Garnet occurs in every color except blue and most varieties are named for their color. Rhodolite is a purplish red, hessonite is the name for an orange, cinnamon, or pinkish variety. Tsavorite is the name given to dark green grossularite. Uvarovite and demantoid are also green varieties. 

Pyrope garnets are purplish red, orangy red, crimson, or dark red. Spessartite garnets range from yellow and orange through red to reddish brown to dark black/brown. Color change garnets exhibit a "alexandrite-like" effect when viewed in natural light or artificial lighting.

Garnets range from a 7.0 to 7.5 on the hardness scale Garnets are formed when high temperatures and/or pressure is a factor and geologists often use garnets as a gauge of the amount of temperature and pressure that was present during their formation.  Garnets can be formed in igneous and metamorphic rocks.  Most of the time, open pit mining is used to find garnets.

Garnet's powers include healing, strength, and protection and it is often worn to relieve inflammations of the skin. It is also believed to regulate the heart and blood flow and aid in curing depression. In earlier times, garnets were exchanged as gifts between friends to demonstrate their affection for each other and to insure that they meet again.