angel Ambriel.
Garnets Superstition
In the past gems were invested with supernatural qualities, for garnets some believed that they averted plague and that they were a defence against thunder.
These superstitions have been updated and are commonly called “mystical properties” however there seems to be as many different properties as there are written sources e.g. from car sickness prevention to curing food poisoning.
Garnet jewellery makes a gorgeous gift and just as in earlier times, is a beautiful way to demonstrate affection for a loved one.