Red garnet has historically been a favorite of nobleman and royalty alike; its color, a display of their power and class. Garnet is most commonly seen in the jewelry trade as a dark red gemstone. However, garnet forms in many varieties including green, orange, yellow, red, purple, brown, black, blue, and colorless. Each of these colors belongs to subcategories of a large mineral group of twenty species called the garnet group.

Rhodalite, Greek for rose, is a pinkish-red color of garnet. A well-adored variety of the pyrope species of the garnet group, rhodalite is sometimes thought of as a different gem altogether. Its rich pinkish red color is hard to miss as it makes its way into many fine jewelry designs.