What is the difference between a ruby and a garnet?
The crust of our planet contains many treasures that were formed over millions of years during continuous tectonic processes. Some of these valuable minerals are ruby and garnet.
These stones are most often used in industry to create high-tech devices, as well as to decorate jewelry.
The cost of these minerals directly depends on many factors affecting their quality. Which stone is more valuable: ruby or garnet? Each of the precious minerals is valuable in its own way due to its individual characteristics and properties. Still, it is believed that blood-red rubies with a high degree of transparency are one of the rarest and most expensive stones, the cost of which competes with diamonds. Their deposits are located in some regions of Southeast Asia and North Africa. Rubies of this type are very rare even in the richest mines. The cost of jewelry decorated with this type of ruby can increase hundreds of times. To answer many questions about the similarities, values, and differences between ruby and garnet, it is worth understanding in more detail the nature of these earthly minerals that have become so popular.
Description of the stones
Ruby is a mineral that belongs to the subclass of oxides, and also has an older name, red yakhont. A distinctive feature of the stone is its incredibly dense structure. It has a hardness rating of nine on the Mohs scale. The bright color of the mineral is formed due to chromium impurities. The more of this element in the crystals, the richer the color of the gemstone.
Based on their color, rubies are considered to be red minerals of this type, while sapphires are rubies with a blue tint.
Rubies are found on almost all continents of the Earth. Their largest deposits are concentrated in Antarctica, but mineral development in this region is not carried out for objective reasons. Stones mined in Asia and Africa are valued all over the world. In addition to decorating jewelry, rubies are used in quantum electronics, as they can withstand strong electromagnetic overloads, as well as in the creation of complex watch mechanisms. It is known that rubies have been mined for more than 2000 years. The first gem of this type was found in Burma. Then the extraction of the mineral spread to all regions of India, where it had the highest value, and was considered a talisman capable of protecting a person from the negative effects of negative energy. Today, ruby remains just as in demand, but people’s attitude towards it has already acquired more material contours. Garnet, unlike ruby, is a precious mineral that always forms in the form of multiple granular deposits. Garnet cannot be found in nature as a single stone. It is found in layers in the earth’s crust, and in order to get one pebble, you need to destroy the entire structure of the grenade plate.
In appearance, garnets are very similar to rubies. First of all, thanks to the rich red and pink shades.
The general name garnet refers to the name of two minerals at once: pyropes and almandines. They are very similar in appearance, and without special equipment it is almost impossible to distinguish them. The density of garnet is much lower than that of ruby, being only 6 on the Mohs scale. Because of this, the gemstone is not in demand in the production of electronic products. The grenade is not able to withstand strong electromagnetic overloads. The main use of garnet of all varieties is the production of jewelry. Many jewelry workshops around the world make imitations of ruby by using high-quality types of garnet. Sometimes the similarity and saturation of color is such that even experienced specialists who know a lot about jewelry find it difficult to determine which stone is inserted into the jewelry. For this you have to use special equipment. The largest deposit of garnet is located in the Urals in the vicinity of the city of Saranovsk. This mineral, mined in this region, is considered the purest in its structure. There are no admixtures of other rocks and elements in it, so the demand for Russian garnet is highest among jewelers. Stone mining has been going on since the mid-19th century. In the region, the precious stone acquired a second name, and local residents call it uvarite.
How to distinguish a garnet from a ruby?
These gems are very similar in appearance. If a person is not a top-class specialist in jewelry, then he will not be able to do without additional equipment. To identify stones you will need the following tools:
- Magnifying glass with multiple magnification.
- Ultraviolet emitting lamp.
- Ordinary magnet.
- Electronic balance.
- Dichroscope.
The key difference between these two minerals is that rubies are characterized by a phenomenon called dichroism. This is their uniqueness, which is used for scientific purposes, as well as in the manufacture of high-tech devices. Dichroism is observed when using a device – a dichroscope. When exposed to polarized light without air movement, the ruby begins to change color. The hue changes depending on the degree at which polarized light falls on it.
