Gemstone Information
Garnet Color: What Color Is Garnet?
There is no typical Garnet color when talking about this incredible gemstone. Garnet gems are among the most beautiful colored stones, being valued for their magnificent brilliance and top-notch hardness. Garnet refers to many different minerals that all belong to the same family. In fact, no specific stone is known as a garnet because the term refers to a number of gemstones, available in different colors, making them perfect for any occasion. All Garnets vary in their chemical composition, but have similar crystal structures. In accordance to their varying chemical compositions, garnets come in 6 different yet common species as determined by gemology, including almandine, pyrope, grossularite, spessartite, andradite and uvarovite.
Garnet Color
Garnets are classified according to their unique colors and their chemical make up. For the sake of this article we will be focusing solely on the color of the Garnet and what type of Garnet comes in the color. It is worth noting that multiple Garnet varieties can be the same color. A good example is the green Garnet. Green Garnets can be either a Tsavorite Garnet, Demantoid Garnet or a Grossular Garnet.
The graphic below from Lina Jakait? is an amazing representation of how the color of Garnet changes depending on what chemical is present. This graphic is used with permission and can you read more info about the author on their LinkedIn profile here.
Almandine/Almandite Garnet (Red)
Red in color with a violet tint, this gem is composed of iron aluminum silicate.
Andradite Garnet (Green / Yellow)
Comprising of melanite, demantoid and topazolite, this gem is a calcium iron silicate.
Color-Change Garnet (Multi Colored)
A rare gem, this stone varies in color, ranging from orange or brown during the day to rose-pink when exposed to incandescent light. It is a blend of pyrope and spessartite garnet gems.
Demantoid Garnet (Green / Yellow)
Thanks to its unique dispersion and luster, demantoid, a variance of the andradite garnet gems, is the most valuable of all garnet stones.
Grossularite/ Grossular Garnet (Orange, Green, Yellow)
Comprising of leuco, hessonite, tsavorite, grossularite and hydrogrossular garnet gems, this group of stones are made up of calcium aluminum silicate.
Hessonite Garnet (Orange)
Dubbed the ‘cinnamon stone’, this gem, a member of the grossular group, comes in a brownish-red hue.
Hydrogrossular Garnet (Green)
A member of the grossular gem group, this green stone is opaque and dense, a jade look-alike.
Leuco Garnet (Colorless)
Colorless in tone, this is a member of the grossular garnet group.
Mali Garnet (Yellow)
A combination of the andradite and grossular garnet gemstone, the Mali garnet is a hybrid stone with magnificent dispersion and luster.
Melanite Garnet (Black)
An andradite stone variety, this garnet is opaque and black in color.
Pyrope Garnet (Purple / Red)
Red in a color with a brown undertone, this gem is a magnesium aluminum silicate.
Rhodolite Garnet (Purple, Pink)
A combination of the almandite and pyrope stones, this gem is a hybrid available whose color tones range from purple to ruby-red.
Spessartite/Spessartine Garnet (Orange)
With color tones ranging from orange-red to mandarin-orange, this gem is typically a magnesium aluminum silicate.
Star Garnet (Red)
Known for their star effect (asterism), this rare kind or stone is only found in India, and Idaho in the US.
Topazolite Garnet (Yellow)
This gem’s similarity to the yellow topaz is the reason behind its name. A member of the andradite gem group, this stone is available in color tones ranging from lemon-yellow to pure yellow.
Tsavorite Garnet (Green)
Ranked 2nd in terms of value and a member of the grossular garnet gem group, this stone has a chrome finish, resulting in color tones ranging from emerald green to bright green.
Uvarovite Garnet (Green)
Available in an emerald-green color tone, this gem is a rare quality stone and a calcium chromium silicate.
As you can see there are so many colors that Garnets come in. It makes it a very versatile and well loved gemstone. Next time you are considering a gemstone based on color, don’t forget about the Garnet family. There is surely a stone color to suit you.
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