Although different kinds of garnets have different colors, slightly different refractive index, specific gravity and hardness, all garnets are isomorphic and single-refracting gems without dichroism and polarization. It is very useful to remember this similarity for the identification of garnet.
Common gem garnets and their characteristic colors;
Almandine, brownish red;
Magnesium aluminum garnet, red;
Manganese aluminum garnet, orange yellow;
Eclogite, yellow-green;
Andradite, green;
Magnesium iron garnet, rose red;
Calcium chrome garnet, emerald green.
As a general connoisseur or customer, you don't need to determine the specific variety of garnet, just know that it is garnet. There are not many gems similar to garnet in the market, mainly ruby, zircon, spinel, synthetic yttrium aluminum garnet, gadolinium gallium garnet and glass imitation. The methods of distinguishing are as follows: red zircon and red zircon have dichroism, red zircon also has strong ghost, while garnet has no duality and is easy to distinguish from pomegranate; Spinel is generally light in color and needs detailed identification by instruments. All kinds of natural garnets have some defects or crystal inclusions (such as acicular stone, some gas-liquid two-phase inclusions and so on). ), and the glass is often clean, or there are spherical debris bubbles, which are strongly red under Chelsea. In fact, for some specific garnet, it can also have its own unique characteristics. For example, garnet (a green andradite variety) often has "ponytail-like" fiber inclusions, which can be seen by experienced people at a glance.
The key to identification is not multicolor, but often natural body.