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Garnet

Garnets are a set of closely related minerals forming a group, with gemstones in almost every color.

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Figure 1. Weighing 178.42 ct and measuring 44.00 mm in length, this smoky brown quartz crystal from Ramona, California, hosts a 3.3 mm garnet. Photo by Annie Haynes.

Quarterly Crystal: Spessartine in California Quartz

John I. Koivula, Nathan Renfro, and Maxwell Hain, August 2, 2024

A smoky brown quartz crystal from Ramona, California, plays host to a 3.3 mm reddish orange spessartine.

Figure 3. The 18K gold half link features a QR code that leads to a website with details about the garnets and the necklace’s creation. Photo by Robert Weldon; courtesy of Mary van der Aa Fine Jewels and Tucson Todd’s Gems.

Beyond Beauty: A Garnet Necklace Decoded

Erin Hogarth, May 3, 2024

A platinum necklace featuring 28 rare garnets won two 2023 AGTA Spectrum Awards.

Figure 1. A fine 925 ct crystal that was formerly displayed in the Texas State Capitol and sat on the governor’s desk in 1969 when the legislature adopted blue Texas topaz as the state gem. This specimen was found in 1904 and now resides in the Hamman Gem and Mineral Gallery in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin (catalog no. B0344). Photo by Blanca Espinoza.

Article

G&G Features in a Flash: Texas Topaz

From G&G Winter 2023; article by Roy Bassoo et al.
Phoebe Shang, May 1, 2024

Learn about Texas topaz history and geographic origin research.

Figure 1. This 2.20 ct Fancy Deep brownish orange treated HPHT-grown diamond owes its distinctive appearance to multiple defect concentrations created within the various growth sectors. Photo by Diego Sanchez.

Article

New and Notable Finds from the GIA Lab: Winter 2023

From G&G Winter 2023 | Lab Notes
Phoebe Shang, April 30, 2024

Discover a bicolor chameleon diamond, a diamond with carbon dioxide, and a pink square inside a diamond.

Sun setting over water in Northern Madagascar

Article

Gems of Northern Madagascar Video with GIA Field Gemology

Wim Vertriest, April 26, 2024

Learn all about the gems of Northern Madagascar in this exciting video with Wim Vertriest, GIA Manager of Field Gemology.

Hand holding demantoid garnet rough in matrix.

Article

The Latest in Field Gemology from Wim Vertriest: Sapphires and Demantoid Garnets from Northern Madagascar

Phoebe Shang and Wim Vertriest, March 22, 2024

Learn the latest on Madagascar sapphires and demantoid garnets from Wim Vertriest, GIA Manager of Field Gemology.

Figure 1. These indicolite tourmalines (9.27 and 6.16 ct) from Zambia are among the variety of gems Virtu Gem offers. Photo by Robert Weldon.

More on Virtu Gem’s Ethical Supply Chain Practices

Erin Hogarth, January 26, 2024

An update on Virtu Gem’s mission to improve artisanal mining and gem trading practices in Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia.

Figure 1. The color zoning in this 3.57 ct almandine garnet creates a cross structure that forms three-arm trapiche patterns at every intersecting point of the crystal. Photo by Le Ngoc Nang.

Trapiche Garnet from Vietnam

Le Ngoc Nang, Ho Nguyen Tri Man, and Pham Minh Tien, January 26, 2024

A rare occurrence of 14 trapiche patterns is observed in a garnet sample from Vietnam.

Figure 1. Demantoid garnet (0.84 ct on the left and 0.28 ct on the right) and an orange grossular garnet (0.55 ct) from Sonora, Mexico. Photo by Diego Sanchez.

Demantoid, Andradite, and Grossular from Mexico

Aaron Palke, January 26, 2024

A look at new gem material from the iridescent andradite deposit in Sonora, Mexico.

Figure 1. Lidded goblet from the collection of the Bavarian National Museum in Munich, embellished with red Bohemian garnets. Inventory no. 60/74, height 17.7 cm. Photo by Bastian Krack; courtesy of Bavarian National Museum in Munich.

Bohemian Garnets as Decorative Materials for Glass Vessels from the Late Sixteenth to Early Eighteenth Centuries

Karl Schmetzer, Hans Albert Gilg, and Hans-Jörg Ranz, January 26, 2024

Examines a technique for setting cut garnets on glass objects, invented by Claudius vom Creutz of Nuremberg in the late sixteenth century.

This Month's

Featured Gems

Peridot

Found in lava, meteorites, and deep in the earth’s mantle, yellow-green peridot is the extreme gem.

Fancy Color Diamond

Dazzling brilliance. Captivating color. These are the planet’s most valued gems.

Diamond

Diamonds are among nature’s most precious and beautiful creations.

Emerald

Emerald is the bluish green to green variety of beryl, a mineral species that includes aquamarine.

Citrine

Citrine is the transparent, pale yellow to brownish orange variety of quartz.

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Garnet

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