Gemstone Spotlight: Garnet

Here at KIR, we use garnet in our jewelry pieces in three ways: as tiny, delicate beads, as focal gemstones, and as a channel set. The deep red can often times be mistaken for ruby, but garnet is another silicate mineral that can come in a variety of colors but is most commonly light to deep reds. Garnet is notable for its glass-like luster making it an extra shiny gem. Garnet is unique in nature because within its igneous rock shell it preserves itself and is then an interpreter of the temperature-time histories of these rocks making them valuable to geologists. 

Garnet gemstones were first popular in Ancient Roman artifacts in which they were inlaid in gold with a cloisonne technique that decorated metal objects. In modern times, they are utilized more as stand-alone stones and are affordable in jewelry-making as well as being very easy to work with for any item.