The Limited

Garnet

Origins:  Africa, India, Russia and Central and South America.

Birthstone: January 

Wedding Anniversary :  2nd Anniversary

The garnet family is one of the most complex in the gem world and a huge topic to write about!  It’s not a single species but rather consists of several species and varieties. There are more than twenty garnet categories, called ‘species’, but only five are commercially important as gems. Those five are pyrope, almandine (also called almandite), spessartine, grossular (grossularite), andradite.

Also, Uvarovite, which is a green garnet that usually occurs as crystals too small to cut. although It’s sometimes set as clusters in jewellery, but is rarely found as special enough to be classed as ‘gem quality’.

Natural Garnet Oval Facet

Garnets have been known to Man for thousands of years. Noah, it is said, used a garnet lantern to help him steer his ark through the dark night. Garnets are also found in jewellery from early Egyptian, Greek and Roman times. Many an early explorer and traveller liked to carry a garnet with him as a talisman and protective stone, as it was believed to light up the night and protect its bearer from evil and disaster.

Garnet rates on the Mohs scale of hardness at 6.5 to 7.5.

Garnets in reddish shades are most common and well known.  Sadly, however, far too few people are aware that the world of the garnets is far more colourful and interesting than that. Spectacular finds, especially in Africa, have enhanced the traditional image of the garnet with a surprising number of hues – even if red does continue to be its principal colour.   Blue garnets are the rarest and were first reported only in the 1990s.

A further plus is their high refractive index, the cause of the garnet’s great brilliance.  All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition.

Round Faceted Custom Cut Natural Rhodolite Garnet Gemstone

Variety names include:

Rhodolite             (rose-red to violet)
Spessartite             (orange to orange-red)
Grossular             (varicolored/colourless)
Tsavorite             (deep green)
Hessonite             (orange to orange-brown)
Demantoid             (olive-green to emerald-green)
Gooseberry Garnet         (light green to light greenish-brown)
Hydrogrossular or Hydrogarnet (veined opaque white to light green)
Imperial Garnet         (light pink)
Leuco-garnet            (colourless)
Mali Garnet             (greenish-yellow)
Malaya Garnet             (reddish-orange)
Mandarin Garnet         (bright orange to orange-red)
Melanite             (opaque black or very dark red)
Mint Garnet             (light mint-green)
Mozambique Garnet         (red)
Raspberry Garnet         (raspberry-red)
Rosolite             (light pink to raspberry-red)
Star Garnet             (exhibits asterism),
Tangerine Garnet         light orange to orange-yellow
Spessartite Garnet        Oranges

Natural Grossular Garnet Gemstone

Amongst Our Favourite Garnets are: Grossular Andradite or Mali Garnet

The grossular andradite, originating from Mali, commonly referred to as  a “Mali garnet” in the trade, is a natural mixture of two garnets species: grossular and andradite and drew a lot of interest in the gem trade because both grossular and andradite garnet species are among the rarest and most valuable garnet varieties. Grossular can be found in a variety of colours including yellow, white, colourless, green and red, but Mali garnet is typically limited to shades of yellowish to brownish-green. Mali garnet is known to exhibit remarkable fire and dispersion, as well as transparency, which makes it a perfect stone for faceting.  Grossular Andradite Garnet in fine gem quality is a relatively new discovery from around 1994. Large, faceted Mali garnets are very uncommon, and most of them are under 2 carats.

Tanzanian Rhodolite Garnet Natural Gemstone Pear Cut

Rhodolite Garnet

Rhodolite garnet is an attractive raspberry-red, purplish-red garnet. It is a mix of pyrope and almandine in composition. Rhodolite garnet gets its name from the Greek word, “rhodon”, meaning “rose coloured”, which refers to its pinkish hue.   Considered a fine gemstone, its colour may vary from pink to purplish-violet red and, like all garnets, it is celebrated for its perfect gemstone properties of brilliance, hardness (6.5-7.5 on the Mohs scale) and colour. Lighter in hue than most other red garnets, rhodolite can be distinguished from its darker red siblings  The name ‘rhodolite’  was first used in the late nineteenth century to describe the new rhododendron shade of garnet first discovered in North Carolina, USA. In the late 1890s the Rhode Island mineralogist William Earl Hidden discovered rhodolite in the Cowee Valley in Macon, North Carolina, but deposits have also been found in Brazil, Greenland, Kenya, Mozambique, Norway and the United States, with the most important sources today being Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and India.

Natural Tsavorite Gemstones

Tsavorite Garnet

Tsavorite is a green garnet belonging to the grossularite group occuring in metamorphic rocks;  it’s rare because it needs unusual rock chemistries and special conditions to form. The green of tsavorite runs from vivid and light to deep and velvety and, like all garnets, it has particularly good brilliance.

