Grossular Garnet
Grossular garnets range from colorless (rare) through shades of yellow and orange. The orange to brownish orange pieces, primarily from Sri Lanka and India, go by the variety name "hessonite". The rich color is imparted by traces of iron in their chemical makeup. Hessonites usually have grainy and/or swirly inclusions which create a characteristic internal picture known as "treacle". Lighter oranges, yellows, and peachy colored stones often come from famed Canadian deposits in Alberta. The few colorless pieces, usually scooped up eagerly by collectors, generally originate in California. African light green stones, colored by chromium and/or vanadium, which aren't in the color range of Tsavorites are sometimes called "Merelani mint" or just green grossular.
A closely related species is the translucent to opaque hydrogrossular garnet, of Mexico and various African countries. These stones range from green through multicolored and have been long used as jade substitutes in cabs and carvings, sometimes under the name "Transvaal Jade".
Grossular garnets are excellent gemstones. With a hardness of 7.25 and good toughness they are wearable in any type of jewelry and require no specialized
care. Although it's unusual to find grossular garnets totally flawless at 10x, the inclusions are generally balanced by their lovely colors and excellent brilliance and luster. There are no known enhancements or synthetics to worry about. So there's no reason not to branch out from the red and green garnets and explore this interesting group of gemstones. Spessartite Garnet
Named for Spessat, in NW Bavaria, Germany, this orangey, lusrous garnet variety is not well known outside of gemological circles. Ranging from red to
reddish orange to orange to orangey yellow to orangey brown this variety is the manganese aluminum silicate member of a solid solution series of garnets. In general, the less iron which is present in the crystal structure, the lighter and purer orange the color will be. With a higher refractive index and polish luster than most of the garnet group, a clean, well polished specimen of this variety is a delight to the eye. Tsavorite Garnet
Tsavorite, or transparent, green grossular garnet, was discovered in Kenya in the 1960's and given its trade name by Tiffany marketers based on the
proximity of Tsavo National Park to the mine sites. It is one of the most sought after and valuable types of garnet. The color ranges from lime green to emerald green to pure spectral green and is caused by high vanadium content. Rarely found better than eyeclean, typical inclusions are straight or angular corrosion growth tubes, fingerprints, feathers, veils and graphite inclusions. The Benefits of Garnet Jewelry
In addition to being absolutely exquisite to look at, garnet jewelry offers the following benefits according to our friends at Emily Gems:
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