Star Garnets
Idaho Star Garnets pictured here illustrate the very best in Gem-Grade Star Garnet. The Star Garnet
found in northern Idaho is widely recognized as the best in the world and is considered unique in the Gemstone community. Idaho known as the
"Gem State" has taken Star Garnet under her wing as the Idaho State Gem. The colors range from almost black, to red, to plum in dark shades.
There is a public dig on Emerald Creek in Northern Idaho administered by the US Forest Service (contact the St. Joe National Forest for
information on dates, etc) where you can find your own rough Garnet.
I will show a few pictures here and include the information on Grading finished Star Garnets on the bottom of the page.
Star Garnet Grading
First a word about the overall apearance of Star Garnet. It is very dark and will look
like Black Onyx under normal lighting conditions. Bright light is necessary to see the star caused
by the trapped Rutile. Sunlight or a Halogen light is recommended for viewing.
In an effort to better explain the characteristics and clear up any misconceptions
of Idaho Star Garnet I am going to attempt to establish a standard for quality grading of this
obscure gemstone. I will be using this grading system for each stone listed on my website. I
will be attaching an alpha-numeric number to each description which will describe the three main
features as follows:
Gem Quality
AA....Eye clean, no fractures or blemishes, well cut.
A.....Eye clean, may have small hidden inclusions, well cut.
B.....Clean, may have inclusions or slight undercutting which do not detract from the gems overall
appearance. Base may have a small wedge missing due to orienting of star.(Most Star Garnets are
of this quality)
C.....Small flaws are evident. Good to begin with. Sometimes a killer star will balance out the
Gem grade.
D.....Fractures and inclusions...Mainly specimen.
Star Quality
1.....All rays on star are very strong.
2.....One ray on star is slightly weaker than the others.(most are like this)
3.....One ray on star is very weak.(6-Ray only)
4.....Star is visible but is weak overall.
Color
All Garnets are a dark Purplish-Red in body color.
L.....Light color, almost Red in appearance.
M.....Medium color, Purple wine, dark in appearance.
D.....Dark color, almost Black in appearance.
Grading Example:
AA1L......Eye clean, no fractures or blemishes, well cut, All rays on star are very strong,
Light color, almost Red in appearance.(the best of the best)
B2M......Clean, may have inclusions, One ray on star is slightly weaker than the others,
Medium color, Purple wine, dark in appearance. (an average good quality Star Garnet)
I will post quality Idaho Star Garnet cabochons in the Shopping Cart on this page, click here for
STAR GARNET CABOCHONS
I will also post Star Garnet cabs on my ebay site Justcabs from time to time.
JUSTCABS
Rough is available on the shopping Cart here.
ROUGH
Outback Navigator
E-mail me at:outback@idahogems.com
Or Snail Mail me at:
Idahogems
P.O. Box 155
Marsing, ID 83639
Copyright & copy; 1996/2008 Dale Bramlette.
This page is constantly updated