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by Julie Lee of Julie's Jewelry Design, LLC.
Garnet is the traditional
birthstone for those born in January and for all Aquarians. This gem is also
used to honor the 2nd and 18th wedding anniversaries.
Garnets are a closely related group of gemstones that are
available in a rainbow of colors. Most people only think of small dark red
gemstones, but this is only one aspect. Garnet is a gemstone for all seasons.
Just think of the oranges of autumn leaves, the glowing red coals of a winter
fire, the sparkling green of a summer field, and the beautiful pinks of spring
flowers all hues found in the garnet family.
There are garnets with color-change phenomena, translucent
green garnets which resemble jade, garnets with stars, garnets that have been
mined for thousand of years and garnets that were just discovered in the last
decade.
Rhodolite, Mozambique, Tsavorite, and Spessartite are the
four main garnet selections available from us. (Other garnets may be ordered by
contacting one of our Gemstone Special Order Consultant.) Rhodolite
garnets are the purple to purplish red mixture of almandite and pyrope primarily
mined in Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Mozambique garnets are red to
brownish red and are classified in the pyrope garnet species. Tsavorite are
bright yellowish green to intense green grossularite garnets mined in Tanzania
and Kenya. Spessartite garnets range from yellowish orange to reddish orange and
are primarily mined in Tanzania and Kenya. Spessartite garnets range from
yellowish orange to reddish orange and are primarily mined in Brazil and Sri
Lanka.
Rhodolite garnets are available in faceted and cabochon
styling. Faceted Rhodolite is available in our "AA" quality and in four
color/quality combinations of Signity" machine cut stones. Signity" preset
Thodolite are also offered from out gemstone inventory, and another recent
addition to our selection is the checkerboard cut in "AA" quality.
Mozambique garnets are also available faceted and cabbed.
These gemstones are our "AA" quality and include the new checkerboard cuts.
Tsavorite is available faceted, currently in five shapes,
in light, medium, and dark "AA" quality stones.
The newest addition to our garnet selection is the
spessartite garnet species. Spessartite is currently available in round, oval,
marquise, and square shapes in "AAA" quality. We are in the process of expanding
our selection of these popular garnets.
Also available in limited quantities are color change
garnets. These garnets are produced by a pyrope-spessartite mix and range in
color from slightly grayish green in daylight to reddish purple in incandescent
light.
Julie Lee is a web designer and founder of
Julie's Jewelry Design, LLC. Julie's Jewels is a
Texas based retail jewelry company specializing in high quality, affordable
jewelry pieces created to be treasured for a lifetime.
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