Garnets, to me, are some of the most “disorganized” gems available on the market today.  Their sheer variety, but also their names, can be very confusing to the uninitiated, leaving the connoisseur not far behind.  Here’s an attempt to cut through the confusion.

“Garnet” really refers to a variety of gemstones that are related but not identical in their chemical properties. In terms of their...

I usually try to stay away from the softer gemstones – after too many experiences of them falling apart on you.  But sphene, which has a hardness of 5.5, is just such a beautiful stone that when J., my gemstone dealer friend who specializes in East African goods got a parcel, I just had to have some.

Sphene is also called “Titanite” because of its high titanium content. It has an extremely high...

With so many interesting and neat gemstones on the market, knowing what's what can get very confusing. But some information should still be made more public! Kunzite is a pink gemstone that has gained some recent popularity. It is part of the family of Spodumene, which also includes a green variety called Hiddenite (colored by chromium), as well as clear and yellowish stones. The specimens are...