Garnet, Green, Top Quality, Natural, Smooth Round, One 8mm Strand

Garnet, Green, Top Quality,  Natural, Smooth Round, One 8mm Strand.

This price is for one bead strand 15 to 16 inches long. 

8mm strands have 43 to 48 pieces. 

Garnets are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different species are pyrope, almandine, spessartine, grossular, hessonite, tsavorite, and more. 

Garnet species are found in many colors including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, brown, black, and colorless, with reddish shades most common. However, many lower quality garnet beads are dyed to deepen the red color and make the beads more evenly red.    

The word garnet comes from the 14th‑century Middle English word meaning 'dark red', or seeds of a pomegranate. Today, different types of garnet are found across different parts of the globe. Garnet is found in Brazil, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, India, Madagascar, US, as well as China and Kenya.

Rhodolite Garnet is the name used to describe the lovely pink, purple or purple-red garnet which is a mixture of Almandite and Pyrope. It usually containing more magnesium than iron in its chemical structure compared to other garnets.  Rhodolite was first named in the late nineteenth century to describe the new rhododendron shade of garnet discovered in North Carolina. Its name is derived from the Greek "rhodon" for "rose-like". Rhodolite is not officially recognized as a mineralogical term, but rather used as an accepted trade name.

Rhodolite garnet deposits occur in Brazil, Burma (Myanmar), China, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), South Africa, Tanzania, the USA and Zimbabwe.

Hardness 7 to 7.5

This is a natural stone that has had no treatment other than cutting, drilling, and polishing In China.