Italian Garnet Jewelery
Italian garnet jewelery is a specific characteristic style of jewelery that is quite delightful but may not appeal to all tastes.
Garnets are usually red but actually are found in a variety of colors including black, brown, green, orange, purple and yellow among others.
The pure garnet crystals are used in jewelery as gemstones but garnet is also used in industry. Garnet is used to cut steel for instance and garnet sand is an excellent abrasive so used in sand blasting.
When choosing Italian garnet jewelery it is a good idea to check, not just the garnets for quality but also the type of precious metal the stones are set in. Gold is fairly traditional and 18 and 22 karat gold is an excellent choice as it has a small mixture of other metals to improve its hardness, gold being a soft metal. Italian garnet jewelery tends to be somewhat fragile and some support helps it to last longer without any distortion.
When browsing for Italian garnet jewelery look at the settings also. Ensure the garnet is tight and not lose in its setting. Is the setting a claw setting? Or is the garnet simply glued in. If it is glued in I would avoid it as the glue can deteriorate and the stone can come out and be lost. A claw setting will hold it in place.
If possible try to get a certificate of authenticity that describes the stone and the value and even the setting and metal it is set in. this is good not just for insurance purposes but also for possible resale at a later date.
Italian Garnet Jewelery should be cleaned regularly but with care. Being delicate it is easy to twist or distort the jewelery. Warm soapy water and gently brushed with a old soft toothbrush is the most optimum. Then left to dry (not force dried as that can dry out the garnet and cause cracks) and stored safely away from other jewelery.
Provided one takes care and uses some common sense one can have some delightful Italian garnet jewelery that will last a lifetime.