A Rainbow of Color: Garnet Mineral Collection

I've been collecting garnet gemstones and specimens for a couple of years, and wanted to share the specimens I've acquired with everyone. I love garnets!!

Hope I don't bore y'all to tears. My photography skills aren't the best.


This specimen was listed as 'Uvarovite on Diopside from Magog, Ontario, Canada from the 1960's.'

I read an interesting discussion on mindat that the uvarovite found during the 1960's at the listed locality is probably chromian grossular and found at Orford Nickel Mine, Canada.

I asked the seller about it and he agreed and said he forgot to change the information on his website. The seller kindly sent me a corrected label, but I also included the historical information on the back of the label.


Chromian grossular on diopside
Orford Nickel Mine, Canada








shot of the diopside xtals



This TN was a freebie from @rocks2dust. Thank You, rocks2dust!!!

Cryolithionite "fluorite garnet"
Garnet structural group
Ivigtut, Arsuk Fjord, Sermersooq, Greenland (type locality)
Thumbnail

rruff.info/uploads/AM56_18.pdf




Garnet (almandine?)
Unknown locality
(looks kinda like almandine found in Wrangell, Alaska)




Garnet (andradite?) on actinolite
Stanley Butte, Arizona




cheater shot of tiny pale yellowish-green garnets on actinolite




Garnet (andradite?) with quartz
From Ex. collection of Buck Keller
Stanley Butte, Arizona
(have seen andradite specimens with quartz from Russia, but this was listed with locality of Stanley Butte, Arizona where beautiful andradite garnet is found)




Garnet (andradite?)
Unknown locality




Garnet (grossular?)
Unknown locality




Almandine in schist
Greythrone Prospect, Graham County, Arizona, USA
2" x 2" x 2"




Almandine in amphibolite
Gore Mountain, New York, USA
100mm x 60mm x 60mm (heavy specimen)




Almandine garnet rough with 4-ray star cabs & broken 6-ray star garnet piece
Idaho, USA




Almandine (unpolished)
China




Mozambique garnet accent stones with diamond
(my engagement ring)

Mozambique garnet is from Mozambique and a mixture of pyrope and almandine.




Andradite with nice color zoning on garnet crystal edges
Serifos Island, Hellas, Greece




Andradite with hedenbergite(?)
Serifos Island, Hellas, Greece




Here's another shot of the small bouquet of Serifos Island andradite sitting on top of what I think may be hedenbergite (green mineral w/ long blades)




Andradite
Stanley Butte, Arizona, USA
35mm x 28mm x 18mm




Andradite
Stanley Butte, Arizona, USA




Andradite
Stanley Butte, Arizona, USA




Andradite
Stanley Butte, Arizona, USA




cheater-shot of Stanley Butte andradite




Andradite cat's eye
San Benito county, California




Andradite, Hematite, and Quartz
N'Chwaning mine, Kuruman, Kalahari Manganese fields, Northern Cape Province, South Africa
1" x 1" x 2"




close-up of Andradite, Hematite, and Quartz




Andradite on Hematite
N'Chwaning mine, Kuruman, Kalahari Manganese fields, Northern Cape Province, South Africa
1 1/4" x 1 5/8" x 1/2"




Andradite with ettringite
Africa
This specimen has several yellow ettringite crystals on the bottom




Andradite
Lyon County, Nevada
Received this beauty from gemfeller




Schorlomite (titanian andradite)
Ouarzazate Province, Morocco
Thumbnail





Melanite (black andradite)
San Benito County, California, USA
45mm x 28mm x 27 mm




Andradite
Dal'negorsk, Russia




Melanite (black andradite) with minor Pyrite
Rudnyy, Kaskad Deposit, Kurgon District, Eastern Siberia, Russia
2 3/4" x 2" x 5"




Iridescent "Rainbow" Andradite
Nara Praefecture (south of Kyoto), Japan
Thumbnail




Iridescent Andradite aka Rainbow Garnet
Kose Mine, Tenkawa Village, Nara Prefecture, Japan
Thumbnail




















