Garnet: A Gemstone For Men? |
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Known for thousands of years. the garnet, until the 19th century, was worn in jewelry by men as well as women. It was considered to offer protection from evil and protection while on the sea. Garnets found in the former kingdom of Bohemia were famous across the world at that time. There are tiny slivers of garnet in stained glass windows in Europe, and legend has it that Noah even used a garnet lantern to illuminate the ark. Jewelry with garnet was also noted in Egypt, Greece and Rome. The Latin name for the gem is malum granatum ("grain"), the granatum referring to punica granatum, or the pomegranate plant with red seeds similar to the appearance and size of garnet. Jewelry of Bohemian garnet was made of a large number of smaller stones resembling these seeds.
Garnet can be found in many parts of the world. Even the Scribner Ledge in the small town of Albany, Maine, has produced large quantities of garnet. The colors of garnet range in a wide variety of colors including various shades of green, brown, orange, and yellow, although the most familiar is the deep red. Some colors of garnet are only found in Brazil, including the Brazilian Mozambique garnet. The color-changing garnet is the most prized by collectors. The color changes in these depending upon whether they are seen in natural or artifical light.
The main family of garnet includes uvarovite, grossularite, spessartite, hessonite, savored, pyrope, andradite, and almandine, based on their similarity in chemical composition. The fiery red pyrope was much sought after in the 18th and 19th centuries. A few years ago at the Kunene River in Namibia, Africa. a rare deposit of spessartites was discovered, ranging from a bright orange to red. Finding garnets in the remote bush country, however, became too costly and too difficult, but fortunately a similar discovery was found in Nigeria. The brilliant mandarin garnet was found in Africa ten years ago.
The best known garnet in emerald-green is the tsavorite discovered in Tanzania by a British geologist in 1967, and named by Tiffany's. It is known for its exceptional brilliance, and its color ranges from a light to a deep green hue. The demantoid of the travorite family even rivals the brilliance of a diamond, and is eagerly sought by garnet collectors.
There seems to be a sufficient supply of garnet in the world, and it is recognized for its hardness of 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale. This makes it have great wearing ability. It also has a high refractive index which accounts for its brilliance. The vast color spectrum of the stone adapts very well to changing preferences in fashion.