Name Origin: its name derives from Latin (“grain”) and is due to the rounded crystals of this group. This is a group of different colored minerals with similar crystal structure and similar chemical composition in almost all colors. Red garnet is one of the most common and widespread gemstones, found in metamorphic rocks (which are rocks altered by heat and pressure) on all continents. But not all garnets are as plentiful as red ones. A green garnet, Tsavorite, also occurs in metamorphic rocks, but is rarer because it needs unusual rock chemistries and special conditions to form.

Main Colors: red with brownish or violet hue, orange and brownish-red, green, yellow, pale, black, brown, yellowish-brown, emerald green.

Producing Countries:The different species and types of Garnet are extracted from different locations around the world. Precious Demantoid in Russia and Namibia, Tsavorite in Kenya and Tanzania, Pink Red Rhodolite and Pyrope in India and Sri Lanka, Mandarin Garnets in Namibia. But the main producers of garnet as a whole are Australia, USA, India and China.

Common Shapes: oval, drop, round, and cushion.

Usual Treatment: aside from standard cutting and polishing, Garnets are not treated at all.