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Garnet Rings
By the term 'garnet', the specialist understands
a group of more than ten different gemstones of similar chemical composition. It is true to say that red is the colour most
often encountered, but the garnet also exists in various shades of green, a tender to intense yellow, a fiery orange and some
fine earth-coloured nuances. The only colour it cannot offer is blue. Garnets are much sought-after and much worked gemstones
- the more so because today it is not only the classical gemstone colours red and green which are so highly esteemed, but
also the fine hues in between. Furthermore, the world of the garnets is also rich in rarities such as star garnets and stones
whose colour changes depending on whether they are seen in daylight or artificial light.
Garnet has a hardness of
7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale. With a few minor exceptions it applies to all the members of the garnet group, and it is the reason
for the excellent wearing qualities of these gemstones. Garnets are relatively insensitive and uncomplicated to work with.
The only thing they really don't like is being knocked about or subjected to improper heat treatment. A further plus is their
high refractive index, the cause of the garnet's great brilliance. The shape of the raw crystals is also interesting. Garnet
means something like 'the grainy one', coming from the Latin 'granum', for grain. This makes reference not only to the typical
roundish shape of the crystals, but also to the colour of the red garnet, which often puts one in mind of the seeds of a ripe
pomegranate. In the Middle Ages, the red garnet was also called the 'carbuncle stone'. And even today, fantasy names like
Arizona ruby, Arizona spinel, Montana ruby or New Mexico ruby are still rife in the trade.
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Small 6x7 freeform of dark red material from somewhere on the East Coast of the US, I can't remember correctly, but I
think it came from Virginia. After I cut into this shape to preserve as much of the original stone as possible, I set it
in a custom-made bezel cup and mounted it on size 8 hammered sterling silver band.
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Very pretty, petite ring with a 4 mm commercially cut baroque round cabochon from India mounted on a size 6 sterling
silver half-round band.
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