Definition:

Garnets are a very popular family of gemstones used in jewelry making. The color of garnets used in most jewelry tends to range from an orange - red to a deep red color. However, the term garnet really covers a large group of stones and, therefore, come in all kinds of colors, even including yellow and green. The garnet beads used in my Faceted Garnet and Silver Hoop Earrings project are a dark red color.


One reason garnets are used often in jewelry making, other than they are just pretty, is because they are a fairly hard stone. Also, garnets are found in many locations around the world: South Africa, Madagascar, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Burma, Sir Lanka, India, Germany, and Italy.

According to Simon and Schuster's Guide to Gems and Precious Stones, the family of garnet stones originate from the following groups: pyrope almandine garnet; spessartite garnet; and grossular garnet. These different forms or groups of garnets are one reason for the different colors.

Most beading supply vendors will sell various types garnet beads, and lucky for jewelry makers, garnet is a fairly reasonably priced stone to work with. Some garnet bead suppliers will even carry garnet beads that have been carved into various shapes such as diamond shapes as well as cut facets on the beads.