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instead of merely tapped by the enthusiasm of the comparatively
moneyless scientist?
Rhodolite must not be confounded with rhodonite, an entirely
different substance, 5.5 in hardness.
The most costly, when garnets were more rare than now, with
some of the loveliest varieties undiscovered, was almandine. It is
almost ruby red, with violet in its depths, the violet shining through
the crimson sometimes so pronounced that anciently it was classed
among the amethysts. It is the hardest of all garnets, except the
infrequent ouvarovite, and the heaviest, 7.25 and 4.3 respectively.
The blood-red or pyrope garnet is found mostly in Bohemia.
Usually the stones are small and rose cut, mounted en pave, that is
with a flat base, set directly upon the gold almost always the low
grade of 6 karats. If larger stones are mingled with them, perhaps
in flower designs, they are cut en cabochon. Pyrope is the Greek
word for fire, though this garnet more resembles the color of Burgundy
wine. Almandine is also found in Bohemia, near Kollin. But
the occurrence of garnet in all Europe is unimiportant. The ancient
almandine was almost exclusively Oriental, from India and Ceylon.
Guarnaccino, the name for a favorite with the Italians, is said
to be of a color midway between the jacinth and the garnet, combin-
ing the orange of the one with the red of the other. It is from the
word vernaccia, meaning red wine. "A splendid stone, of great
lustre," says King, "and when of the first quality can with diffi-
culty be distinguished from the browner tinted spinels."
One begins to wonder, amidst this bewilderment of colors, if
the guarnaccino, the hyacinth and the vermeille are not different
tints of the essonite, known best by the cinnamon-stone of to-day.
The hyacinth certainly is an essonite, sometimes yellowish-red, as
in Ceylon, sometimes orange from Lower California or reddish
brown, resembling the flawed spessartite in times more beautiful.
color, only a thousand
Garnet is found in Australia, where it was first supposed to be
ruby. Like the "Cape rubies" in South Africa, which went through
a similar experience, these Australian stones are called "Adelaide
rubies," and are considerably valued in the Orient and Russia, more
so than in America, where equally fine garnets are not uncommon.
Arizona and New Mexico produce many, locally termed rubies, with
the prefix of the two States, which both by night and day are
exceedingly brilliant, superior to the "Cape rubies," and often more
beautiful than many of the true rubies of Burmah. In Montana,
where in company with sapphire ruby was so confidently expected,
beautiful red garnets seem for the most part to have taken its place
and borrowed its name. "Montana rubies" may be the real thing,
but sometimes they are not.
The lustre of the garnet is vitreous, and it is easily chipped.
Intagli upon it are not very common, the ancients valuing it more for
its color. Besides, its brittleness under engraving endangered the
stone.
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