Seeing Red: Garnet, Myth, and the Language of Intensity

Garnet holds intensity without excess, its depth suggesting warmth, resolve, and emotional force.

Fire beneath the surface

Almandine garnet emerging from a rock in Alaska, USA.

It is best known for its deep red hues, but garnets occur in many colours: orange, pink, green, black and honey brown. Garnet is, in fact, a generic name for many minerals, each of which is named after its colour to distinguish from each other. Pyrope, the archetype of garnet, derives its name from the Greek word pyropos, meaning “fire eyed” or “fire-like”. Historically, garnet has symbolised passion and high energy, a sentiment channelling through Patricia Lockwood’s poem:

She found garnets, once,

In a rock she had split open.

Black beyond black, in fact,

Blood red.

Humans project meaning onto stones because stones feel ancient, silent, and powerful. Garnet was once said to cure melancholy and to warm the heart. Despite, or maybe because of, its darker tones, garnet’s fiery character tends to be associated with intense feelings like joy and empathy. It is heralded the birthstone of January, beckoning another chapter. Worn against the pale stillness of winter, it feels especially apt in offering confidence during what may otherwise be the bleakest month of the year. This liminal stretch—when snowdrops retreat and bare arms become conceivable once more—is captured vividly in the myth of Persephone.

Persephone and the stone of two worlds

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Rape of Proserpina, 1621-22. The suspended body of Proserpina (Persephone) mirrors her liminal fate—caught between worlds, seasons, and identities.

The ancient Greeks used mythology to explain natural phenomena, embedding emotional truth within stories of gods and mortals. Persephone’s existence divided between the Underworld and the earth lets us understand seasonal transtion and moods.  

Persephone, daughter of Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, drew the attention of Hades, god of the Underworld. One day, while gathering flowers, the earth split open and Hades seized her to make her his eternal bride, with the permission of Zeus. In her grief, Demeter abandoned her duties, and the earth fell barren. Crops failed, so life withered. At Demeter’s insistence, Zeus intervened and ordered Persephone’s return. But it was too late. Before Zeus arrived, Hades tricked Persephone into tasting a pomegranate, the food of the Underworld. By consuming its seeds, she was bound to remain there for part of each year. 

Thus, Persephone’s absence summoned autumn and winter, when the earth grew cold and unyielding. Her return brought in spring and summer, allowing life to flourish.

Persephone belongs to both worlds, just as garnet belongs to both warmth and darkness.

Frederic Leighton, The Return of Persephone, c.1891. Her fated descent and return give shape to the rhythm of nature.

Pomegranates have long symbolised fertility and abundance. Their name traces back to the Latin granatum, meaning “many-seeded”, and were believed to promise giving birth to many children simply through consumption. Garnets, with their crimson vibrancy, resemble these glistening seeds like potent vessels of life.

Persephone belongs to both worlds, just as garnet belongs to both warmth and darkness. Her fall and rise give shape to the natural rhythm of rest and renewal. Winter, in Demeter’s grief, becomes a necessary pause: labour suspended, fields left to recover, energy conserved. From this story emerges a recognition that cycles are not failures of continuity but elements of persistence.

Garnet’s esteem through history

Decorative uses of garnet can be traced as far back as Ancient Egypt. Necklaces set with red garnet have been found entombed with pharaohs, reflecting the culture’s deep concern with safeguarding fortune and identity in the afterlife. Centuries later, garnet re-emerged as a stone of high status in Europe. The primary source of red pyrope garnets was Bohemia (now known as the Czech Republic), where deposits found in the early 16th century fuelled regional demand and supplied European royalty for generations.  

During the Renaissance, garnets were often cut into smooth, rounded forms with polished domes and flat bases—a style known as the carbuncle. Their glow was prized not for brilliance alone, but for depth.

Necklet, garnets set in silver, England, about 1760-1780. Victoria and Albert Museum. The flat-back cutting technique shows garnet’s glow, emphasising intimacy and warmth over brilliance.

