A hessonite garnet necklace is made from hessonite, the warm golden to cinnamon orange variety of grossular garnet, and it looks nothing like the deep red garnet most of us grew up picturing. If you love honey, amber and fall leaf colors and want a stone with real glow to it, hessonite is one of the most beautiful ways to wear garnet.
Hessonite tends to surprise people, because so many of us had no idea a garnet could be this color, and this fall it ended up right in the middle of my newest round of Worry Fish. So I wanted to put together what I know about it, what I look for when I choose it, and the strand I have on my bench right now.
What is hessonite garnet?
Garnet is actually a whole family of minerals, and hessonite belongs to the grossular branch of that family, the same branch that gives us green tsavorite. Hessonite is the orange to golden brown side of grossular, and it has been loved for centuries for that warm, glowing color. I shared a few of my favorite facts about it a while back in 3 Fascinating Facts About Hessonite Garnet, including where the name comes from, if you want a little more of the story.
Why is hessonite called the cinnamon stone?
Because that is exactly the color it can be. Hessonite runs from a pale golden honey through warm orange to a deep cinnamon brown, and my favorite stones sit right in that glowing middle, where it looks almost like it has light coming from inside it. When you look closely at hessonite you can often see a soft, swirly texture inside the stone, which gem people describe as looking like syrup or a heat wave, and I think it is part of what gives hessonite that melting, honey look in the light.
How is hessonite different from red garnet?
When most people think of garnet they picture pyrope or almandine, the deep wine reds, and those are gorgeous in their own way. Hessonite is a completely different mood. It reads warm and golden instead of dark and moody, it sits beautifully against yellow gold, and it brings that cozy fall color to whatever you are wearing without ever feeling heavy. If you love the idea of garnet but red has never felt like you, hessonite is the one I would point you to.
What should you look for in a hessonite garnet necklace?
Color that glows. The best hessonite has a warmth that seems to light up when the sun hits it. Look at photos taken in natural light, and if the stones look flat or muddy there, they will look that way on you too.
The cut. Smooth, polished rondelles show off that honey like glow and feel lovely against your skin, while faceted beads add more sparkle. Neither is better, it really comes down to whether you want glow or sparkle.
The finish. Small details like a solid gold clasp are what let a delicate strand hold up to being worn every day, so look at what the clasp and findings are made of, not just the stones.
The hessonite garnet strand on my bench right now
My Hessonite Garnet Worry Fish Necklace is golden yellow melting into warm orange, exactly like the Tennessee trees outside my window right now, and I think the changing leaves had me building a whole fall palette for this round of Worry Fish without even realizing it. The smooth rondelles glow like honey in the light, and a little solid gold fish swims sideways right in the strand where your thumb can find it whenever you need a breath.
It is made with smooth hessonite garnet of about 4mm, it is 17.25 inches long, and it has a solid 14k gold fish and a 6mm spring ring clasp. It is $520, and it is the only one.
If you are curious about the Worry Fish themselves, they are little pieces made to be touched, so you can run your thumb over the fish and come back to yourself for a moment, and you can see every one I have right now in the Worry Fish collection.
Other garnets to know
If you would rather go the classic red route, my Pyrope Garnet Worry Fish Necklace is a rich, deep wine red with every facet holding a little glow, and the Rhodolite Garnet Worry Fish Necklace shifts from deep plum in the shade to a bright rosy purple in the sun, in sterling silver. You can see all of my garnet pieces together in my garnet collection, and if you have a question about any of them, just send me a message. I love talking garnets.
