Garnets are a collection of minerals that are closely related and produce
gemstones in nearly every colour. Red garnets have a long history, but today's gem purchasers have a wide selection of colours to choose from, including greens, oranges, pinkish oranges, profoundly saturated purple reds, and even blues.
On every continent, red garnet can be found in metamorphic rocks (rocks that have been transformed by heat and pressure). However, garnets in other colours are not as plentiful as red garnets. Tsavorite, a green garnet, can also be found in metamorphic rocks, but it's more rare because it requires unique rock chemistry and conditions to form.
Whereas, A Ruby is a gemstone that ranges in colour from pinkish red to blood
red and is a variation of the mineral corundum (aluminium oxide). Ruby is an
extremely durable gem and one of the most popular traditional jewellery jewels.
Sapphires are other gem-quality forms of corundum. Ruby, along with amethyst,
sapphire, emerald, and diamond, is one of the classic cardinal stones.
The name ruby derives from the Latin word ruber, which means “red.” The
element chromium is responsible for a ruby’s hue.
Spessartine (also known as spessarite) is an orange garnet, and rhodolite is a
stunning purple-red garnet. Garnets, like the uncommon gemstone alexandrite, can undergo colour changes.
Garnets all have a similar crystal structure, although their chemical composition
differs. There are about twenty different species of garnet, but only five of them
are commercially valuable as jewels. Pyrope, almandine (also known as
almandite), spessartine, grossular (grossularite), and andradite are the five minerals that make up this group.
Some rubies, such as the Black Prince’s Ruby in the British Imperial State
Crown, are actually spinels, despite their popular or historical names. These were previously referred to as “Balas rubies.”
Uvarovite, a green garnet, is commonly found in the form of tiny crystals that are
difficult to cut. It can be found in jewellery as clusters. A lot of garnets are
chemical blends of two or more garnet species.
History and legends around garnets
Red garnet necklaces adorned the necks of Egypt's pharaohs thousands of years ago, and they were entombed alongside their mummified bodies as valued keepsakes for the afterlife. Signet rings with cut garnets were used to stamp the wax that sealed important documents in ancient Rome.
Carbuncle was a name used in ancient times to describe red garnets, but it was also applied to nearly any red stone. Carbuncle was regarded as one of Gods four valuable stones bestowed upon King Solomon.
Red garnets were among the most extensively traded jewels centuries later, during the period of Roman historian Pliny (23–79 AD). Red garnet was appreciated by clergy and nobility during the Middle Ages (from 475 to 1450 AD).
With the discovery of the famous Bohemian garnet resources in central Europe
around 1500, red garnet became more widely available. This location became the hub of a thriving regional jewellery industry that peaked in the late 1800s.
History and legends around Ruby
Color, cut, and clarity of a ruby influence its quality, which, combined with carat
weight, affects its value. Blood-red or pigeon blood, the brightest and most
precious hue of red, fetches a significant premium above other rubies of
comparable grade. Following colour is clarity: a clear stone will fetch a premium,
similar to diamonds, but a ruby without any needle-like rutile inclusions may imply that the stone has been treated.
The traditional July birthstone is ruby, which is often pinker than garnet, though
certain rhodolite garnets have a pinkish tint comparable to rubies. The Sunrise
Ruby is the most precious ruby ever sold at auction.
Ruby is derived from the Latin word rubens, which meaning “red.” Rubies come in a variety of red hues, ranging from deep darkish red to pigeon blood red and
pinkish red. Traces of the mineral chromium are responsible for the red colour.
Rubies with a full, rich red hue with just a trace of blue tones are the most
valuable.
Physical characteristics of Garnet
Garnet species come in a variety of colours, with reddish tints being the most
frequent. The rarest garnets are blue garnets, which were first discovered in the
1990s.
The light transmission qualities of garnet species can range from gem-quality
translucent specimens to opaque variations employed as abrasives in industry. The shine of a mineral is classified as vitreous (glass-like) or resinous (amber-like).
Because garnet’s chemical makeup varies, some species have stronger atomic
connections than others. As a result, the hardness of this mineral group ranges from 6.0 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale. The tougher species, such as almandine, are
frequently used as abrasives.
A pick-up reaction to a powerful neodymium magnet distinguishes garnet from all other natural transparent gemstones typically utilised in the jewellery trade for gem identification. Magnetic susceptibility measures, together with the refractive index, can be used to identify garnet species and varieties, as well as assess the composition of garnets in terms of percentages of end-member species within a single gem.
Physical characteristics of Ruby
On the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, rubies have a hardness of 9.0. Only
moissanite and diamond are tougher than other natural gems, with diamond having a Mohs hardness of 10.0 and moissanite being in between corundum (ruby) and diamond in terms of hardness.
Sapphire, ruby, and pure corundum are all -alumina, the most stable form of
Al2O3, in which three electrons leave each aluminium ion to join the regular
octahedral group of six nearby O2 ions; in pure corundum, this leaves all of the
aluminium ions in a very stable configuration with no unpaired electrons or
unfilled energy levels, and the crystal is perfectly colourless.
In the crystal formation process, the chromium concentration in artificial rubies
can be controlled to be ten to twenty times lower than in natural gemstones.
“Because of the low chromium level in these crystals, they display a softer red
colour than gemstone ruby and are referred to as pink ruby,” says Theodore
Maiman.
There is a brief period of time after absorbing short-wavelength light when the
ruby crystal lattice is stimulated before fluorescence starts. If 694-nanometer
photons pass through the crystal at that time, they can induce more fluorescent
photons to be emitted in phase with them, increasing the red light's intensity. A ruby laser produces a very high intensity of coherent red light by configuring mirrors or other ways to pass emitted light through the crystal repeatedly.
At the Close,
Garnet is a powerful stone for attracting and activating passion and success. It can help you get rid of emotional and energetic obstacles that are limiting your vitality, as well as old patterns that may be getting in the way. Garnet is supposed to help the body achieve energetic and emotional harmony.
Whereas,
Rubies are said to energise and balance the body, stimulate the heart chakra, and inspire a love of life, but never in a self-destructive way. They are able to deal with tiredness and hyperactivity. They heal fevers, illnesses, and restricted blood flow by detoxifying the body and blood. They stimulate the adrenals, kidneys, reproductive organs, and spleen, and are helpful for the heart and circulatory system.