Environment

For over six thousand years, people have been shedding their blood to get their hands on this mineral. In ancient times, slaves were dying while trying to pull the stone from the mountain tops, caravans carrying semiprecious stone to European countries were disappearing, and even innocent bystanders who happened to catch hold of it all of a sudden were getting lost.

Throughout the history, people’s attitude towards minerals has been somewhat mixed. Some stones were believed to be sacred, the others were considered cursed, while the rest were essential to our very existence.

Among the five thousand minerals known to mankind, there is only one stone that we cannot live without. This one is crucial for the human body, same as food or water, but a completely irrelevant one from the perspective of jewellery.

Until the middle of the twentieth century, mankind was unaware of the existence of this stone. During the next twenty years, the mineral had no official name, and American and Russian scientists were fighting for the right to be considered its discoverers.

Garnet is a mineral which to a great extent resembles pomegranate seeds in appearance. However, while almost everyone had a taste of the fruit with wine-coloured seeds inside it, not everyone was lucky to to hold the stone in the hands.