Natural color change garnet loose gemstone for jewelry

Natural Garnet Gemstones

Garnet is not one mineral but a group of closely related silicates that share one crystal structure (general formula X3Y2(SiO4)3), with calcium, magnesium, iron or manganese in one position and aluminum, iron or chromium in the other. That chemistry gives garnet nearly every color except a true blue, from deep red and raspberry to fiery orange, golden yellow and vivid green. With a Mohs hardness of 6.5 to 7.5 and no cleavage, most garnets are durable everyday gems.

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Gemstone guide

Natural Garnet Gemstones

About garnet

Garnet is the birthstone for January and has been worn since the Bronze Age; its name comes from the Latin granatum, pomegranate, after the red seeds that small garnet crystals resemble. The main gem species are pyrope, almandine and spessartine, and grossular, andradite and uvarovite; well-known varieties include rhodolite, spessartine's bright orange "Fanta" material, tsavorite and hessonite from grossular, and demantoid from andradite. Garnets are rarely treated.

What you'll find in this collection

This collection brings together all our garnets, all untreated: orange spessartine, much of it from Namibia and Nigeria, raspberry to purple rhodolite, yellow and green grossular, green tsavorite and color-change garnet, from Namibia, Madagascar, Tanzania, Mozambique and elsewhere in Africa. You'll find mainly faceted ovals and rounds, with pears, trillions, marquises, cabochons and a few polished pieces, from about 0.1 to 12 carats.

How to recognise garnet

All garnets are singly refractive, so they show no pleochroism and their color looks the same from every direction, which separates red garnet from ruby. They are fairly dense, about 3.6 to 4.3 depending on species. Inclusions can help identify the species: spessartine often shows wavy, lace-like fluid inclusions, hessonite a swirled, treacly look, and demantoid fine golden fibers called horsetails.

Caring for garnet

Garnet has no cleavage and wears well in all jewelry. Clean it with warm soapy water and a soft brush, and avoid sudden temperature changes and steam cleaning, which can stress included stones.

Every stone is natural, and each listing gives its weight, size, origin and treatment, with photos of the actual stone.