The word “garnet” comes from the mediaeval Latin granatus, which means “pomegranate,” in allusion to the red color’s resemblance. Since the Bronze Age, garnets have been utilised as abrasives and jewels. The ancient Egyptian pharaohs were decked with crimson garnet-studded necklaces. Ancient Roman signet rings contained garnet intaglios for stamping wax seals on important documents. Red garnets were favoured in the Middle Ages by the clergy and nobility.

Actually, garnet is a collection of several minerals. Five of these are significant as gems: pyrope, almandine, spessartine, grossular, and andradite. Almandine and pyrope range in colour from purple to crimson. Spessartine is found in vibrant oranges and yellows, whereas andradite (the gem variant demantoid) is primarily yellow to green. The colour spectrum of Grossular, which ranges from colourless to yellow to reddish orange and orangy red, as well as a potent vivid green known as tsavorite, may be the broadest.

One of the most well-known examples of garnet jewellery is the old pyrope hair comb housed in the Smithsonian (pyrope is derived from the Greek word pyrpos, which means “fiery-eyed”). The crest is topped with a large rose-cut garnet that looks like a queen serenely observing her court. The historical Bohemian mines in Bohemia—which is now a part of the Czech Republic—provided the pyrope garnets that adorn this tiara-like jewel. These deep red beauties were very fashionable during the Victorian era (1837–1901), when this piece was created.