Green garnet encompasses rare gem-quality varieties like the vibrant Tsavorite and the brilliant, high-dispersion Demantoid. Collectors often find these stones as small, sharp dodecahedral crystals embedded in metamorphic matrix or gem-quality river gravels.
Is this green garnet?
5-step field checkRun through these checks against the specimen in your hand. The more boxes tick, the more confident the ID.
- 1Test the hardnessTry to scratch green garnet with a known reference. Green Garnet sits at Mohs 6.5-7.5, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Green Garnet leaves a white streak.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Green Garnet typically shows a vitreous to adamantine luster.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: green, yellow-green, emerald-green.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: cubic. Typical habit: dodecahedral or trapezohedral crystals.
Often confused with
Green Garnet vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Luster reads vitreous to adamantine on Green Garnet and vitreous on Green Beryl.
How to tell apart: Luster reads vitreous to adamantine on Green Garnet and vitreous on Diopside.
How to tell apart: Luster reads vitreous to adamantine on Green Garnet and vitreous on Peridot.
Often found alongside green garnet
Minerals reported to co-occur with green garnet. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Ca₃Al₂(SiO₄)₃
- Mohs hardness
- 6.5-7.5
- Density
- 3.4-3.8 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous to Adamantine
- Transparency
- Transparent
- Crystal system
- Cubic
- Crystal habit
- Dodecahedral or Trapezohedral Crystals
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Rare
- Uses
- Gemstone, Collector, Jewelry
- Host rock
- Metamorphic Rocks, Skarns, And Serpentinites
- Typical price
- $50-500 per carat depending on species and quality
Where rockhounds find green garnet
1 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Kenya
- Tanzania
- Russia
- Madagascar
- Italy
Field-hunting tip
Look in metamorphic rocks, skarns, and serpentinites country, the host setting where green garnet typically forms. If you start seeing calcite, dolomite, chromite in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a dodecahedral or trapezohedral crystals habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Idaho. Start trip planning there.
Common questions
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Find green garnet on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
