The Bohemian Garnet Story

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G is for Garnet _____________________________________________________________________________________ GARNET – The Bohemian History G is for Garnet, the ancient gem that received its name from the Latin word “granatus”, referring to the food we eat, such as grain or seed. This association comes from its similarity in looks to the pomegranate seed. Throughout ancient history the pomegranate has been revered as a special fruit with mythological and symbolic references to life, love and legends.

The close relationship between pomegranate and garnet has linked the garnet to similar myths and legends and has given it some of its legendary distinctiveness.

Garnet has a very long history and this can be traced as far back as the Ancient Egyptian period, and even before. For instance, in Greek mythology Hades gave Persephone a gift of pomegranate to lure her back to him. She complied and returned to him every year for three months. This could be the reason the pomegranate, and therefore the garnet, is associated with eternity, the gift of love, and the gift to heal broken bonds between lovers.

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A Bohemian garnet brooch from the 19 century. Photo: courtesy National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library.

Could this also be the reason behind the timeless romanticism of the Bohemian garnet? Why it became so popular and remained so fashionable all through the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries?

Let’s find out more.

Garnet is a large mineral group with a variety of mineral species within this group. Each specie has its own name, chemical composition and colour range. Here are the details: Garnet Almandite Andradite: Grossularite: Hydrogrossular: Malaia: Pyrope: Rhodolite: Spessartite:

Chemical Composition Fe3Al2(SiO4)3 Ca3Fe2(SiO4)3 Ca3Al2(SiO4)3 Ca3Al2(SiO4)3-x(OH)4x ((Mg,Mn)3Al2(SiO4)3) Mg3Al2(SiO4)3 ((Mg,Fe)3Al2(SiO4)3) Mn3Al2(SiO4)3

Gem Colour reddish orange to red yellowish green, yellow, brown, black dark yellow to orange, green, colourless bluish green, white, pink, gray pinkish orange orangey red to red purplish red yellowish orange

From the above listed garnet group we shall pick Pyrope garnet, as this is the mineral specie of the gem known as the Bohemian garnet, found specifically in Bohemia in the north of the Czech Republic in earlier centuries.

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G is for Garnet _____________________________________________________________________________________ Colour The word Pyrope stems from the Greek words “pyr” for fire and “ops” for eye, a good enough reason to understand this garnet’s intense colour range from fiery-red to a deep blood red.

Pyrope garnets do not generally come in sizes larger than 2ct, but even the smallest millimeter grains of Pyrope garnet will show this intense red colour.

Gem Cut and Treatments

A graphic drawing of the faceted rose cut.

The earlier Bohemian garnets were predominately cut in the faceted rose cut, or the cabochon style, also known as ‘carbuncles’ in old fashioned terms. From the 19th century on, the larger gem sizes were beginning to show the brilliant cut style and the smaller gems remained in the rose cut style. The brilliant cut does exactly what the name says: it improves the brilliant look of a gem and this is what brilliant cut Bohemian garnets did to the jewellery, gave it even more sparkle.

Bohemian garnets were often imitated in glass.

The Use of Garnets in Jewellery Garnets have a hardness of 6.5 to 7.5 on the Moh’s scale of hardness, making it durable as a gem for jewellery use. All garnets have a high refractive index (RI). In the case of the Pyrope garnet, the RI is 1.714, meaning, by nature this gem has a brilliant sparkle. The clarity grading of a Pyrope garnet is Type II, (eye clean).

All the above properties together with its fiery colour and bright sparkle made it a popular gem for jewellery in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries, even during the Victorian period. At the time, the popularity of, and subsequent demand for this type of jewellery made Bohemia the garnet center of the world, offering employment opportunities to thousands of workers directly linked to the Bohemian garnet industry.

Handcrafted Bohemian brooches, earrings, pendants, and rings showed elaborate designs in 14KT or 18KT gold encrusted with a mass of close-set Bohemian garnets. Some designs were in silver, vermeil, or gold plated brass instead of gold. Popular designs were sentimental tendril or ribbon shapes, crosses, or floral motifs inspired by nature, the perfect appeal for the romantic person. One design that became particularly special was the comet design representing Halley’s Comet that passed through the skies in the early 20th century.

The star of Bethlehem design representing Halley’s Comet. Photo: National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library

A characteristic feature of the Bohemian designs is the abundance of garnets dominating the metal.

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G is for Garnet _____________________________________________________________________________________ Think of hundreds of seeds grouped together in an open pomegranate, and you will get the idea of Bohemian jewellery.

The designs became so popular that mass-produced items were cast to keep up with the demand. The one big difference between the two is that handcrafted Bohemian jewellery contained higher quality and better cut garnets than the massproduced items.

Bohemian garnet jewellery, with its mystical dark fiery red glow, evolved from being worn by rural less affluent people into the symbol of the wealthy class citizen of the time.

Taking Care of your Garnet An example of mass produced Bohemian th garnet jewellery from the late 19 century. Photo: courtesy National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library

It is safe to clean garnet jewellery in an ultrasonic cleaner, but not so much in a steamer. A gentle wash in warm soapy water is always best with antique jewellery.

Locations The Bohemian garnet is a rare high quality Pyrope garnet and has been mined for over 600 years, historically in Central Bohemia in the north of the Czech Republic. Other sources are Australia, Burma, China, South Africa and the US.

Article written by Liz Burnett Contact info:

Liz Burnett, G.G., RMVP Independent Jewellery Appraiser, Graduate Gemmologist Conference Speaker P O Box 20084, Kelowna, BC, V1Y 9H2 Tel:

1. 250.215 0929

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