For thousands of years, people have been drawn to garnets because of their stunning beauty and deep meaning. But many people who want to buy garnet jewelry wonder: how much are garnets really worth? Knowing what makes garnets valuable helps you understand how much they’re really worth.
A Brief Background on Garnets
The Latin word “granatum,” which means pomegranate seed, is where the word “garnet” comes from. Since ancient times, people have loved these stones. In Egypt, pharaohs used them as seals, and in Rome, people engraved their names on them. In the Middle Ages, people believed garnets could protect them, help with depression, and keep them from having bad dreams. The January birthstone is now linked to friendship, love, and good health. Gavrites are most valued for their red color, but they can also be pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, black, or light color.
What Impacts Garnet Value?
Like other gemstones, several key characteristics determine the value and pricing of garnets:
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Color – Rare garnet colors like green blue, peach and colorless demand a higher price. Among greens, tsavorite and demantoid are especially valuable.
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Clarity – Garnets like almandine and pyrope are typically eye-clean. But types like spessartine contain more visible inclusions, impacting value
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Carat Weight: It’s hard to find big garnets, especially in rare types. Value rises significantly with carat size.
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Cut – Garnets have traditional cuts for easy setting. Specialty gems like tsavorite feature cuts that maximize carat weight.
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Source – Locations renowned for certain garnets increase value, like rhodolite from Sri Lanka or tsavorite from Kenya and Tanzania.
Garnet Value by Type and Quality
Let’s explore the price range for different garnet varieties:
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Common Garnets – Almandine, pyrope, and rhodolite in eye-clean qualities with rich color range from $500 to $700 per carat.
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Spessartine – These orange garnets with some inclusions cost around $1,000 per carat on average.
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Hessonite – Similar to spessartine, values range from $600 to $2,000 per carat.
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High Quality Garnets – Clean, large gems with excellent color like rhodolite can reach between $1,900 to $7,000 per carat.
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Demantoid – One of the rarest and most brilliant green garnets, these fetch $2,000 to over $5,000 per carat.
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Tsavorite – Rivaling diamonds in beauty, tsavorite is also exceptionally rare and costs from $2,000 up to $8,000 per carat.
While not GIA graded, some jewelers use proprietary grading scales for garnets based on the 4Cs. In general, garnets with vivid color, few inclusions, and larger carat weights receive top ratings and higher values.
Should You Invest in Garnet Jewelry?
For the right pieces, garnets can be a smart investment. Tsavorite and demantoid in particular are poised to appreciate as demand grows and supply remains extremely limited. When sourcing investment-worthy garnets, prioritize gemstones:
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With rare and desirable colors like green, blue, or colorless
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Minimally included or eye-clean
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Over 1 carat in size
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Well cut to optimize beauty
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From renowned localities that add prestige
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Accompanied by gemological lab reports from reputable graders
While more common red garnets may not gain value rapidly, they remain an affordable gem to enjoy with steady pricing.
Choosing the Perfect Garnet
Understanding the nuances around garnet quality and value helps you select the perfect piece based on your budget and preferences. Whether buying garnets as a gift or for your own collection, you can feel confident appreciating their worth. With their stunning colors, meaning, and durability, garnets are a cherished gem that will retain their beauty for generations.
Garnet in the Past
The name garnet comes from the Latin word granatum, which means grain or seed, like the deep red seeds of a pomegranate that the gemstones resemble. This popular stone has awed people for thousands of years. The pharaohs of Egypt wore necklaces made of red garnets, and the Romans used carved garnets as seals to keep important papers safe. In the Middle Ages, the gemstone acted as a means to cure depression. Some groups viewed the stones as a talisman against evil, disaster, wounds, poisons, and bad dreams.
Garnets are the January birthstone, and many believe garnets keep wearers safe. It’s worn to protect and balance the wearers by helping to feel grounded. In addition to protection, it’s said that this stunning gemstone brings love, luck, health, loyalty, and friendship to people who wear it.
From the Bronze Age on, garnets, a group of silicate minerals, have been used as gems and as abrasives. You may know garnets for their deep red color, but they also come in orange, brown, yellow, pink, green, blue, and colorless. Peach, green, colorless, and blue garnets are more rare.
These stones are popular for their durability when treated with care and their hardness. On the Mohs scale, this gemstone scores 6.5 to 7.5 out of 10. Garnets should not be subjected to any hard blows or rough wear in order to protect them.
Garnets are found in many places throughout the world, including Brazil, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Russia, USA, and China. Different locations produce varying stone colors. For example, Sri Lanka is known for rhodolite garnet, the common deep reddish purple variety.
Like most gemstones, color, clarity, carat, and cut impact garnet’s quality, and as a result, its price. Here’s more detail about each of these factors.
A garnet’s color is an important factor. The reddish hue is the most popular and abundant. However, you can find stones available in other colors (orange, brown, yellow, pink, green, blue, and colorless). Peach, green, colorless, and blue are rare.
While demantoid and tsavorite garnets are both rare and green, they’re different varieties. Tsavorite is a grossularite garnet and demantoid is an andradite garnet.
Typical garnet clarity depends on its type. For example, the red garnets almandine, pyrope, and rhodolite typically do not have eye-visible inclusions. It’s common for some types of orange garnets, like spessartine and hessonite, to have inclusions seen by the naked eye.
You’ll find these beautiful gemstones in various weights and sizes. Some garnets are large in size but still affordable. The more rare garnets, like demantoid and tsavorite, typically found in small sizes, so their value goes up significantly with size.
Garnets like almandine are typically found in larger sizes, so there is not a huge rise in value as size increases.
Many garnets are cut into standard shapes and sizes to allow easy setting into jewelry. Rare and expensive garnets, like tsavorite and demantoid, get cut into different shapes to retain the most carat weight.
Many garnets are cut into standard shapes and sizes to allow easy setting into jewelry. Rare and expensive garnets, like tsavorite and demantoid, get cut into different shapes to retain the most carat weight.
Are Garnets a good gem? Not Just A Birthstone For January/What makes Garnet so Interesting?(2020)
FAQ
How much is a garnet worth today?
Current Market Prices for Garnets Garnets with good color and some inclusions can range from $500 to $700 per carat. Cleaner, larger garnets with excellent color can cost between $1900 and $7,000 per carat. Demantoid and tsavorite garnets are among the most valuable and rare colored gemstones.
Are garnets a valuable stone?
Genuine garnet jewelry is generally affordable compared to other precious stones like diamonds and sapphires. However, rare garnet varieties, such as demantoid and tsavorite, can fetch higher prices. Jan 18, 2024.
How much can I sell garnet for?
Garnets vary depending on the quality. A 1-carat garnet with inclusions could cost around $500 while a cleaner garnet with a more rare color could cost between $2,000 and $7,000 per carat. More rare garnets, like demantoid and tsavorite, will cost more.
What color garnet is rare?
Green and blue are the rarest Garnet colours, with Tsavorite being the rarest variety of all. Shortly after its discovery by Campbell R. Jan 3, 2025.