Often used as an abrasive and as a gemstone, a garnet is a group of semiprecious stones that are formed on such specific geometrical patterns as rhombic dodecahedrons and tetragonal trisoctahedrons, and even combinations of these two forms. These are minerals formed on crystalline silicate that are very common on some igneous and on metamorphic rock formations.

The different varieties of this gemstone display a wide variety of colors, or should we say almost all colors, but except the shades of the color blue. Red, orange, yellow, green, brown, black, gray, and colorless or monochromatic stones are some of the common colors of this gemstone. Lighter stones are usually blatant, transparent, translucent, or clear, while the darker or gloomy colors are usually opaque or better yet impervious. The rigidity and stiffness of this semi precious stone fluctuates and varies from 5.7 to 8. The relative densities, merging on the specific particular gravities, of such samples or specimens may be anywhere between 3.0 and 5.0. These gemstones have a resinous or a vitreous patina or luster, that are similar to the characteristics or appearance of glass. Some types and varieties display such clarity, vividness, and luminosity. Basing these semi precious stone chemically, garnets are siliceous compounds. These varieties are usually demarcated or separated by their compositions on chemicals in particular.

One of the types of garnet, usually found in shades of red, green, yellow, or brown, the Grossularites are found mostly in chalky rock. The green types of this are used as a gemstone. These are often called hyacinths and essonites or hessonites are named for cinnamon to cinnamon-brown colored types. Another type of garnet, the pyrope are commonly and are most often used for jewelry and gem purposes and is very much honored for its fine shade of red ruby color. The pure specimen of this gemstone generally has no color, but all varieties have scums or impurities such as magnesium and aluminum that produce a number of shades up to red down to the darker color to the darkest which is black. Spessartite is not a popular type of garnet due to its shade and color which is mostly and usually brownish yet occasionally has cast of red though. This particular type of garnet is found mostly in North America and also in the Alps of Sri Lanka. Another type of garnet, the Almandine was used before in jewelries and is popularly called on the name of carbuncle. Only stones that are both red and transparent of this color are considered as gems of this type, but it comes in a long range of hues from red, down to deep red, to black. This variety of garnet consists of iron aluminum silicate. Another type of garnet, the Uvarovite is a bright emerald green variety of the garnet family and is particularly used as a gemstone. Found largely in very small crystals, it mainly occurs in the Ural Mountains of Russia. This gemstone is the rarest of all the garnet varieties. This gemstone is composed of calcium chromium silicate.