For centuries, Garnet has been the symbol of love, passion, and friendship. Garnet jewelry is an excellent way to express your feelings to a loved one on their second anniversary, friendship day, or January birthday. Its wide variety of colors and affordability leave you with diverse options to choose from. But to get your perfect garnet jewelry, this is not enough. There are certain essential factors that you need to take care of before you make your final purchase. And to know what those factors are, scroll through our blog post that is written to enlighten you more on it.
What is Garnet?
Garnet is a group of minerals that contains gems of the same physical properties but different chemical composition. All these different varieties are known to be its species. Garnets are mostly associated with red, but they come in almost all colors. Among them, green, orange, and burgundy are highly valued. Red wine-colored color garnets are mostly confused with rubies and green garnets with emeralds. When buying Garnet Jewelry, you must know which species of garnets you are choosing and ensure that you are not confusing them with similar-looking stones.
How to Buy Garnet Jewelry
Evaluate Garnet’s Color
Any color of Garnet you choose for your jewelry should be rich and vivid. The most commonly chosen colors are red, green, and orange. Let us understand what is valuable and what is not.
Red Garnet Value Factors
Tone plays the most important role. The red tones in garnet can be darker and appear to be brownish or black. The stone for your jewelry piece should be redder with less of a dark tone, like brown. A few gem cutters will create windows in order to lighten the dark tone. This can result in the stone being washed out. So, instead of buying that, invest your money in a good quality stone, as garnet comes at an affordable price.
Purplish red, dark red, and crimson are the most valued red colors in garnet. They are still affordable and receive experimental and free form cuts.
Orange Garnets Value Factors
The orange garnet, spessartine, is one of the most valued garnets due to its fiery orange tone. The more reddish orange and fiery it is, the more valuable it is. The ones with a deeply saturated, intense blood orange and pumpkin color demand the highest price. The amber color tone in this category comes at a lower price.
Hessonite garnets that come in reddish orange and honey color are less popular and less expensive than orange ones due to their many inclusions.
Green Garnets Value Factors
Green Garnets are green like Emeralds and are more valuable than yellowish green and grass green stones. Neither too dark nor too light a tone is suggested.
In Grossular Garnet’s variety, Tsavorite is an intense green in color. Its emerald-like appearance has made it very popular. And Andradite’s variety, Demantoid because of its light tone and yellowish green color is less valuable and expensive. High quality stones give competition to emeralds not only in color but in pricing too. So, if you want your jewelry piece to stand out, go for something that looks vibrant green.
Don’t compromise on Cut
The appearance of the stone depends on how well rough garnets are cut, shaped, and faceted. The well-cut garnet stone will display the maximum brilliance. Garnets are usually cut into standard shapes like ovals, cushions, princesses, and marquise so that they fit easily into jewelry.
And some fine quality garnets like Tsavorite are cut in a way so that their maximum weight is retained because, for more carat weight, they can charge a higher price.
Here are a few of the most common and mostly used cuts of Garnet.
- Star Cut: This cut is best for smaller sized garnets because multiple stones are stringed together to create a sparkling effect.
- Diamond Cut: This classic round diamond cut is considered the best for fine quality garnets. The round cut is considered one of the best shapes as it enhances the fire and brilliance like no other cut. So, the superior quality garnet will dazzle more in these cuts.
- Checkerboard cut: This cut is ideal for bigger-sized garnets and goes well with round and oval shapes.
- Cabochon Cut: This cut enhances the brilliance and color of the garnet stones that have good clarity.
Clarity of Garnets
The clarity of the stone depends highly upon its species. Some species like Pyrope, Almandine, and Rhodolite do not have readily visible inclusions, which is the reason you will get them at a higher price than other species. and some species, like Spessartine and Hessonite, have visible inclusions.
Look for Heat Treatments
Many gemstones receive enhancement treatments, but garnet is not one of them. They are not artificially treated as treatments are not effective on these gemstones. In fact, their original color and clarity are good enough to qualify them as a jewelry piece.
Styling of Garnets
Colorful Garnets like green and orange are used as side accents with solitaires for a luxurious appeal. Mostly, dark red and wine are used as single stones with diamond accents. Go for any contemporary design where multiple colors can be utilized in the best way. Dior’s “Versailles Côté Jardins” collection is one of the best examples of this, as he tends to use gem bouquets that contain bright colors like Spessartine and Tsavorite garnets along with diamonds and other precious stones. It’s a mix of bright colors and electric hues. Garnets in a variety of colors fit perfectly into such kinds of jewelry. Even “Van Cleef and Arpels” is known for jewelry with unusual color combinations, like using Spessartine garnets to add the right pop of color and contrast with blue sapphire and green garnet, Tsavorite.
Red garnets give you more of a vintage vibe. In earlier times, the stone came in rose cuts with milgrain or filigree designs.
Speaking of the metal, yellow gold is considered the ideal one for garnets as it brings out the best in the red, brown, and orange tones of garnets and does full justice to them by giving them an antique look.
On the other hand, white gold brings out a contrast color look, and rose gold is good for a more modern and contemporary look. Orange’s warmth is enhanced with yellow gold, and green with white gold is chosen for a cool appearance.
If you are planning to buy a Garnet engagement ring, it would be ideal if your garnet stone is surrounded by lighter shades like diamonds and white topaz, because contrasting colors will bring out the best of the garnet’s color. Go for yellow gold metal for a classic look and rose gold for a vintage touch.
Find a Right Retailer
It is important to find a retailer who shows you the different hues of garnets rather than limiting you to one. Only if you see them in person you realize how beautiful each one looks. This will surely impact your choice for the better.
Choose Unusual Colors
The unique thing about garnet is its rainbow of colors, and taking advantage of that is suggested. You can go for unusual colors because not only do they look beautiful, but at an affordable price.
Ask for Lab Report
The lab report is the final and strongest proof of confirmation of the quality of the jewelry that you are buying. It is a document that provides a sufficient assessment of the jewelry piece. Always ask for a lab report to save yourself from fraud.
Garnet is a birthstone for January born people and a gemstone dedicated to their second anniversary. You can buy fine quality Garnet Jewelry with Rosec Jewels where you can find everything from chic and everyday to classic and dramatic styles in Garnet Rings, Garnet Earrings, Garnet Bracelet and Garnet Pendant Necklace. Get started by taking a plunge to look more vibrant and outstanding.