Garnet
Garnet
The word "garnet" comes from the Latin "granus" meaning "grain", in reference to the somewhat rounded shape of its crystals but also to the seeds of a very mature grenade. Many discoveries had taken before garnet is not simply associated with the red color, but also with a multitude of colors.
The childhood of discoveries
In everyone's mind, we often see that garnet purely and simply evokes a red stone. This is without counting on the range of colors that this family of gems provides us with !!! Indeed, just like sapphire or even tourmaline, garnet can take many different clothes of light. This group has many species, in which many varieties appear ... It is therefore a large family, whose common character lies in the fact that each of its members are united by an identical crystal structure. It is their varied chemical compositions that offer us a string of color combinations!
Philippe Tournnaire likes to sublimate these gifts from nature by placing for example a red-for-a-hearted garnet called Rhodolite, as a central stone in the heart of a unique creation, or by completing a harmony of colors with small calibers of lively green grenats called tsavorores . Large is the extent of the charm that grenats give off: from purple to red-orange, from pink to red tinged with brown via yellow-orange or even bright green, the green-threw ... there is for everyone Tastes and all budgets! And as in all large families, everyone is distinguished by their characteristics born from their own journey, while starting from the same foundations!
Grenats: a group, species, varieties
All the grenats Share the same crystalline structure, namely that their crystals are cubic in its raw state, with a slightly rounded appearance. Only their chemical composition differs somewhat depending on the species and varieties. Their hardness oscillates between 6.5 and 7.5 on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being that of the diamond. Out of more than twenty species, there are 5 adults as being the best known on the market: pyrope, Almandin, Spessartite, Grossular and Andradite. One of the peculiarities of the Grenats comes from the fact that many of them actually constitute the fruit of a mixture between 2 or more species. This is how garnet rhodolite (dark red variety with red-row tinged with purple) was born from the association of Pyrope and Almandin, in the same way as most red grenats.
The same goes for the garnet Malaya (orange-red fire variety), crossing between pyrope and spessartite with a small dose of Almandin ...
Unlike more deemed gems such as emerald, garnet does not require any particular treatment and is often devoid of inclusions that could go against its beauty. Besides, the garnet has been used many times as a substitute for a more expensive stone or requiring man's intervention to reveal his light. A red garnet can be just as beautiful as a ruby, just like a green garnet can boast of being even more lively and more brilliant than an emerald, without having been treated. The abundance of grenats and their diversity of colors are also a major asset as well as a key element of their success with a large audience, won over time.
The origins of a family rich in color
Word "Garnet" comes from the Latin "granus" meaning "grain", in reference to the somewhat rounded shape of its crystals but also to the seeds of a very mature grenade. Many discoveries and decades will have taken before garnet is not simply associated with the red color, but also with a multitude of more vibrant colors than the other. According to legend, Noah would have used a garnet lantern to light her night navigation on the ark. This gem is considered very bright when its color is lively.
The garnet has always been appreciated by the greats of this world. Set in sovereign ornaments, garnet allowed his wearer to testify to his success, his wealth. In the Middle Ages, he was commonly called a squarch.
At that time, the clergy and the nobility particularly affected this red garnet. Bohemian grenate deposits from central Europe discovered around 1500 allowed the Red Garnet to know its peak in the world of jewelry until the end of the 18th century.
He later became one of the most widespread gems around the globe, as the discoveries of other sites. Among the Red Grenats, the most appreciated and used in jewelry is garnet rhodolite. In addition to the famous red, there are the brilliant greens of Tsavorite and Dismantoid, the intense orange of Spessartite, the purple reds, purple of Pyrope and Almandin, among many other Grenats ... french kiss Rose and garnet.
Rhodolite
Rhodolite is an aluminum, iron and magnesium silicate. His name comes from the Greek"Rhodon"For" pink "And"Lithos"For Pierre. Discovered for the first time in North Carolina in the United States in the 1880s, rhodolite is a variety born of a mixture of 2 species: pyrope and Almandin. Its color can be described as red tinged with purple or red-spray and is also sometimes pre-full. It appears in a large panel of calibers and was a great success with jeweler creators, such as Philippe Tournaire. Its main current sources are Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Madagascar.
