Garnet Price Per Carat
Garnet is currently worth $10 to $8,000 per carat depending on quality.
'Garnet' covers a family of minerals whose prices span three orders of magnitude. Red almandine and pyrope are honest $10–$50 gems; rhodolite and mandarin spessartine climb into the hundreds; and the green elite — tsavorite and demantoid — trade alongside fine sapphire at $500–$8,000 per carat. Identify the species first, then price the stone.
GarnetValue Chart by Carat & Quality (2026)
Retail price per carat for loose stones, by size bracket and quality tier.
| Carat | Red (almandine / pyrope) | Rhodolite & spessartine | Tsavorite & demantoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 ct | $10–$30 | $40–$150 | $300–$1,200 |
| 1–2 ct | $15–$40 | $60–$250 | $500–$2,500 |
| 2–3 ct | $20–$50 | $80–$350 | $1,000–$4,000 |
| 3–5 ct | $20–$50 | $100–$450 | $1,500–$6,000 |
| 5–10 ct | $25–$60 | $120–$500 | $2,000–$8,000 |
| 10+ ct | $25–$60 | $150–$600 | $2,500–$8,000+ |
Natural garnet, per carat, by species group. Color-change garnet prices with the middle tier or above; fine Russian demantoid with horsetail inclusions can exceed the table.
What Drives Garnet Value
The factors dealers actually price on — and how each one moves the per-carat number.
Species and variety
The first and biggest question. Almandine/pyrope reds are abundant; rhodolite's raspberry, spessartine's mandarin orange, and Malaya's peach are mid-market; tsavorite (green grossular) and demantoid (green andradite) are the rare money-makers.
Color within species
Tsavorite is graded toward vivid emerald-green without darkness; spessartine toward pure mandarin orange; rhodolite away from brown. In red garnets, anything brownish or over-dark drops to bead prices.
The demantoid horsetail
Golden bye-byssolite 'horsetail' inclusions, signature of Russian Ural material, are the only inclusion in gemology that raises a stone's price — collectors pay premiums for good ones.
Size scarcity in the elite greens
Tsavorite over 3 carats and demantoid over 2 carats are genuinely rare; per-carat prices accelerate sharply with weight. Red garnets, in contrast, get cheaper per carat in big sizes.
No-treatment confidence
Garnets are essentially never treated — what you see is natural. That makes them a trust-friendly purchase and means certificates matter only for species/origin on expensive green stones.
What Is YOUR Garnet Worth?
Charts show the market — your stone has its own carat, color, clarity, and treatment story. Get a personalized estimate in under a minute.
These prices only apply to genuine garnet
Imitations and undisclosed synthetics trade at a tiny fraction of these figures. Run the garnet real-vs-fake tests before valuing or selling your stone.
Garnet Price Questions
Get answers to common questions about rock identification, rockhounding, and using our platform.
Common red garnet: $10–$50 per carat. Rhodolite, spessartine, and Malaya varieties: $50–$500. Tsavorite and demantoid: $500–$8,000 depending on color, clarity, and size. Species identification is the first step — 'garnet' alone doesn't price a stone.
Fine demantoid and tsavorite contest the title. Russian demantoid with horsetail inclusions reaches $5,000–$8,000+ per carat among collectors; vivid clean tsavorite over 3 carats prices similarly. Both out-price many sapphires — a surprise to anyone who knows garnet as the $20 red stone.
Essentially never — garnet is one of the few major gems sold untreated as a rule. Lab-grown garnets (YAG, GGG) exist from the laser industry but aren't passed off as natural garnet. Your practical risks are glass imitations and species mislabeling, not treatments.
Typical jewelry-grade red garnet carries modest value — $10–$50 per carat — so sentiment usually outweighs resale. But check the color: raspberry-pink suggests rhodolite, orange suggests spessartine, and green suggests tsavorite money. Our garnet-aware gemstone value calculator can triage it from a photo.
More GarnetTools & Guides
Gemstone Value Calculator
Estimate what YOUR garnet is worth in under a minute.
Is My Garnet Real?
Garnet prices only apply to genuine stones — test yours first.
Garnet Identification Guide
Properties, colors, varieties, and photos in the encyclopedia.
Free Gemstone Appraisal
Photo-based appraisal estimate for any gemstone.