January's birthstone is famous for being as red as a ruby, but this colorful gem actually comes in every color but blue. Discover this elusive chameleon

THE ABCS OF GARNET

Garnet, January's birthstone, is one of the most exciting gems on the market. This hard, durable and often very brilliant gem offers great versatility because of its variety. Believed to represent faith, loyalty, truth and devotion, garnet is known as the stone of commitment. Most people think of garnet as a single type of gem that is dark red in color. Actually, garnet is a gem family that spans a range of red, green, yellow, orange, purple and brown shades. A majority of the garnet varieties on the market can be classified as one or a mixture of five types:

Rhodolite garnet, a mix of pyrope and almandine, is found in light to dark pink to purplish red, even grape. Malaya--a rare garnet blend of pyrope and spessartine that is found only in Tanzania--comes in extraordinary bright light orange shades. There is also color change garnet that reveals strong purplish red in incandescent light to bluish green in fluorescent light. And star garnet--found in the United States in a reddish purple variety--displays a faint four-rayed star, similar to a six-rayed star ruby.

Its name comes from the Latin "Granatus," which means "seed-like." Many garnet crystals have the shape and color of pomegranate seeds. On the Mohs scale of hardness, garnet ranks 6.5-7.5 -- hard but somewhat brittle, so avoid impact which could nick or crack the stone. Faceted garnets can display brilliant, rich, lustrous colors that look good in sunlight and artificial light.

In addition to an array of colors, garnet is found in a various sizes. In almandine and pyrope large stones of 40-50 carats are available, but gems exceeding 20 carats are usually not cut due to dark color saturation. In grossular and spessartine garnet stones over 10 carats are rare. In color change, tsavorite and demantoid garnets, gems over 3 carats are scarce.

Natural gem-quality garnet varieties can be found in many parts of the world, including: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Madagascar, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Bohemia, Russia, Pakistan, India, Canada, Mexico and the United States (Arizona, Virginia and California).

To clean garnet, use warm soapy water and a soft brush. An ultrasonic cleaner is safe for most garnets, except andradite (demantoid). Do not steam clean garnet. It is important to buy gemstones from a reputable retailer who will provide, in writing, all pertinent information regarding the gems including enhancements and special care notes.

BUYING GARNET

Color is most important when determining the value of garnet. Lively, bright colors usually command higher prices than gems that are too light or dark. But remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and color preferences are subjective. Of course, clarity, cut and carat weight also factor into the cost of a gem. Better quality garnets are usually eye clean and very high clarity (not many inclusions) under magnification.

Almandine and pyrope (and a mix of the two) are the most common types of garnet on the market. Their widespread availability makes them extremely affordable (under $40 a carat). Rhodolite, particularly in its reddish colors, and spessartite in its bright orange red, are more uncommon and therefore more valuable than pyrope and almandine. Spessartite is commonly called Mandarin garnet because in its best color it resembles mandarin oranges.

The most rare and valuable of the garnet species are tsavorite (green grossular) and demantoid (green andradite). Tsavorite--in a lively, strong, bright green color--can command several hundreds of dollars per cart depending on quality and size. Demantoid, considered the queen of garnet, has exceptional brilliance, a higher dispersion than diamond, and a lustrous emerald-green color. A fine demantoid can command several thousands of dollars per carat depending on its size and quality. Demantoids are softer than other garnets, and must be protected from scratches and abrasions.

Demantoids have been very hard to find ever since its exclusive Russian sources dried up. A new Namibian mine has brought them back, but just barely. Mondera.com carries some excellent tsavorite and spessartite samples in our Gem Store. Garnet is one of the few natural gemstones not commonly enhanced to improve its color or clarity. However, garnet is often imitated. The laser industry has perfected some synthetic garnets with crystalline structures similar to the natural gem, but different in chemical composition (it's a non-silicate). Synthetic ruby and spinel are also used as a garnet simulant, as is glass, particularly in inexpensive birthstone jewelry.

GARNET HISTORY

Truly an ancient gem, garnet's history dates back to long before the birth of Christ. Noah used a fiery red garnet as a bow light while he sailed in torrential rain for 40 days and nights. Garnet was also a popular gem for ancient Egyptian jewelry artisans. Green demantoid garnet was a favorite among Russian Tsars.