The pyrope
The pyrope is an aluminum and magnesium silicate. Greek"Pyropos" For"Burning eyes, a look of embers" Because of his incandescent red. Its color generally varies between the intense orange-Red nuanced brown and the red tinged with purple. Widely used in jewelry during the era of Queen Victoria (1837-1901), this garnet is now much appreciated by the collectors of ancient jewelry. It is sometimes called "bohemian garnet", in reference to an ancient important source. The most important deposits can be found today in South Africa and the United States.
Almandin
Almandin is an aluminum and iron silicate. Red garnet oscillating between the red-orange and the red pulling on purple, it owes its name to the city of Asia Minor called Alabandus. In 3100 BC, the Egyptians used Almandin in inlays of jewelry Or even worked to make garnet pearls. The main sources are Brazil, India, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the United States.
Spessartite
Spessartite is an aluminum and manganese silicate. The colors of this species range from orange to red tinged with brown, not passing an orange with a hint of intense yellow or red, the sparkling orange being the most popular spessartite color.
This garnet takes its name from its formerly important source: Spessart, in Bavaria. The biggest deposits are now found in Brazil, Madagascar, Myanmar, Namibia, the United States and Sri Lanka. One of the renowned grenats in jewelry is garnet Malaya, a mixture of pyrope and spessartite. Ranging from orange tinged with more or less pronounced yellow, pink or red, this gem was discovered in East Africa in the 1960s. It is very coveted when it is dressed in bright orange. Its sources are Tanzania and Kenya. Lonely Round Grenat Red Grenat Village.
Tsavrite
Tsavrite is one of the species of grosses and is in fact an aluminum and calcium silicate, associated with the vanadium which gives it its lively color. This gem of a sparkling and intense green, sometimes tinged with yellow owes its name to the Tsavo park, Kenya National Park, where it was discovered in the 1970s. Most Tsavorites are small calibers and its few deposits there make it less abundant than many grenats. Its main sources are as for garnet Malaya, Kenya and Tanzania.
The dismantoid
The dismantoid is a variety of the Andradite species. It is a calcium and iron silicate. It owes its vibrating green to the combination of chrome and iron. Its name means "like a diamond" in Dutch, in reference to its Adamantin brilliance. Its color goes from green to green tinged with yellow, with more or less pronounced shades. What is remarkable and rare in this garnet is the beauty of his inclusions that belong only to him and which can influence his value.
These typical inclusions are called" ponytail " : These are in this case crystal fibers from a central point and then irradiate (like a straw boot, a ponytail or a comet). However, not all dismantling automatically reveal these inclusions if unique under the microscope, it all depends on their provenance. It is very common for example to see these inclusions in the dismantling of Russia. It was also in 1868 that this solely prized garnet was discovered in the mountains of the Urals in Russia. From then on the dismantoid decorated the most beautiful ornaments of Victorian jewelry (1837-1901) and Edwardian (1900-1915).
The jeweler Russian Fabergé was very inspired by creating sumptuous parts for the Royal Family of Russia. Today the main sources of dismantling are Namibia, Russia and Zaire. Still many other varieties and species of grenats exist: nature has not finished dazzling our eyes and awakening our curiosity with these gems treasures! Stone of January, large group made up of species and varieties, garnet constitutes one of the centerpieces ofjewelry both ancient and contemporary. Through his creations,Philippe Tournaire manages to magnify this light which makes radiate the varied colors of the beautiful and large family of garnet. Let yourself be charmed by the shimmering greens of Tsavorites and Dismantoids, by the flamboyant reds of Rhodolites, Pyropes and Almandins, or by the brilliant oranges of Spessartites, Malayas!
Grenats will not end up surprising you!
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