Almandine-proper garnet

Proper-almandine garnet, the most widely used in jewelry, is found in abundance on the market. Several samples are of excellent clarity and have a very good transparency, but can not escape the so-called "garnet effect": some aspects of the flag still appear very dark or even black in places, whatever the intensity of the light in which we examine. His main fields are Sri Lanka and India, Burma, Brazil, Tanzania and Madagascar.

The chocolate garnet is a variety of almandine-proper garnet. It is essentially characterized by its red color pink and its refractive index (1.76). Its transparency is excellent and its brightness is high. It is the most popular and most sought garnet jewelry. It is found mainly in Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and the United States. It is easily confused with ruby, spinal and red tourmaline (Robe line).

Characteristic

     Crystal system: Cubic

     Chemical composition: (FE MG) 3Al2Si3O12 silicate of magnesium, iron and aluminum.

     Colors: Red brown, red violet.

     Hardness: 7 to 7.5

     Specific Gravity: 3.6 - 4.2

     Refractive index: 1.73 - 1.83

     Dispersion: 0024

     Polychrome: None

     Birthstone: January