The Garnet:
Garnet is derived from the Latin word «granum,» meaning «grain.» This generally refers to the rounded shape of garnet and is also reminiscent of pomegranate seeds. Garnets have been widely known for thousands of years. Even Noah, it is said, used a garnet lamp in order to safely steer his ark in the dead of night. Although the color red occurs most often, there are also garnets that show different green hues, pale to bright yellow, fiery orange, and fine earth and umbra tones. Blue is the only color that is not available in maroon.
What is garnet used for?
Garnets are important minerals and are primarily known for their gem uses. The transparent varieties are used in all forms of jewelry, with the most commonly used color being deep red. Other forms of garnet such as reddish-orange spessartine, yellow grossular, and green tsavorite and demantoid make fine gemstones.
However, most garnet is mined for industrial applications, due to its abrasive nature. It is commonly used in sandpaper, sandblasting, and water filtering.
How is garnet formed?
Most garnets form at convergent plate boundaries where regional metamorphism is acting on the shale. The heat and pressure of metamorphism break chemical bonds and cause minerals to recrystallize into structures that are stable in the new environment of temperature and pressure. Aluminum garnet, almandine, is usually formed in this environment.
As these rocks metamorphose, the garnets start out as small grains and slowly enlarge over time as metamorphism proceeds. As they grow, they displace, replace, and include surrounding rock materials.
types of garnet
The 6 most common include:
Almandine, red or brown
Pyrope, red to purple
Spessartine, orange to red or brown
Andradite, green, yellow or black in color
Grossular, green, yellow, red, pink or clear
Uvarovite, green
Other types of garnet include:
small boiler
Majorite
goldmanite
Kimzeyite
knorringite
Katoite
Morimotoite
Schorlomite
Hibschite
Hydrogrossular
Each of these types of garnet has a different chemical composition that determines its color. For example, garnets made up of calcium are more green in color, while garnets made up of aluminium, iron, or manganese are more reddish in color.
Garnet location and deposits
Compliment: China, Madagascar, Myanmar, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, USA.
Rhodolite: Brazil, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, USA.
Almandine: Brazil, India, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and the United States. There are small deposits in Austria and the Czech Republic. Almandine garnet star stones are found in India and the United States (Idaho).
Spessartine: Brazil, China, Kenya, Madagascar, Myanmar, Namibia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, USA. The best specimens come from Namibia and are called “Mandarin Spessartine (Spessartine)”
Grossular: Canada, Kenya, Mali, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, USA.
Hydrogrossular: Myanmar, South Africa, Zambia
Hessonite: Brazil, Canada, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, USA.
Leuco Garnet: Canada, Mexico, Tanzania
Tsavorite: Kenya, Tanzania
Andradite: Russia
Demantoid: China, Korea, Russia, USA, Zaire
Melanite: France, Germany, Italy, USA.
Topazolite: Italy, Switzerland, USA.
Uvarovite: Canada, Finland, India, Poland, Russia, USA.
Properties
Garnet is a very energizing and regenerating stone. Cleanses and energizes the chakras. It inspires love and devotion, very useful in moments of personal crisis, since it is very practical when there seems to be no way out. Strengthens, activates and strengthens the survival instinct, providing courage and hope.
Mentally it helps to abandon obsolete and old ideas while, emotionally, it frees you from taboos and gives you self-confidence. On a healing level, it is a very useful crystal along with others, since it activates them and amplifies their effect. It also cleanses the negative energies of the chakras.
Place it especially on the earlobes, on the fingers or on the heart, in addition to the most suitable place on the skin. Useful in the third eye to remember past lives. Garnet has several varieties. We quote several additional properties of several of them: -Almandine. It is a very regenerating garnet that provides strength and vigor. It opens the higher mind and opens the path between the base and crown chakras. -Grossular.
Handy to have in tough times. Teaches how to stay relaxed. -Hessonite. Eliminate feelings of guilt and inferiority. It helps to look for new vital challenges in addition to opening the intuition. -Compliment. Gives vitality and charisma promoting an excellent quality of life. Unifies the creative forces and protects the base and crown chakras. -Spessartine.
It imparts the will to help others and strengthens the heart. It enhances analytical processes and the rational mind. -Uvarovite. It links the soul with its universal nature and stimulates the heart chakra while enhancing spiritual relationships. It is a very relaxing stone.
history and curiosities
The garnet is the protagonist of many ancient narratives, it plays a role in Greek mythology that is mentioned in the episode of the abduction of Persephone to hell, while in both Hebrew and Muslim traditions its splendor is to be praised.
Red Garnet has not only been mentioned in legends but also carved and worked as a gemstone since ancient times.
It was already highly valued at the time of the pharaohs of Egypt and the Roman Empire. In ancient times, garnets served multiple functions: from decorating mummified bodies in ancient Egypt; until being set in rings that were used as seals to close important documents in the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages.
Red garnets were the most common gems in late Roman times and among the barbarian peoples who took over the territory of the Western Roman Empire.
The Vikings used Garnet jewelry as funeral ornaments to illuminate the deceased on the journey to Walhalla, while the Crusaders decorated their armor with this gem to have more courage in battle and the victors adorned the shield and the hilt of the sword with Garnets as protection.
During the 18th and 19th centuries the Garnet will be especially loved and coveted as a Precious Stone, in particular the Bohemian Garnet.