What's That Rock?Garnet
A group of related minerals, most often deep red. It grows as chunky round crystals with many faces.
How to identify Garnet
- Round, many-sided crystals (12 or 24 faces)
- No flat splitting planes: it breaks unevenly
- Often embedded as dark red grains in schist
Often confused with
- Rubyharder, usually pink-red
- Red glass
- Tourmaline
- Spinel
Real or fake?
- Red glass often shows bubbles; garnet has a steady, deep red glow with flecks inside
Is Garnet valuable?
Common garnets are inexpensive. Rare green garnets (demantoid, tsavorite) cost much more.
Typical retail prices
Tumbled stone$2–6each
Cut gemstone$5–60per carat
Collector specimen$5–60each
Rare green demantoid and tsavorite cost many times more than common red garnet.
Typical retail ranges in US dollars, compiled from public dealer and marketplace listings in October 2026. Real prices vary widely with quality, size and origin. This is general information, not an appraisal.
What changes the price
- Type: common red almandine and pyrope are modest; rare green demantoid and tsavorite, orange spessartite and color-change garnets cost far more
- Color and clarity: deep, bright, eye-clean stones cost the most
- Size: stones above a few carats are rare in the rare types
- Crystals: well-formed garnets on matrix are inexpensive collector items
Uses
- Jewelry
- Industrial abrasive (sandpaper and waterjet cutting)
Care
Durable. Safe to wash with mild soap.
Identifying a stone from a description or a photo is an estimate. Many stones look alike. Ask an expert or a gem lab before you buy, sell or rely on an identification.
Updated October 2026