The
extreme fineness of the texture of this garnet, compared with that of
other European stones, is very much superior, as it equals in this
respect the Balais rubies belonging to the Great Mogul.
The
unchangeableness of its lovely red colour leads to the conclusion that
the elementary molecules which constitute the gem must have been
impregnated with colour previous to crystallization, so that it is as
it were fused in it, and not received afterwards by infiltration, as
generally happens in other gems. In Italy, until the beginning of this
century, it was called " giacinto guarnarino."
The common black garnet is found both in the East and the West.
Their
opacity results from the greater quantity of oxide of iron which they
contain, and which renders them more sensitive to the attraction of the
magnetic needle.
They
are found in the lava thrown out by Vesuvius ; scattered about the
fields that surround Prague ; mixed in the sands of the Alpine torrents
; amongst the volcanic remains of the Tusculan mountains; in the
mountains of Silesia ; in Hungary, and in America. The transparent
garnet was very much used in ancient times. I have seen innumerable
Italian and Etruscan jewels made of this stone.
The Romans and Greeks used to engrave it for rings, but only on the decline of the Western Empire.
Pliny says that every variety of carhunculi obstinately resists incision. In fact, good intagli in garnet are
