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STONE

Garnet

A gemstone family spanning several garnet species and colours rather than one composition.

Typical colour
Red is classic; also orange, green, yellow and purple
Also known as
Гранат · Анорсанг
Birthstone
January A modern tradition, not a property of the stone. GIA
Generated wine-red dodecahedral garnet crystals in mica schist
AI-generated educational illustration. Educational garnet-group morphology illustration; not a species determination, specimen photograph, or locality evidence.

FOUND IN TAJIKISTAN

Well-formed almandine crystals, up to about 7 cm, occur in garnet-bearing schist horizons of the Sokhcharv valley, Western Pamir.

Mineralogy of garnet-containing horizons, Sokhcharv valley, Western Pamir (Vatanbekov, Zhou, Yogibekov, Gurminjova, 2020)

WHAT IT IS MADE OF

Mineral science

Garnet group

Mineral species · Silicates — garnet group

X₃Y₂(SiO₄)₃

Hardness
6.5–7.5
Crystal system
Cubic
Refractive index
n commonly about 1.73–1.89 across the group
Density
Common gem garnets roughly 3.5–4.3 g/cm³ depending on species

Physical and optical properties belong to the mineral species; see the mineral page for the full sourced profile.

History and names

A red garnet bead necklace found in a grave in Egypt is more than 5,000 years old. Green tsavorite garnet was mined in Kenya near Tsavo National Park, and Fabergé designed intricate jewellery with green demantoid garnet.

COLLECTION

Study views

Generated wine-red dodecahedral garnet crystals in mica schistGarnet-group crystal — reference illustration

SOURCE

GIA Gem Encyclopedia — Garnet