Gem Garnet - Pyrope Garnet - Spessartine - Grossular

is actually a group of gemstones. Many people use garnet interchangably with the deep red almandine and pyrope, but garnets can be found in every color except blue.

One expecially appealing garnet is the brilliant green tsavorite.

Garnets are versitile, harder than beryl at 8 on the mohs scale, and available in a range of prices. That makes them excellent gemstones for rings, bracelets and matching sets.

Properties

Crystal System - Isometric(cubic)
Hardness - 6.5 to 7.5
Specific Gravity - (see table)
Refraction - Single
Refractive Index - (see table)
Dispersion -
Wearability - Very Good
Special Care - None

Garnet Types

Type

Specific Gravity

Refractive Index

Spessartine

4.15 (4.12-4.20)

1.81 (1.79-1.814)

Almandine

4.05 (3.93-4.30)

1.79 (1.76-1.82)

Andradite

3.84 (3.77-3.88)

1.89 (1.88-1.89)

Demantoid

3.84 (3.81-3.87)

1.888 (1.85-1.89)

Rhodolite

3.84 (3.74-3.94)

1.76 (1.75-1.77)

Malaia

3.81 (3.78-3.85)

1.76 (1.742-1.78)

Pyrope

3.78 (3.62-3.87)

1.74 (1.71-1.77)

Grossular

3.61 (3.57-3.73)

1.74 (1.73-1.76)

Hessonite

3.65

1.74-1.75

Tsavorite

3.64

1.742-1.744

Diamonds • Precious Gemstones • Jewelry • Gemology

Garnet