Garnet was thought to help the wearer resist melancholy, cure heart palpitations, word off evil spirits, spark creativity and provide a grounding influence. This gem was endowed with the power to protect against poison, cure lung and blood diseases, and remedy anger and discord. It was also a talisman for travelers to keep them in good health.

The name garnet is believed to have come from the pomegranate, a fruit which features seeds of a deep red-purple color which resembles rhodolite garnet.

In addition to its place as January's birthstone, garnet is a recommended gift for couples celebrating their second wedding anniversary. According to Arab tradition, garnet was also the zodiacal gem for Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).

TSAVORITE GARNET

When you close your eyes and think of East Africa, you probably see the brown hills of the Serengeti, the untamed herds of wildlife, the blue of the African skies. What you probably don't imagine is the color green. But in the savannah, some of the most brilliant green is right there--hidden underground.

In Tanzania in 1968, a handful of brilliant green pebbles were discovered to be a totally new gemstone. It was first thought to be a strange gemological fluke. Then the lush green and brilliant grossular garnet was also discovered on the Kenya side of the border in 1971, in the Taita Taveta district.

Since this garnet was far from the dark red of bohemian garnet as most imagine, it deserved a name of its own. In 1974, the green garnet was named "Tsavorite," after the famous Tsavo National Park game preserve in Kenya by Tiffany & Co in New York, who simultaneously introduced the gemstone to the world market.

Tsavorite has a beautiful vivid green color, is bright and lively with a high refractive index, and has a garnet's durability and high clarity. Tsavorite comes from the East African bush: all the mines currently producing are in an arid grassy area with bare dry hills that runs across the border from Kenya to Tanzania. This area is home to snakes and an occasional lion.

Hundreds of millions of years ago, this land was covered by the ocean. Layers of organic sediment were deposited, eventually forming shale. Then the land was subjected to intense heat and pressure, folding and uplift, metamorphically changing the ocean floor into new minerals. This twisting and torturing of the rocks gave birth to the unusual gemstones of East Africa, many colored by the vanadium which is plentiful in these rocks because of their organic history in the ocean floor.

The geology which produces tsavorite is graphitic gneisses, rich in calcium from the seams of marble which lace through them. Tsavorite is often found in pods with a coating of quartz or scapolite, which the miners call "potatoes." The green color is most often due to vanadium from the host rock but some tsavorite is also colored by chromium, the element that greens emeralds.

The heat and folding of the rock hundreds of millions of years ago which formed tsavorite also shattered most of the crystals. It is very rare to find tsavorite in sizes larger than five carats, and most faceted stones are below two carats. Many deposits of tsavorite are small and unpredictable: seams suddenly narrow and disappear, giving no indication where to look next.

HOW RARE IS TOO RARE?

Tsavorite is cut mostly in Tanzania, Kenya and in Idar-Oberstein in Germany. Idar is known for innovative cutting and tsavorite is no exception. The cutting industry in Kenya has also started to offer fancy shapes and a larger range of sizes.

Tsavorite's rarity, as well as its beautiful green color, calls to mind the lost queen of the garnet family: demantoid garnet, discovered in Russia's Ural Mountains in 1868. Demantoid was also available mostly in small sizes. Mining of this exquisite, brilliant green garnet exhausted supply after only about 30 years and fine examples are exceptionally rare prizes for gem connoisseurs.

Perhaps the association with demantoid has hurt tsavorite: The rarity of the stone has ledjewelers around the world to treat tsavorite as a specialty item, a rare stone for collectors, not a beautiful gem to highlight in design jewelry. But better jewelers and designers have begun to explore tsavorite's potential, and some of the results are truly special.

There is potential for mining tsavorite in other areas of Kenya and Tanzania but development of new mining areas, which requires investment in machinery and high operating costs, is unlikely until demand rises. And, ironically, demand hasn't started to rise because the supply is too limited!

Eventually, the beauty of tsavorite is bound to win over a wider audience. To see tsavorite is to appreciate its appeal. The recent widening of the market for tanzanite, which came through an increase in the supply available, may convince more jewelry designers to feature this gemstone, so more people have the chance to see how deeply green a garnet can be.