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 — that is 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.
