How to identify a garnet? What might this be?

[Miss Sparkly]

I have this garnet ring that was given to me by my aunt. Some jewelers think it actually may be a garnet, others think it's something else but don't know what. The split is about 50/50. Supposedly it's from the early 1900's - but it just doesn't strike me as that style. The facets on the top are becoming a bit soft/fuzzy. The stone itself has even saturation in color and no inclusions visible with a 30x loupe. Is there any easy ways to tell for sure if it is a garnet? Does it sound garnet like? The photos are fairly accurate in showing the colors. Less purple more blood red color. No hints of orange nor brown.

 

[Pandora II]

There are a number of things it could be from garnet to synthetic corundum.

To tell without unsetting the stone I would want to use a spectroscope. If it is a garnet you'd almost certainly get a good strong almandine spectrum which would settle the question for definite. If you don't get this spectrum then I'd want to use a polariscope to check if it's amorphous/singly refractive (could be glass or unlikely spinel) or doubly refractive (tourmaline or corundum (natural or synthetic)). You'd need a few more tests from there to narrow things down in whichever direction.

x10 loupes are best for looking at stones. x30 give such a small area of focus that you can easily miss things. I combine a x10 triplet and a x10 darkfield and once in a while a microscope when I really need some in-depth views of a certain inclusion. x10 will show you things like doubled back facets, curved striae and most common inclusions pretty clearly.

 

[Jim Rentfrow]

Even with the stone set you still should be able to do a refractive index test on the table of the gemstone. Combine this with the tests Pandora stated and you should very good indicators of what the gemstone is.

 

[Pandora II]

Even with the stone set you still should be able to do a refractive index test on the table of the gemstone. Combine this with the tests Pandora stated and you should very good indicators of what the gemstone is.

You'll need to check that the table facet isn't overly abraded (the edges don't matter but the flat bit does) and that the prongs don't stick up too high above the table (the stone needs to be able to lie flat against the glass of the refractometer).

 

[chrono]

We can’t tell without an RI check to narrow things down so it could be a garnet or synthetic stone.

 

[Lee Little]

would not take much to pop that stone out and put it on a refractometer, Lee