Is there such thing a blue garnet?

Question

Im doing reseach project on garnet (january birthstone) and they come in a wide veriety colors. Some websites say blue garnets exist others say there is no such thing. Im confused.

Answer 1

Garnets are available in many colors including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, black, and colorless. The rarest of these is the blue garnet, discovered in the late 1990s in Bekily, Madagascar. It changes color from blue-green in the daylight to purple in incandescent light, as a result of the relatively high amounts of vanadium (about 1 wt.% V2O3).

Answer 2

None of the natural garnets are a true blue. I have handled many of the colour change garnets which came to light a few years ago but none of them have a clear blue colour, they are mainly an ugly green with a bluish overtone.
Synthetic "garnets" made from many different rare metal combinations have been grown into crystals with the same basic structure as garnet. These have been produced in labs around the world in attempts to make better laser and semi-conductor parts. Many of these can be doped with various impurities to create a vast range of colours however these "garnets" never occur in nature. Nevertheless some have been cut into quite attractive gemstones.