Garnets are a group of silicate minerals. They are comparatively hard (7 – 7.5 on the Mohs Scale) and are ideal for making jewellery. With different chemical compositions, garnets exhibit wide range of hues one can imagine and even possess colour changing character under different light spectrum. Light transmission and refractive properties also vary. Specimens bearing brilliant transparency and luster together with intense colour are highly sought-after.
Garnet crystals resemble seeds of pomegranate. That is how their Chinese name “Pomegranate Stone” (石榴石) comes from. Garnets can be found in various parts of the world and high quality garnet gemstones usually come from Africa and India.
Usage of garnets have been known since Bronze Age. Noah is said to steer his ark through darkness with the help of a garnet lantern. In ancient Egypt and Greece, garnets were commonly used as jewellery. They were also seen as protective stones for travelers against evil and disaster. Nowadays, garnet is the state gemstone of New York and the birthstone of January.
Spessartite (lot 163 and 164) is a category of garnet. It gains its fame from a recent discovery in Namibia. The jewellery world is stunned by its fiery orange to red colour and compares it to comet in the universe. It is also given the name “Mandarin Garnet”. Rarity of the mine together with the difficulties in mining have pushed up the price of this precious gemstone remarkably.
Thanks to the rich colour spectrum, garnets today can quite happily keep pace with the changes of styles and colour trends of fashion, giving impetus to the world of jewellery.