All About Garnets and American Rubies

Names of Garnet

Garnet is a gem mineral which varies greatly in composition, and in its various forms is known under the different names of almandite or almandine, pyrope, rhodolite, cape ruby, and carbuncle. The color is usually a dark red, but the mineral also occurs in green, rose, and brown tints. The mineral is a silicate, and the other components of its composition determine which particular variety of garnet it is. Garnets often occur as small grains in beach sand because the rocks in which the minerals occur are more easily weathered away than the garnet which thus remains in the form of sand. The garnet crystals are then always found near the water's edge, since the specific gravity of the mineral is high and the waves can, therefore, carry it only a short distance up the beach. The name garnet comes probably from the Latin word granatus, meaning like a grain. It is said to have arisen because the crystals were thought to resemble in color and size the seeds of the pomegranate.

The garnet most valued as a gem is termed almandite, and is of a rich cherry, claret, or blood-red color. These stones were first mined near the city of Alabanda, in Asia Minor, and the same source was much exploited by the Romans in their day. The stones are still known as Syrian garnets. This same mineral occurs in large quantities near the mouth of the Stickeen River, Alaska, but is not of sufficient transparency to be greatly used as a gem.

Another variety, and probably the most numerous one of the garnet mineral, is known as pyrope. It does not vary much in color from almandite. The mineral is almost always found in eruptive or volcanic rocks, and is a constituent of the diamond-bearing blueground of South Africa. From this fact the finer specimens of the gem are termed in the trade cape rubies.

The home of the pyrope is, however, Bohemia. Although the stones were known in this region for centuries it was not until after Karlsbad had become an international center that interest was taken in the scientific mining and polishing of the gems. Since then the fame of these garnets and their usefulness in the arts when not of sufficient fineness for jewels has led to a thorough exploitation of the field, and Bohemia may be considered to have been for many years the garnet center of the world. As has been said, these garnets should technically be called pyrope, which is derived from the Greek word meaning "fire," a name given them in ancient times because of their brilliant color.

American Rubies

In America some fine garnets have been found. These are termed, however, rhodolite, or American rubies, and are really much like almandite. They occur most abundantly in Arizona, New Mexico, and southern Colorado. They are especially abundant among anthills, being removed by the ants because their size stands in the way of the excavations of the busy insects. They are gathered largely by the Navajo Indians and are sold to American gem dealers. In color and brilliancy they often surpass the African gems known as cape rubies.

Carbuncle

The word carbuncle is often popularly used to designate a garnet. This, however, is a misnomer. Ordinarily any fine red stone cut encabochon might be termed a carbuncle. This latter name came from the Roman word carbunculus, which in turn is a derivation of the Latin word carbo, meaning coal, and was at that time bestowed on any stone displaying the fire-like color and reflection which is characteristic of the various stones now termed garnets. As all these stones in ancient times were cut in the round shape, the name has come down to us as carbuncle, and its association with the garnet has always been preserved. However, scientifically carbuncle refers merely to the shape of the stone, and not at all to its composition or mineralogical variety.

One of Oldest Semiprecious Stones Known