Garnet covers a wide range of colors and types. The whole thing is called the Garnet Group. All Garnets are an aluminum silicate with something else added that accounts for the various colors.
Pyrope is a magnesium aluminum silicate that is red with a brownish tint. It is what most people think of when they think of Garnet.It is found in the USA, Myanmar, Tanzania, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and South Africa. Oddly enough, grains of Garnet can be found around the bases of ant mounds. They remove them as they are digging their tunnels.
Spessartine or Spessartite is a manganese aluminum silicate that is bright orange when pure, but an increase in iron content can make the stone darker. The best examples come from Namibia, but it was originally discovered in the Spessart, Germany.
Almandine or Almandite is an iron aluminum silicate that is a darker red, generally, than Pyrope. It is opaque more often than not. It is found in Brazil, India, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and the USA.
Uvarovite is a calcium chromium silicate that is bright green in color. Uvarovite druse is one of my favorites. The best clear crystals are found in the Ural Mountains in Russia lining cavities or rock fissures. Other sources are Finland, Turkey and Italy.
Rhodolite is a light pinkish red Garnet.
Grossular Garnets are basically calcium aluminum silicates. The two best know varieties are Hessonite (brown-red) and Tsavorite (green to emerald green).
Demantoid Garnet is sometimes considered the most valuable Garnet. It is green to emerald green.
Melanite is an opaque black Garnet.
Gold
The abbreviation for gold on the periodic chart of elements is Au. It can be a gold-yellow, brass-yellow or pale yellow in color and does not tarnish. Gold rarely combines with other elements as an ore, but it does occur in quartz. Gold in quartz is highly prized as specimens and when made into cabochons.
Many mines in North America have become famous for the value in gold they produced and the great span in years that the mines were in production.
Gold has been used in jewelry since the Stone Age. This is due, primarily to two facts, it can be found lying on the surface of the ground and it is very easy to work.
The name is thought to be Anglo-Saxon in origin. Aurum is a word that is frequently associated with gold and is the origin of the abbreviation, Au.
Howlite
There is a lot of "sleeping beauty blue", "gaspeite green" and "apple green" "turquoise" on the market right now that is actually color enhanced Howlite.
I don't think there is anything wrong with enhancing stones as long as you are clear about it.
In its natural state, Howlite is white with black or dark brown veining. When dyed blue, it looks a lot like Turquoise. It has also traditionally been dyed to resemble Lapis Lazuli.
Jade
There are many kinds of Jade on the market today, including color enhanced Jades. Helping to confuse the issue is a tendency of Chinese cutting houses to call many different stones "Jade" if they don't really know what the material is.
When most people think of Jade, they think of the material called Jadeite, and they typically think of green. In actuality, Jade occurs naturally in many colors: lavender, brown, black and yellow, for example.
Jade is a sodium aluminum silicate and is very tough. All those Chinese carved Jade sculptures you see are a testament to Chinese patience and skill. Also, because of it toughness, it was used for arms and tools and is sometimes called "axe stone".
Imperial Jade is a Jadeite from Burma (Myanmar) and is colored emerald green or "Prell Shampoo green". It is the most highly prized Jade.
Maw-sit-sit is a rock composed of a mineral related to Jadeite (Kosmochlor) combined with varying amounts of Jadeite, Albite, Feldspar and other minerals. Its color is a deep vibrant green with dark green-black spots or veins caused by Chlorite. It comes from Burma.
Nephrite is a calcium magnesium iron silicate and occurs in much the same colors as Jadeite. It is even tougher that Jadeite and is more common.
What is commonly called China Jade is a Nephrite that is a combination of some parts white and some a brilliant green. It is very striking to look at and comes mainly from China.
Russian Jade is a trade name for spinach-green Nephrite from the region of Lake Baikal, Russia.
There are Jades on the market called "New Jade". These are mostly Serpentines (see). Serpentine is always associated with Jade and vice versa.
Jadeite and Nephrite can be found in Australia, Brazil, China, Canada, Zimbabwe, Russia, Taiwan and Alaska.
Jasper (see Chalcedony)
There are more types of Jasper than can easily be discussed here and more are being added to the bead world all of the time.
Basically, Jaspers are cryptocrystalline quartzes (silicon dioxide) and belong to the Chalcedony Species (see). Although, sometimes scientists put Jasper in its own group. Jasper occurs all over the world.
The commonly know Jaspers are: Leopard Skin (spotted tan, rust, black), Picture, Picasso, Silver Leaf (striped black, gray, beige), Poppy, Red and Yellow, for example. There is one stone that has the trade marked name "Ocean Jasper"...it is actually an agate.
Most of the less common Jaspers are found in specific areas and are named for the area: Bigg's Picture Jasper, Bruno Jasper, Imperial Jasper, Palomino Picture Jasper and Owyhee Jasper, to name a few. These last listed Jaspers are pretty much something and worth searching out just to see them.
In many Petrified Woods (see), the organic material has been replaced with Jasper, sometimes Chalcedony and rarely Opal.
One of the new Jaspers on the market is known as "Japanese Paint Brush", "Art Stone" or "Viewing Stone". Dianne is partial to this one.
Since we originally wrote this, there have been a whole host of new jaspers come on to the market in the form of beads. One is called Black Wave Antique and looks a great deal like the highly prized Bigg's Jasper, but at a fraction of the cost. It is a rich dark brown and black with the most elaborate banding.
