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| Grossular Garnet |
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| Grossular
Garnet |
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Grossular Garnets appear in many
colors: colorless, yellow, orange
and green to exceptional pink.
The most popular color is the
medium dark green variety, known
as Tsavorite, named after the
Tsavo National Park on the border
of Tanzania and Kenya, where it
was discovered. Tsavorite ranges
from light green to very dark
and the finest stones are clean
with an intense medium green color.
Garnets
date back to the Bronze Age (i.e.
more than 5,000 years ago), when
it was a very popular gemstone.
The name “Garnet”
is believed to have derived from
“pomegranate” with
its red, Garnet colored seeds.
Unlike other gemstones, Garnets
are believed to contain both protective
and destructive elements.
Garnets
are a group of related minerals,
containing cubic crystalline structure
with slight variations in their
chemical compositions. In all,
there are 7 major types of Garnets,
which include Almandine, Pyrope,
Spessartine, Grossular, Andradite,
Rhodolite and Malaia.
Though
the different types of Garnets
are made up of different chemical
components they all share a Refractive
Index of 1.72 - 1.94, Specific
Gravity of 3.40 - 4.30 and Hardness
of 6.5 - 7.5 on the Moh’s
Scale. And are found around the
world including: Kenya, Sri Lanka,
Thailand, Brazil, India &
Arizona (USA) in a wide range
of warm colors such as reds, oranges,
yellows and Burgundies, as well
as greens and some rare color-change
varieties.
As
Garnets display a wide variety
of colors, color becomes the most
important characteristic while
evaluating these stones. The color
must be intense and uniform with
a tone that is not too light or
too dark. Fine Garnets should
be eye clean with minimal inclusions
under magnification. Size is also
a very critical determinant of
the stone’s value.
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| Color Change Garnet |
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| Color
Change Garnet |
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Garnets are a group of minerals,
with slight variations in their
chemical composition. The 7 main
types of Garnets are Almandine,
Pyrope, Spessartine, Grossular,
Andradite, Rhodolite and Malaia.
The name Garnet has been derived
from the word pomegranate due to
its association with a rich red
color. However the stone actually
occurs in a variety of colors such
as reds, oranges, greens and color
change varieties.
The
presence of Garnets can be dated
back to the Bronze Age, which is
more than 5000 years ago, when it
was very popular. It is believed
to have guided the Noah’s
ark to salvation during the Great
Flood, according to the Jewish and
Christian mythologies. They are
also believed to contain both protective
and destructive power unlike other
gemstones.
Color
plays a very important role in determining
the value of Garnets. The color
should not only be uniform but also
have an intensity that is neither
too light nor dark. Fine Garnets
should be clean and have minimal
inclusions. Size also is an important
determinant of the stone’s
value.
Today
the bulk of Garnet supply comes
from Africa, though it is mined
in various other places such as
Kenya, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Brazil,
India and Arizona (USA).
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| Goshenite |
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| Goshenite |
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A source of beryllium and a gemstone,
Goshenite is named after the location
of its discovery, namely Goshen
in Massachusetts (US). Goshenite
is the name given to the colorless
beryl, which is considered to be
the ‘mother of gemstones’.
Though pure beryl is colorless,
the traces of different impurities
are responsible for this gemstones
wide color range. Thus it is assumed
that Goshenite is the purest variety
of beryl available (as pure beryl
is colorless). Though it is commonly
used in the gemstone markets, the
stone Goshenite has been said to
be on its way to extinction.
Available as a faceted gem, Goshenite
has a refractive index of 1.57 -
1.60, a hardness of 7.5 - 8 on the
Moh’s Scale and a hexagonal
crystal system. Goshenite (Beryl)
is famous for its perfect, six-sided
hexagon crystal formation.
All
beryl varieties including Goshenite
can be cut into various gem cuts.
Though sometimes perfect, transparent
crystals are worn as uncut necklace
pendants. And though Goshenite is
found in almost all beryl mines,
they are especially found in North
and South America, Northern Europe,
East Africa, South Africa, Himalayan
Asia and Colombia.
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