Pomegranate does not have the above properties, but it has its own distinct feature. Garnet has natural magnetism.
Its crystals are magnetized from any environmental source capable of emitting electromagnetic waves.
It is enough to place the stone on an electronic scale and record its mass. Then you need to bring an ordinary magnet to it, and if it is a garnet, then its mass should change slightly. This is how the magnetism property of this mineral manifests itself.
Garnet and ruby are natural minerals that are very similar in appearance. This is where the general properties of stones end. Undoubtedly, ruby is a mineral of great industrial and jewelry value. Garnet can only be used in the production of jewelry as an imitation of ruby, or it can act as an independent gemstone.
Red saturated stones cannot go unnoticed. Once upon a time, a group of stones of red and scarlet shades was called by one definition – “lals”. This included rubies, garnets, and spinel. However, over time, the differences between these types of stones began to be clearly visible, which led to their differentiation.
But many still do not know how to distinguish a ruby from a garnet by visually determining the type of stone. Today we will try to tell you as much information as possible for the average buyer.
We hope that after our recommendations you will be able to distinguish a ruby from a garnet and a natural stone from a fake.
Differences in chemical and physical properties
Even in terms of chemical composition and physical properties, these visually similar stones are completely different.
- Garnet is a class of silicate minerals with crystals that are square in shape and have right angles.
- Ruby is a type of corundum and a class of oxides. Ruby crystals have a trigonal system, which is expressed in oblique angles and the presence of a crystal lattice.
In terms of physical properties, rubies are considered harder. And red color is formed in minerals in different ways. The garnet is given a tint by the magnesium in its composition, and the ruby “turns red” due to chromium impurities (the higher their content, the richer the color).
Garnets are used in the jewelry industry, but not all of them. Many have a purely industrial purpose: in construction, as an additive to cement, in ceramics, instrument making and electronics. Rubies are actively used in jewelry and watch making, as well as quantum electronics.
Today, artificially created stones are not much inferior in their characteristics to natural ones. How to distinguish a garnet and ruby from a fake can only be said depending on its quality. It happens that a fake is so good that it cannot be identified by eye. Well, cheap counterfeit products (plastic, glass, etc.) should not deserve attention at all.
Visual and other ways of distinguishing
Since the value of a ruby is higher than a garnet, the second one can be passed off as the first. To avoid overpaying for a pomegranate, use a magnifying glass, a magnet, a dichroscope, electronic scales and an ultraviolet lamp.
A dichroscope is a special device that allows you to determine the presence of dichroism, that is, two colors.
- We direct the beam of light from the device onto the stone and observe. If the crystal changes color from light to darker, then it is a ruby. The garnet remains one color.
- The light of an ultraviolet lamp makes rubies glow orange; garnets do not have a luminescent effect.
- Real rubies have defective inclusions in the form of needles, which are visible even under a magnifying glass. Garnets have a more uniform composition and do not have this feature. But there is a more uniform coloring.
- If you try to rub a ruby over crystal and topaz, it leaves a mark. Garnet is softer and will “mark” only on the surface of the crystal; topaz is too tough for it. Well, fake stones don’t scratch surfaces at all.
- Rubies shine more brightly, like diamonds. Garnets are less brilliant; a muted shine is characteristic of them.
- Try to touch the stone with a magnet: garnets are magnetized, rubies are not. If there is no effect, put the stone on an electronic scale and bring a magnet to it; when the weight changes, it means you have a garnet in front of you.
We hope that we were able to tell you how to distinguish a fake garnet and ruby, as well as the stones themselves from each other. In our store you can buy natural garnet stone for jewelry.
It is clear that natural ruby is more expensive than garnet. That’s why many play on their similarities. However, it is much more unpleasant to pay for a cheap fake. To avoid finding yourself in such a situation, we advise you to: buy jewelry and products with stones at trusted points and stores where you can easily be provided with a certificate.
