Garnet is a coveted gemstone since the Bronze Age (c. 3300 BCE). Trade brings this enchanting creation to Egypt, Mesopotamia and other prosperous civilizations of the ancient world. Garnet adorns the crowns of kings.
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Garnet belongs to the group of silicate minerals found in the Earth's crust. Colors of fiery orange, brilliant red to mystical purple hues are most popular. Rare blue garnets were discovered in the 1990's. Quality green stones are also much desired.
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Fundamentally garnets are made of the same materials. Different colors and textures come from the composition. The name garnet derives from a Middle English meaning 'dark red'. Garnet has various values in religion, nature spirituality and gem magic.
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According to popular sources, evidence of garnet use is first found in the Nile Delta c. 3100 BCE. Egyptian artisans use gemstones as beads or jewelry inlays. Egypt has no local quality garnet. Trade with Sudan (then Nubia), brings valued gemstones into Egypt.
There are about twenty varieties of garnet for jewels and industrial use. In Latin garnet is called granatum. Red garnet glows like the juicy, rich red seeds of the pomegranate, which are the size of small garnet crystals.
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Pomegranate has a high status in religion, culture and history, as one of the seven ancient foods given to the people by the god(s). The foods can sustain a person throughout the year.
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Garnet is the birthstone for the month of January. Rich red garnet is the life force, essence of the body and passion. Orange tones relate to fire, forward motion and optimism. Green garnet connected to the Earth, creation and nurturing. Yellow is a happy heart.
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Garnets are magnetic due to their iron content. The garnet is the only semi-transparent stone to respond to a jeweler's magnet. Magnetism, with the refractive index, can distinguish garnet species and varieties, and determine the composition of garnets.
Also called hessonite garnet, gomeda in Indian literature is one of the 9 jewels in Vedic astrology composing the Navaratna. Hessonite is for the ascending lunar mode of Rahu, one of the nine cosmic bodies.
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Among the various qualities of garnet and garnet species, light transmission helps decide the value and use of the gem. Garnet light transmission properties can create most precious transparent gems for jewelry and ornament.
Also called blood stones, garnets are used in the ancient Far East on sword hilts and daggers in the hope of shedding the blood of the enemy. In Australia, river garnet is often found as placer deposits, the naturally sharp edges worn smooth by action of water.
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Later, the Romans (after c. 800 BCE) become enamored of the deep red stone. Romans ascribe qualities to various gemstones, such as amethyst, which they believe helps stave off drunkenness. The red garnet is passion, victory in war, lust for life and sexual appetite.
The mineral's luster is categorized as vitreous (glass-like) or resinous (amber-like). Due to their hardness, opaque garnet varieties such as almandine or almandite are used as abrasives in industrial production.
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The Mohs hardness scale rating of garnet is 6 to 7.5, with the harder stones used in abrasives. The 'softer' stones are typically the translucent jewelry quality gems.
Garnets can be chemically altered, and most often transform to serpentine, talc, and chlorite. For finishing woodwork, crafters prefer fine garnet sandpaper. Garnet powder or sand is also used in sandblasting and to polish glass, which is 6.5 on the hardness scale.
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Garnet is a stone of power and deep spiritual connection. In jewelry garnet produces a soft reflective glow. In the ancient world, magic and spiritual energy exists in all things. In crystals the essential qualities can change and respond to touch, light or treatment.
Most garnet forms when sedimentary rock with high levels of aluminum content, such as shale, is subjected to extreme heat and pressure. These break the chemical bonds present in rocks, causing the minerals to recrystallize.
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Garnet often appears in the metamorphic rocks gneiss, hornblende schist, and mica schist. Pyrope or gem-quality stone is found in South Africa, Sri Lanka, China, and Madagascar. Almandite stones come from India, Brazil, and the USA.
The ancient Egyptians have local mines for turquoise, beryl, emerald, amethyst and malachite. They import Baltic amber and Indus Valley carnelian. No garnet mine is known in modern or ancient Egypt.
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Red garnet does occur in metamorphic rocks of the Eastern Desert and the Sinai. This garnet might also be found in placer deposits.
Due to the inferior quality of the available stone, though, most garnet used by ancient Egyptians is acquired through trade. Papyrus, wheat, linen, salt fish, glass and faience are among the active Egyptian exports.
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The Egyptians have strong commercial contacts including the mythical Land of Punt, Nubia (Sudan), Ethiopia, Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley civilization. They deal in gemstones and more with Mycenaean Greeks, Phoenicians and other ambitious trading cultures.
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