' Though of good quality the stones are small, those as large as a
hazelnut
being found but rarely. Although the Bohemian garnets have been known
for many centuries, the industry of mining and cutting them on a large
scale is said not to have assumed any special proportions until the
advent of foreigners to Karlsbad. They spread a knowledge of the stones
to other countries, and a demand sprang up which has led to the
establishment of a great industry, and made Bohemia the garnet center
of the world. There are over three thousand men employed at the present
time simply in cutting the stones, and if to these be added the number
of miners and gold and silver smiths occupied in the mining and
mounting of the garnets, it is estimated that a total of ten thousand
persons is engaged in the Bohemian garnet industry. The stones are used
not alone for jewelry and for ornamenting gold and silver plate, but
also extensively for watch jewels and for polishing, f Excellent
pyropes are found in Arizona, New Mexico, and southern Colorado in our
own country. They occur in the beds of streams as rolled pebbles, and
often associated with the green chrysolite or peridot of the eruptive
rock from which they came. They are especially abundant about anthills,
being removed by the ants because their size stands in the way of the
excavations of the busy insects. The name pyrope comes from the Greek
word for fire, and is applied on account of the color of the stone.
Of
quite similar origin is the name carbuncle, a term applied to nearly
all fiery red stones in Roman times, but now used to designate garnets
cut in the oval form known as cabochon. The word carbuncle comes from
the Latin word carbo, coal, and refers to the internal fire-like color and reflection of garnets.
The
calcium-aluminum variety of garnet, called grossularite, cinnamon
stone, or essonite, is less used in jewelry than those above mentioned.
It is usually yellow to brown in color, but may be rose-red or pink.
The yellow grossularites resemble in color the hyacinth, and are
sometimes sold in place of the latter, but true hyacinth is much
heavier and doubly refracting. About the only essonites or cinnamon
stones available for gems come from Ceylon. These are of good size and
color, Those from Italy, shown in the accompanying plate, are
too small to cut into gems, but surrounded as they are by light green
chlorite and pyroxene, make very pretty mineral specimens. Grossularite
is almost always found in crystalline limestone.
Green
garnets are of two kinds, the calcium-iron garnet, known as demantoid,
and the calcium-chromium garnet, known as uvarovite. The demantoid
garnets come only from the Urals. They have a rich green color, and
make beautiful gems when clear and flawless. The name
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