Garnet Gemstone - GIA

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Back to gem encyclopedia Garnet

Garnets are a set of closely related minerals forming a group, with gemstones in almost every color.

Intense

The best colors for spessartine are vivid orange to orangy red.

Clean

No eye visible inclusions present is rare for spessartine.

Bright

The intense color, lack of inclusions and skillful cutting create a bright stone.

Cinnamon

This specimen is hessonite garnet also called the cinnamon stone for its color.

Array of faces

An amazing intergrowth of hessonite garnet crystals creates an array of crystal faces.

Mineral Specimen

Hessonite garnet specimens are attractive and collectible.

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Polished
Rough

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Buyer's Guide
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Buyer's Guide

Garnets are a group that includes a number of different minerals, so appearance can vary widely. The number of varieties can be overwhelming. It helps to think of garnet varieties in terms of color.

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What To Look For

View Gallery Garnet Buyers Guide 24723

Color Is The Most Important Quality Factor For Garnet

Pyrope and almandine range in color from purple to orangy red. Spessartine is a variety of orange colors, while andradite comes in yellow to green. Grossular has a wide color range, from colorless through yellow to reddish orange and orangy red, to a strong, vibrant green.

View Gallery Garnet Buyers Guide 57396

Clarity Refers To The Inclusions

Typical garnet clarity depends on garnet type. For example, the red garnets almandine, pyrope, and rhodolite typically do not have eye-visible inclusions. Some of the orange garnets, like spessartine and hessonite, often have eye-visible inclusions.

View Gallery Garnet Buyers Guide 25126

Cut Is One Of The Most Important Factors In Appearance

Many garnets are cut into standard shapes and standard sizes to allow easy setting into jewelry. This is especially true of many red garnets. Expensive garnets like fine-quality tsavorite are cut into shapes and cutting styles that allow more of the weight to be retained from the rough.

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Carat Weight Allows For Precise Measurements

Garnets can be found in all sizes and weights. Some garnets, like demantoid and tsavorite, are more rare in large sizes, so their value goes up significantly with size. Other garnets, like almandine, are far more common in larger sizes so there’s no dramatic rise in value as size increases.

Garnet Quality Factors: The Comprehensive Guide

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Tips & Advice

1. Find a retailer that can show you a variety of garnets.

To appreciate the rainbow of garnets available, you have to see them. Find a retailer who can show you tsavorite, rhodolite, and one of the orange garnets. You’ll be surprised at how beautiful fine garnet can be.

2. Consider unusual colors like purplish pinks.

Garnets come in some unusual variations in hue and tone which sometimes categorizes them in between known varieties. These gems can offer good value and are interesting as well as beautiful.

3. Don’t compromise on cut.

The quality of the cut can make a big difference in beauty and brilliance. Your garnet should sparkle in a lively way, reflecting light back evenly across the entire gem. Poorly cut gems are much less marketable and sell at a discount.

4. When in doubt, get a lab report.

For a significant purchase, an independent laboratory report can confirm that the garnet you are buying is what the seller says it is.

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Questions & Answers

Is there a red garnet the color of ruby?

Garnets do come in a pure red hue, but they are rare in sizes over a half carat. It is much more common to see garnets with a significant brown component to the red or a very dark tone that is perceived as black reflections especially where the garnet absorbs light.

What's the difference between the two green garnets: tsavorite and demantoid?

Although the green colors of tsavorite and demantoid overlap, they are different garnet group minerals. Tsavorite is green grossular and demantoid is green andradite. Andradite is softer than grossular but has a higher refractive index and higher dispersion.

Does a horsetail inclusion in demantoid guarantee Russian origin?

Not all Russian demantoids have these famous chrysotile inclusions. Horsetails are also seen in demantoids from Iran and Italy but not in those from Namibia or Madagascar.

What’s AAA-quality garnet?

Although individual companies might create their own quality descriptions, like AAA, AA and A, to denote the range of quality of their goods, no standard quality-grading scales exist for garnet.