Ring Garnet Carnelian Peridot natural stone

Garnet, the name comes from the Latin word 'granatus' meaning seed, as the individual crystals resemble seeds.

The group of garnets contains over a dozen different varieties of precious stones. The main difference between the garnets is the different color. Although the red tint is most common, there are also garnets of other colors: green, yellow, orange or blue. The variety of colorful varieties surpasses most other minerals. Many of them are very rare and extremely beautiful. There are several main types of garnet used in the manufacture of jewelry: pirop, almandine, hessonite, spessartine, grossular, rhodolite, andradite and uvite. The most famous of these varieties are the red ones: almandine and piropy.

Pirop garnet is the only one that is always red in color. It is one of the most popular of the entire group of garnets used in jewelry, and its name comes from the Greek word 'pyropos' , meaning similar to fire.

Occurrences: Czech Republic, India, Maurutania, Germany, Russia, South Africa, United States.

Almandine garnet is very popular garnet, also known as Ceylon ruby and was already popular in Roman times. The name was given by a Roman scholar, Pliny the Elder, who called it 'alabandicus' linking the name to the place where the stone was found, Alabandyn in present-day Turkey.

Almandine contains aluminium and iron, and its color is caused by the presence of iron. While garnets are common in metamorphic and some igneous rocks, almandine is the most common garnet found in shale and gneiss. Transparent almandines are popular in jewelery, although they are quite brittle and the polished edges crumble easily. Nevertheless, it is the hardest of the garnets and can withstand heavy use. The prettiest specimens have a clean and uniform color. They are said to give depth and spirituality to human relationships.

The Almandine is usually darker than the Pirope, but because they are close together, most of the Red Garnets are hybrids of both stones. Both pure almandines and pure pyropes are extremely rare. In fact, the formation of spessartine, almandine and pyrope is closely related as spessartine containing magnesium gives iron to almandine or magnesium to pyrope.

Occurrences: India, Norway, Pakistan, Russian, United States , Sweden , Italy, Zimbabwe.

Garnet in astrology: Vedic astrology links garnet with the planet Rahu (Hessonite garnet). Western astrology links garnet with the zodiac sign of Scorpio, with the month of January, and with the day of Tuesday.

Magic and mysticism: According to beliefs, the garnets protects against evil, brings success and peace. Also known as a love stone, especially when given.

Carnelian, the name probably comes from the Old French 'cornele', a cornel fruit. Carnelian is a type of chalcedony with a brown-red, translucent or opaque color. The color may be uniform or there may be streaks or stripes. The color is influenced by the admixtures of iron, such as hematite and goethite, trapped in the colorless silica.

The mineral was appreciated in ancient times, especially by the Romans and Greeks. At that time, a cameo was made of carnelian, it was also a very popular stone used in signet rings. The Romans believed that the dark color of carnelian was a symbol of masculinity, and the bright color of femininity, or that the stone could soothe the nerves.

Occurrences: England, Australia, Brazil, Czechia, France, India, Japan, Madagascar, Germany, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, the United States, Ukraine, Uruguay.

Carnelian in astrology: Western astrology links carnelian with the zodiac sign of: Aries, Taurus, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, and with the month of July.