RED GARNET – PYROPE, ALMANDITE, RHODOLITE AND SPESSARTITE

People normally associate Garnet as a red stone. However, as mentioned earlier, garnet comes in a wide range of colours such as the lovely green and orange tsavorite and spessartite respectively. It is a diverse group of difrerent coloured minerals with similar crystal structure and related chemical composition, chief among them are pyrope, almandite and spessartite, grossularite and andradite. It is a hard stone suitable for jewellery. It was once believed that garnet to cure melancholy and to warm the heart. Garnet is the birthstone for January.

Pyrope’s blood red colour is due to its iron and chromium content. It is difficult to find large facetted pieces but is usually without inclusions. It is found in volcanic rocks and alluvial deposits and may, along with other minerals, indicate the presence of diamond-bearing rocks. Deposits are found in Burma, Ceylon, China, Madagascar, Tanzania and S Africa.

h py ov dprd 10.03(14.3x11.8x6.4)ec 1k 3b28 LT84	l2 py em pko 7.94(12.5x9.6x6.4)ecu 06 3b32 T62
la py pr rdpk ta 5.98(12.3x10.8x5.8)ecu 045 3b40 T17	m1 py bg pko 4.40(14.4x6.5x4.1)ecu 04 3b33 N17
m1 py pn rdpk 4.20(11.2x9.7x5.9)c 045 3b33 T43	m2a2 py pr pko 3.56(11.3x8.9x5.2)ecu 03 3b33 N17
m2b2 py ov pko 3.22(10.4x7.8x4.8)cu 03 3b34 N17	m3 py sqcu rd 2.55(8.2x8.1x4.7)ec 025 3b40 N20
m5a py rn1 rdpk tp 2.28(7.8x4.8)ec pair 04 3b31 M12	m5b py bg rdpk ta 2.19(9.3x5.3x4.1)ecu 025 3b-T17

Almandite is generally darker red than pyrope, although pinkish red specimens are also found. Usually opaqye or translucent, the rare transparent stones have high lustre. Many stones show inclusions and four-rayed stars may be seen when cut en cabochon. Almandite is found in metamorphic rocks, such as garnet mica schist. It is found worldwide.

h alm mq dprdo 10.47(19x12.1x6.4)cu 1k 3b28 L45	l2 alm em dprdo ni 7.93(15.5x10.1x4.4)cu 06 3b34 N33
l alm ov rdo 5.92(12x9x6.4)ec 05 3b28 N23	m2 alm ov dprd ma 3.18(8.7x8x5.3)ec 025 3b39 M27
m2 alm ra rdo ni 3.14(10.4x10.2x4.6)c 03 3b36 T24	m3 alm ov dprd ma 2.62(9x7.8x4.1)ec 025 3b39 N21
m3 alm ov dkrd ma 2.74(9.3x7.5x4.2)ec 025 3b39 N18	m3a alm mq rd ta 2.59(11.3x6.4x4.7)ec 025 3b39 N25

Rhodolite is a purplish red or rose coloured garnet, between pyrope and almandite in composition, a mixture of the two types. It is a pretty stone.

l1 rh cu rasrd 9.01(11.5x11x8)ec 09 3b22 T205	l1 rh ov rdpp 8.70(13.4x10.8x7.4)c 07 3b22 N50
l2 rh ov rdpp 7.0(13.4x10.1x6)ecu 07 3b22 N17	l3 rh cu rosrd 6.40(13.4x8.8x5.3)c 07 3b23 N100
l3 rh ov rdpp ta 6.22(12.1x10.1x5.4)ecu 065 3b30 T29	l3 rh ov dprdpp 6.31(11.8x9.8x6.5)ec 06 3b24 N27
m1b rh pr pprd 4.08(10.6x8.8x5.6)ecu 05 3b27 T10	m2b2 rh ov pkrd 3.29(10x8.2x4.6)c 045 3b23 T37
m2b1 rh em dprd ta 3.44(9.6x6.9x5)c 035 3b24 N47	m2b5 rh ht pprd 3.02(8.4x8x5.5)vsi 03 3b23 N11
Rhodolite pair of hearts l1 rho ht1 rasred 9.54(18.5x13x3.5)ec pair 04 7b26 M30	Rhodolite carving l2 rho lf orbrn 7.75(19.9x15.3x2.8)ec 02 7b25 M21
Umbalite (Rhodolite) m2 um pr mag ta 3.00(10x7.9x5.2)c 04 3b34 N41	Umbalite (Rhodolite) s2 um ov pkpp ta 1.56(8x6x4.5)ec 025 3b34 N28

Spessartite, as mentioned earlier under orange garnet, ranges from orange to red-brown. Here we feature the red-brown stone.

h1 sp ov dprd 21.21(18.9x15.4x8.1)c 1.2k 3b9 L164	h2 sp fn rdo 17.79(19.6x15.1x7.2)ec 1k 3b1 N60
h2a sp ovcb rdo 16.96(15.8x12.5x8.1)ec 09k 3b29M40	h2b sp em rdo 15.15(17.1x12x6.8)ec 1k 3b29 N27
h3a sp mq dprdo 13.56(21x13.4x7.2)cu 08 3b1 N50	h4 sp ov dpord 12.77(15x11.8x8.2)c 1k 3b4 T172
h4 sp ov rd 12.27(15.5x13.4x7.2)c 1k 3b4 N82	ha1 sp ov rd 10.82(14.2x12.4x7.1)c 1k 3b10 N78
ha2 sp ov rd 10.70(15.5x12.5x6.2)c 1k 3b9 N40	ha3 sp ht dprdo 10.60(15.2x13.3x6.5)c 1k 3b30 N142
l1a1 sp em rdo 9.73(14.2x9.3x6.9)ec 1.2k 3b3 T230	l1b sp tr rdo 8.22(14.3x10x7.3)c 08 3b29 N50
l1 sp em lv 8.0(12x10x5)ec 03 3b30-08	m2 sp ov gbn mo 3.85(9.9x8.1x4.7)c 05 3b8N58
carving pair of fish l1sp fish1 obn 9.69(5x3.2x3.4) pr02 7b25 M20	carving pair of fish l1sp fish1 obn 9.69(5x3.2x3.4) pr02 7b25 M20