On 1stDibs, you can find the most appropriate piece of mandarin garnet jewelry for your needs in our varied inventory. Each design created in this style — which was crafted with great care and often made from
Gold,
18k Gold and
Yellow Gold — can elevate any look. Find an antique version now, or shop for 20 vintage or 181 modern creation for a more contemporary example of these cherished accessories. If you’re looking for an item from our selection of mandarin garnet jewelry from a specific time period, our collection is diverse and broad-ranging, and you’ll find at least one that dates back to the 18th Century while another version may have been produced as recently as the 21st Century. For this particular accessory, there are many different carat weights to choose from, but
.5 Carat and
1 Carat versions are of considerable interest. Creating a choice in our collection of mandarin garnet jewelry has been a part of the legacy of many jewelers, but those produced by
Laura Munder,
Merkaba and
Thomas Leyser are consistently popular. An object in our assortment of mandarin garnet jewelry can be a stylish choice for most occasions, but
Garnet rings, from our inventory of 165, can add a particularly distinctive touch to your look, day or night. See these pages for an
oval cut iteration of this accessory, while there are also
round cut cut and
cabochon cut versions available here, too. Most of our mandarin garnet jewelry for sale are for
women, but there are 57 pieces available to browse for
men.
Prices for a piece of mandarin garnet jewelry can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — at 1stDibs, these accessories begin at $660 and can go as high as $198,000, while this accessory, on average, fetches $7,898.
Vintage and antique garnet jewelry has been around for a long time.
Garnets have been used for adornment going all the way back to the Bronze Age. While we will never know if garnets can be used to prevent plagues or heal warriors, as has been suggested, we do know that both the Egyptians and the Romans felt that it was a worthy stone to set in gold for their nobility. In more “recent” times, garnets were ubiquitous in Victorian jewelry. The “G” in REGARD rings, the equivalent of the modern-day engagement ring, implied garnet.
Garnets were also highly valued in the region of Bohemia. The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History has in its collection an antique hairpin with Bohemian pyrope garnets from the Czech Republic. Bohemian pyrope got its name from Bohuslav Balbín, sometimes referred to as the “Czech Pliny,” in 1679. Abundant in the region, it was used often in jewelry during this time. In fact, it became so popular that in 1762, Empress Marie Terezie forbade its export. Stonecutting workshops opened in several regions across Bohemia, and pyrope became the country’s mineralogical symbol. While there was never a decline in its popularity, it was only in the mid-20th century that garnets enjoyed a revival.
Garnets can come in many shapes and sizes — one of the largest ever discovered is a 68.82-carat Tsavorite garnet. This stone is also in the collection of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.
According to the Gemological Institute of America, Brazil’s mines are rich in garnets, including spessartine, which can also be found in the Myanmar area, recognized for a specific shade of reddish-orange. While red garnets are the most popular, garnets actually come in a medley of colors.
Find a collection of antique and vintage garnet rings, necklaces and other jewelry today on 1stDibs.