The attractive, bright green color of uvarovite is due to the presence of chromium. The crystals are very fragile, with subconchoidal to uneven fracture. Uvarovite occurs in serpentine rocks. The best clear crystals are found in the Urals in Russia, lining cavities or rock fissures. Other sources are Finland, Turkey, and Italy.
Gem-quality spessartite (also known as spessartine) is uncommon. It is bright orange when pure, but an increase in the iron content makes the stone darker orange to red. Inclusions are lace - or feather-like.Spessartite occurs in granitic pegmatites and alluvial deposits. It is found in Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Brazil, Sweden, Australia, Burma, and the USA; also Germany and Italy, but crystals there are too small to facet. Spessartine is named after Spessart district of Bavaria, Germany. It can be confused with hessonite garnet or yellow topaz, but on close examination of inclusions it is distinguishable.
The blood-red color of pyrope garnet is due to its iron and chromium content. It rarely has inclusions, but when present they are rounded crystals or have irregular outlines. As with all garnets, pyrope has no cleavage, and fracture is subconchoidal to uneven. Pyrope garnet is found in volcanic rock and alluvial deposits, and may, along with certain other minerals, indicate the presence of diamond-bearing rocks. Localities include Arizona (USA), South Africa, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Burma, Scotland, Switzerland, and Tanzania. Pyrope comes from the Greek pyrops, meaning fiery. Swiss and South African pyropes are lighter red than stones from Bohemia, where pyrope jewelry has been made for over 500 years. Perfectly transparent, clear, uniformly colored crystals of pyrope garnet were popular for jewellery in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The possible admixtures among the garnet group species give rise to the following intermediate species which are known in the trade as Rhodolite, Malaya, Pyrandine, Pyralspite, etc. As there are varying percentages of isomorphous replacements, their properties show considerable variations. Pyrope - Almandine Garnet (Rhodolite): Color is basically purplish red, brownish red and violet-red, whose properties are as follows:
Pyrope - Spessartite Garnet (Color Changing): The color is bluish green in daylight and purplish red in lamplight. Some exhibit a purplish blue to purplish red color change.
Hessonite Garnet: It occur in a very wide range of colors, from colorless right through to black, but terive their name from the first specimen ever found, a distinctive gooseberry-green color. The orange-brown color of hessonite grossular garnet is due to manganese and iron inclusions. It has swirls of inclusions, giving it a treacly appearance. 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 USA. Both the Ancient Greeks and Romans made cameos, intaglios, and cabochons from hessonite, and faceted stones for jewelry. Green Grossular Garnet: There are two varieties of green grossular: one is found as transparent crystals, the other is massive. Massive green grossular from South Africa is called Transvaal jade, after its main locality and because it resembles jade. It may contain black specks of the mineral magnetite. Since the 1960s a transparent, green grossular garnet, named tsavorite, has been mined in Kenya. Massive green grossular is used as a decorative stone; tsavorite is faceted as a gem. Found in Canada, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the former USSR, Tanzania, South Africa, and the USA. Kenya is the main source for tsavorite. The name "grossular" is derived from the botanical name of the gooseberry, R. grossularia. Massive grossular garnet of a gooseberry-green color was first discovered in the former USSR. Since then it has also been found in Hungary and Italy. Pink Grossular is found in Mexico, usually as a massive form in metamorphic rocks. Crystals are rare. It also occurs in South Africa. Pinkish grossular from Mexico may be known as rosolite.
Garnets containing titanium and manganese are grouped as andradite garnet. The most valuable is demantoid, whose emerald-green color is due to the presence of chromium. It has a higher dispersion than diamond and can be recognized by the characteristic "horsetails", which are fine, hair-like inclusions of asbestos. Topazolite, the yellow variety of andradite garnet, varies from pale to dark yellow. Only small crystals are found. Melanite is a generally black form, but can also be dark red. The best demantoid is found in the Urals in Russia, and is associated with gold-bearing sands and metamorphic rocks. Other localities include northern Italy, Zaire, and Kenya. Topazolite crystals are found in the Swiss and Italian Alps in metamorphic rocks. Melanite is found in metamorphic rocks and volcanic lavas; fine crystals are found on the island of Elba (Italy), and in France and Germany.
Did you know?
In Turkey, people fix a piece of amber in the hubble-bubble, dogged by an age old belief that the presence of the jewel would destroy all the germs and no disease would spread, even after many have dragged their puffs from it.
Almandine is generally darker red than pyrope and may appear black, although pinkish red specimens are found. It is usually opaque or sub translucent, but the rare transparent stones have high lustre. Although dense, almandine is brittle and facet edges chip. Many stones show characteristic inclusions and four-rayed stars may be seen when stones are cut in cabochon. Needle-like crystals of rutile or hornblende are typical inclusions in almandine. The darker almandines are frequently cut as cabochons or used as abrasives in garnet paper. The underside of dark almandine is often hollowed out to let more light filter through the stone. Almandine is found in metamorphic rocks, such as garnet mica schist, and less frequently in granitic pegmatites. It has a worldwide occurrence. Slices of garnet have been used in windows in churches and temples, and legend has it that Noah suspended garnet in the ark in order to disperse light. Garnet was once said to cure melancholy and to warm the heart.
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