Garnet
Garnet is not one mineral but a family, and the varieties behave very differently. Almandine runs a deep brownish red; rhodolite is a cleaner raspberry; hessonite is a warm cinnamon orange.
All of them are untreated and all of them are affordable. Garnet is the stone we recommend to anyone buying their first coloured stone — it has real colour, real durability, and none of the price inflation that comes with a famous name.
