Garnet
Garnet is a far more exciting and versatile stone than people may think. Although the word garnet usually conjures up the low-priced dark red stone that is available in abundance, recent discoveries mean that garnet now comes in almost every colour and can cost nearly as much as a sapphire.
We have a long association with this gemstone: beads of garnet turn up in prehistoric graves and red carbuncles (cabochons) have been appearing in jewelry for the last 500 years. Sadly, this has meant that people now think the stone somewhat old-fashioned and dull, leaving the full potential of garnet unrealized. It is to be hoped that the gemstone's durability, versatility, colour palette and price range will see it win back favour among jewelry makers and buyers in the not-too-distant future.
Treatments and imitation
• It is possible to confuse pyrope with ruby and spinet, and imitations are made from red glass. Almandite can also be confused with rubies, especially Thai rubies, as the optical properties and specific gravities are similar. Tsavorite can be confused with emerald and chrome tourmaline.
• Convincing synthetic colour-change garnets were produced in the early 20th century, and can be found in some antique jewelry.
Pricing garnet
• Garnet has a high specific gravity, which gives it a heavy weight. This makes its cost slightly higher than for other gemstones of the same size and carat price.
• There is low public awareness of the tsavorite, demantoid, colour-change and mandarin garnets. Unlike pyrope and almandite garnet, they are extremely valuable and can be used for high-quality jewelry. They are also very collectible for enthusiasts.
• Mid-priced in the garnet group are rhodolite and spessartite garnets. Their colours are really intense and they are usually valued higher than pyrope and hessonite garnets.
Working with garnet
• Garnet is a hard wearing and durable gemstone, suitable for most types of jewelry. However, because it has no cleavage and an uneven fracture, it can be slightly brittle. When setting faceted stones, extra care must be taken to avoid chipping the girdle.
• Tsavorite and demantoid garnets can be a viable alternative to emerald, as they have better clarity and are more durable. They also have more brilliance and fire than an emerald and are less expensive.
• Pyrope and almandite garnets are still used for antique jewelry restoration, especially that of Victorian jewelry. It is also possible to find rose-cut garnets in antique jewelry; paler stones were often cut like this and then backed with coloured foil to improve and intensify the colour.
• The lustre (degree of surface polish) of garnets can range from adamantine (like diamond) to vitreous (like glass) to resinous (like amber). Demantoid garnet has an adamantine lustre, pyrope has a vitreous lustre and hessonite has a resinous lustre.
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