By the late 1800s, red garnets peaked in popularity, reflecting a love for texture combined with detail. Imagine deep-buttoned upholstery, candlelight, and opulent jewel tones. Key elements of style during Queen Victoria’s reign include parures (a set of matching jewellery) featuring almandine garnets, usually foil-backed and put in closed-back settings. When darker almandine is cut en cabochon or hollowed in the back, more light filters through the stone. These opulent sets emphasised a warm glow, reinforcing garnet’s long-standing association with sensuality and closeness.

Today, garnets are sourced primarily from Africa, as well as Myanmar, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Iran, Afghanistan, Brazil, and the United States. Despite having so many producers, the stone’s appeal remains consistent.

William Bouguereau, Portrait of the Viscountess of Chabrol, 1866. The rendering of the subject’s gold accessories, contrasting the dramatic velvet dress, signifies her high social standing.

Timelessness, grandeur, and relevance

Across centuries, garnet has appeared at moments of transition: buried for the afterlife, worn in candlelit halls, and carried as a talisman against melancholy. It is a stone that holds intensity without excess. As the year turns and the impulse to set intentions resurfaces, garnet feels especially resonant, not as a spectacle, but as a signal of intention.

Jewellery, at its most enduring, is not simply worn, but lived with.

Designs that conceal as much as they reveal echo older traditions in which adornment was intimate, personal, and occasionally secret. The act of opening and closing becomes ritualistic, recalling Persephone’s cyclical descent and return, or the pomegranate seed as both promise and threshold.

Minaudière Locket Pendant featuring red garnets. A modern interpretation of concealment and ritual, drawing on historical forms.

It is within this lineage that TVRRINI’s limited-edition Minaudière pendants find their place. Drawing inspiration from Art Deco vanity cases, the pieces interpret historical forms through modern craftsmanship. Specially cut red garnets are mounted with precision, their depth enhanced by pavé-set diamonds that bounce light. Hinges allow the pendant to open and close, transforming jewellery into an object of interaction.

Rather than functioning as mere ornament, the Minaudière becomes a container of memory. Garnet continues to do what it has always done. It can bridge eras, reminding us that jewellery, at its most enduring, is not simply worn, but lived with.

A precision hinge allows the Minaudière pendant to open and close securely.

Further reading

“Explore the History of Garnet in Antique Jewellery.” Gem-A, The Gemmological Association of Great Britain, 3 Jun. 2019, gem-a.com/gem-hub/garnet-gemstones-antique-jewellery/.

“Garnet: The Unsung Gem of Vintage Jewelry.” Antique Jewelry University, Lang Antiques, 13 Oct. 2025, www.langantiques.com/university/learn-with-lang/garnet-the-unsung-gem-of-vintage-jewelry/.

Hall, Cally. Gemstones: The visual guide to more than 130 gemstone varieties. Dorling Kindersley. 1994.

“January Birthstone.” GIA, Gemological Institute of America Inc, www.gia.edu/birthstones/january-birthstones.

Lockwood, Patricia. “Poem: Garnets.” London Review of Books, 6 Nov. 2025, www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v47/n20/patricia-lockwood/garnets.

Image credits

Bernini, Gian Lorenzo. Rape of Proserpine. 1621-22. Galleria Borghese, www.collezionegalleriaborghese.it/en/opere/rape-of-proserpine.

Bouguereau, William. Portrait of the Viscountess of Chabrol. 1866. www.gazette-drouot.com/lots/6457958-william-bouguereau-1825-1905----22portrait---

Darski, Lech. Granat, almandyn - Bella Vista Mine, Mitkof Island, Wrangell-Petersburg borough, Alaska, USA. 15 Jul. 2011. Wikimedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Granat_(garnet),almandyn-_Bella_Vista_Mine,_Mitkof_Island,_Wrangell-Petersburg_borough,_Alaska,_USA..JPG.

Leighton, Frederic. The Return of Persephone. c.1891. Leeds Art Gallery, artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-return-of-persephone-37738.

Vassil. Photo of silver neckpiece with garnets on display inside the Victoria and Albert Museum. Wikimedia Commons, 11 Apr. 2019, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Victoria_and_Albert_Museum_Jewellery_11042019_Necklet_Garnets_Silver_England_1760-1780_3174.jpg#file.