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It has hardness of 6.5 - 7.5 Mohs. It is formed of a group of silicate minerals and its specific gravity is 3.5 - 4.3.
Garnets - aren't these the wonderfully deep red gemstones which are often found in antique jewellery? Well, this is only the partial truth, as a warm and deep red is inde ed the most frequently occurring colour for Garnets. But unfortunately only few people know that the realm of Garnets holds many more bright and beautiful colours. The traditional image of Garnet has been brightly transformed by spectacular founds, mainly from Africa. Although red remains the major colour, Garnets today easily adapt to any new colour trend in fashion due to the rich range available. And because of the new founds, there are reliable sources for steady supply in these fancy colours. All this explains why this very gemstone family manages to keep on providing new impulses for the jewellery events in our days.The following varieties of gemstones come under it -
Almandine: Orangy red to purplish red
Andradite: Yellowish green to orangy yellow to black
Demantoid: Green to yellow green andradite
Topazolite: Yellow to orangy yellow
Grossular: Colorless; also orange, pink, yellow, and brown
Tsavorite: Green to yellowish green
Hessonite: Yellow orange to red
Pyrope: Colorless; also pink to red
Chrome pyrope: Orange red
Pyrope-Almadine: Reddish orange to red purple
Pyrope-Spessartine: Greenish yellow to purple
Malaia: Yellowish to reddish orange to brown
Color-change garnet: Blue green in daylight to purple red in incandescent light
Rhodolite: Purplish red to red purple
Spessartine: Yellowish orange
Uvarovite: Emerald green
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