How I stumbled into this garnet mystery
So last weekend I was cleaning out my late aunt’s old jewelry box when these dark red stones tumbled out. Looked like leftover Christmas decorations at first glance. Remembered she mentioned “garnets” once while waving her emerald ring around, so I snapped pics and rushed to Main Street Jewelers.
The pawn shop reality check
Walked into Gold & Cash Pawn with my little velvet pouch, feeling like a treasure hunter. The guy behind the counter squinted through his loupe like it was a telescope. “Rhodium plated brass,” he snorted, dumping them back into my palm. “Fifty bucks for the lot – if you’re lucky.” My heart sank faster than a dropped anvil. Thought for sure Aunt Betty left me buried riches.
Digging through the gem rabbit hole
Pulled all-nighters searching “garnet prices” between Netflix binges. Shocked to discover:
- Grocery store tier: Most common types like almandine? Can literally buy fistfuls for pocket change at Tucson gem shows.
- Rarity matters: That neon green tsavorite stuff? Guy on * wanted $8,000 for ONE smaller-than-pea stone. Nearly choked on my coffee.
- Color wars: The deep blood-red pyrope garnets get crazy hype, but found forums flooded with sellers crying about unsold inventory.
Truth bomb – 90% of garnets are cheaper than my weekly takeout budget. Blew my mind after seeing those juicy eBay listings.
The dealer confession that changed everything
Drove three hours to a wholesaler in the diamond district. Mr. Chen chuckled when I asked about garnet investments. “Move these by the kilogram,” he said, dumping a cereal-bowl-sized container of raspberry-colored stones onto the counter. “We call them gateway gems – pretty enough to hook new collectors before they upgrade.” Then he whispered: “Check this month’s lab-grown reports – half the ‘rare’ reds online are baked in ovens now.” Walked out feeling like I’d cracked the Da Vinci Code.
My rock-bottom conclusion
Unless you’ve got that radioactive green stuff glowing in your vault, garnets are basically the Honda Civics of gemstones. Reliable? Sure. Flashy? Sometimes. Investment material? Hard pass. Still keeping Aunt Betty’s though – they survived her 70’s disco phase and that’s priceless.
