Search Results

Types

Articles (189) G&G Articles (157) Press Releases (3) Photos & Videos (55)

Topics

Color (22) Optical Properties (12) Cut (2) Grading (1) See All Topics

Gemstones

See All Gemstones

XClear Selections

Article

Garnet Description

Garnets are a set of closely related minerals that form a group, resulting in gemstones in almost every color.

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.

Gas bubbles hide just beneath natural crystal inclusions in this garnet and glass doublet. Photomicrograph by Emily Jones; field of view 1.58 mm.

A Red Herring in a Red Garnet

Emily Jones, November 3, 2023

Transparent crystal inclusions and gas bubbles are observed in a garnet-topped doublet.

An opaque crystal, likely a metal sulfide, is suspended in a garnet. A combination of darkfield and oblique fiber-optic illumination makes it appear as though the crystal is hovering inside the stone. Portions of the inclusion are duplicated because of its split across several facet junctions, adding to the visual interest. Photomicrograph by E. Billie Hughes; field of view 4 mm.

Guest in Garnet: Metal Sulfide?

E. Billie Hughes, August 4, 2023

An intriguing metallic inclusion is observed in a faceted garnet.

$A purplish pink xenomorphic octahedral garnet crystal seen in a diamond. Note the trigons on the upper right octahedral face and stress fractures around the intersections of the crystal faces. Photomicrograph by Britni LeCroy; field of view 1.26 mm.$

Xenomorphic Garnet in Diamond

Britni LeCroy and Virginia Schwartz, May 23, 2023

A purplish pink garnet crystal formed in the same octahedral shape as its diamond host.