Garnet: From Stone to Star

Garnet often occurs as naturally multifaceted, brightly colored, transparent, single crystals. These crystals represent chemically diverse solid solutions with a remarkable range of colors, which are largely controlled by the crystal chemistry of transition elements such as Fe, Mn, Ti, Cr, and V. These same optical properties have given garnet important cultural and historical relevance as a sought-after gemstone, from biblical times to the present day.