Grossular garnets occur in a very wide range of colors, from colorless right through to black, but derive their name from the first specimen ever found, a distinctive gooseberry-green color (see opposite). The orange-brown color of hessonite grossular garnet is due to manganese and iron inclusions.

The best hessonite garnets are found in Sri Lanka in metamorphic rocks, or gem gravels and sands. In Madagascar hessonite is often referred to as cinnamon stone. Other localities include Brazil, Canada, and Siberia (Russia), as well as Maine. California and New Hampshire in the U.S.A.

Both the Ancient Greeks and Romans made cameos, intaglios, and cabochons from hessonite, and faceted stones for jewellery.