Tag: garnet
What are the Birthstones by Month?
What are the birthstones by month? What is your birthstone? For as long as humans have been fascinated with precious gems, they have assigned...
Exploring Taj Mahal Gemstones
Taj Mahal gems, such as carnelian, jade and lapis, are inlaid in white marble and make an in-person visit a dream destination for rockhounds....
What are Garnets?
What are garnets? They are among the most common and popular crystallized minerals you can collect. Garnets that are a beautiful magenta and deep...
Garnet’s Industrial Uses
Garnet's industrial uses are one of the reasons garnet mining is booming. Garnet has become a bona fide industrial commodity because it is a...
What are Gold-Pan Concentrates?
Gold panners tend to categorize their pan concentrates as either gold or “black sand”—and discard the latter without much of a second look. And...
Mineral of the Week: Spessartine
By Antoinette Rahn
Spessartine is a mineral that often garners a double take for its crystal habit and its incredible color.
Sometimes described as a reddish-orange...
Faceting Focus: Reveling in Fire Engine Garnet
By Antoinette Rahn
A new year brings many things to the forefront, including the January birthstone: garnet. The striking beauty of this stone is equaled...
The Ancient World of Beads (Part I)
By Steve Voynick
Gem-and-mineral shows are fascinating for their huge displays of mineral specimens, gemstones, gems, carvings, jewelry items, and trinkets. But visitors sometimes overlook...
Faceting Focus: Cutting a Brilliant Oval
By Jim Perkins
A round brilliant is often the first cut a new faceter learns. After that first cut, most become anxious to learn how...
North Organ Mountains
By Robert Beard
The Organ Mountains are one of the most stunning ranges in New Mexico. Anyone driving past Las Cruces on Interstate 10 will...