In 1967, a British gem prospector and geologist Campbell R. Bridges discovered a deposit of green grossular in the mountains of north-east Tanzania.  The specimens he found were of very intense colour and high transparency. It took several years until 1974 before the gemstone became more widely available  and Tiffany & Co.  launched a marketing campaign which bringing recognition of the stone.  The name tsavorite was proposed by Tiffany in honour of Tsavo East National Park in Kenya. Apart from this area and the source locality in Tanzania it is also found in Madagascar. With small deposits of gem grade material found in Pakistan and Antarctica. No other occurrences of gem material have been discovered.

Malaya or Malaia Garnet

Malaya garnet is reddish orange in colour.

The term ‘malaya’ was derived from a Swahili word meaning ‘outcast’ or ‘prostitute’. Miners gave it this name because when it was first discovered, local dealers wouldn’t buy it, simply because it didn’t fall into any of the standard garnet categories; thus, it was cast aside. The first findings were believed to be a type of spessartite and they were often mined and mixed with parcels of rhodolite garnet. Since its discovery, the production and mining of malaya garnet has been very irregular, and because of its rarity, it is highly prized by gem collectors. Larger specimens, especially those over 3 to 5 carats, increase in value substantially and can demand very high premiums.

‘Merelani’ Mint Green Grossular Garnet

Minty Green in colour 

A new gem, discovered in very recent times and only found in unique mines in the Merelani Hills of Tanzania. The same area that is noted for producing Tanzanite is also the source of these recently discovered lively mint green Grossular Garnets – hence the popular name of ‘Merelani Mint’ in the trade.  Mint grossulars are exceptional gems in all respects – great colour, superb durability and rare.  It is a lighter, rarer, more exquisite garnet to the better known ‘tsavorite garnet’  It certainly appears that the Mint Green Merelani Garnet’ has now gained the respect it so deserves; there has been a dramatic upward swing in the price of these in the last few years, especially as availability of gem quality is patchy.

Rich Mandarin Orange Color Natural Spessartine Garnet

Mandarin Garnet

The Gemstone world was amazed a few years ago by the fantastic find of a type of garnet which had been very scarce until then. At the Kunene River, on the border between Namibia and Angola, a deposit of radiant orange to red ‘spessartites’ was discovered. The spessartite was originally named after the site of a find in Germany. Spessartites had led a quiet, shadowy existence as stones for gemstone lovers and collectors until that momentous discovery in Namibia. There were hardly any used in jewellery because they were so very rare. But this new find changed the gemstone world. Since then, its wealth has increased by the addition of this unusually fine, intensely radiant orange-red gemstone. Under the trade name ‘mandarin-garnet’, this wonderfully orange garnet became world-famous in no time at all. Unfortunately, the mine in the quiet hills of Namibia was only able to be used for a few years. That is, until another deposit of the orange treasures was discovered, this time in Nigeria. Their colour and brilliance are so similar to those of the mandarin garnets from Namibia that only an experienced specialist can discern the subtle differences.

Demantoid Garnet From Belqueys Takab Wester Azerbaijan Province Iran.

Demantoid Garnet

The star of green garnets is the rare demantoid, a gemstone for connoisseurs and gemstone lovers. Its brilliance is positively tremendous, even greater than that of the diamond and named ‘demantoid’ meaning ‘diamond-like’. Russia’s star jeweller Carl Fabergé loved the brilliant green garnet from the Urals more than anything else and used it repeatedly in his creations. Meanwhile, the demantoid is no longer quite as scarce in the gemstone trade, thanks to some new finds in Namibia. Demantoids from Namibia are of good colour and brilliance, but they lack one tiny feature: the so-called ‘horse-tail inclusions’. These fine, bushy inclusions are the unmistakable, a typical feature by which a Russian demantoid is recognised.

Shop Bespoke Jewellery

Special Unique Jewellery for Special People, look for your individual piece now.

For that important, memorable occasion, the ultimate gift is a one-of-a-kind Bespoke piece of Jewellery: a piece with special meaning and uniqueness, symbolising individuality.

You can also visit us in-store for a significant selection of stock for instant and immediate purchase.

Words from Our Customers

Quotes LeftIcon for quotes-left

I have had two stunning pieces of jewellery made by Michael Platt. One is a beautifully intricate diamond pendant and the other a spectacular dress ring reusing my own stones that have a lot of sentimental value. I am thrilled with both pieces. Wayne listened carefully to all my (very detailed!) requirements and followed them to the letter. This is a highly skilled team with amazing attention to detail and wonderful service. I am an absolutely delighted customer!

Walter Family
Exeter

Quotes RightIcon for quotes-right
May
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
2025
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905
1906
1907
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
2036
2037
2038
2039
2040
2041
2042
2043
2044
2045
2046
2047
2048
2049
2050
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
00:00
01:00
02:00
03:00
04:00
05:00
06:00
07:00
08:00
09:00
10:00
11:00
12:00
13:00
14:00
15:00
16:00
17:00
18:00
19:00
20:00
21:00
22:00
23:00