Melanite (black andradite) and minor Pyrite
Rudnyy, Kaskad Deposit, Kurgon District, Eastern Siberia, Russia
2 3/4" x 2" x 5"




Calderite
Litzdalen Sunndal, Norway
Thumbnail





Color Change Garnet
pyrope-spessartine solid-solution series, with smaller constituents of almandine and grossular
Bekily, Madagascar
1.02ct
in sunlight




Color Change Garnet
pyrope-spessartine solid-solution series, with smaller constituents of almandine and grossular
Bekily, Madagascar
1.02ct
indoor lighting





Demantoid in serpentine
Jiang Xi Province, China



This is the seller's (Allen) close-up pic of the demantoid in serpentine





Demantoid on greenstone in asbestos veining
New Idria District, San Benito County, California, USA
2 1/2" x 4" x 5"




close-up of California Demantoid




Demantoid on matrix
Pakistan
Thumbnail





Demantoid
Pakistan
Micromineral
(horrible photography)




.47ct Demantoid with horsetail inclusions in rose gold
Ural Mountains, Russia




Garnet and Peridotite
Unknown locality
2" x 3" x 2"




Garnet, Epidote, and Quartz
Unknown locality
2" x 2" x 2"




Goldmanite
Rybanicek, Bratislava Slovakia
Thumbnail




Goldmanite
the red arrow is pointing to the goldmanite




Leucogarnet (colorless grossular)
Sri Lanka
.80ct 5mm round




Tsavorite (grossular)
Kenya
Thumbnail




Chrome Grossular on Diopside
Orford Nickel mine, St. Denis-de-Brompton, Sherbrooke County, Quebec, Canada
1" x 1" x 1 1/2"




Grossular with clinozoisite
Kresti Hill, Kato Nevrokopi, Drama, Macedonia, Hellas
(please note: I found a similar specimen on mindat that listed this as andradite with clinozoisite, but I believe it is grossular as Stephen of Orkyton Minerals listed it)




Grossular
Possibly from Jefrey Mine in Quebec, Canada??




above specimen turned over




close-up of above Grossular showing striated xtal faces




Grossular with Calcite and Chromite
Orford Nickel Mine, Brompton Lake, Quebec, Canada
1" x 3/4" x 1 1/2"




another pic of above specimen




Raspberry Pink and Green Grossular
Mexico
Thumbnails




Grossular on welded tuff and altered pumice
Wah Wah Pass, Wah Wah Mountains, Beaver County, Utah, USA
3 1/2" x 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"




Grossular garnet on matrix
Lime Point, Beaver County, Utah




Grossular and ?? on Marble
Thetford Mines, Megantic County, Quebec, Canada
1 1/2" x 2" x 5/8"




close-up of above grossular




Rasperry Pink Grossular (zoned from white core to black (andradite garnet) to pink in Wollastonite matrix)
Santo Domingo mine, Sierra de Los Cruces, Alicante, Coahuilla, Mexico
2" x 2 1/2" x 2"




Hessonite (grossular) on Massive Garnet
Asbestos, Shipton Township, Richmond County, Quebec, Canada
1 1/2" x 1 1/2" x 1"




Hessonite (grossular)
Quebec




Grossular - step-faced xtals to 3/8" on matrix
Asbestos, Shipton Township, Richmond County, Quebec, Canada
3" x 4" x 2"




close-up of grossular




another close-up of grossular




Tsavorite (grossular)
Kenya
Thumbnail




Grossular and vesuvianite (idocrase)
(Happy Camp Jade, Californite, and Pulga Jade)
Happy Camp, California
unpolished slab




Heated garnet parcel




close-up of heated garnet parcel




Hibschite (variety of grossular)
South Africa
Thumbnail




Hibschite (variety of grossular)
Ireland
Thumbnail from @rocks2dust




Kimzeyite (aluminium analogue of kerimasite)
Magnet Cove, Hot Spring County, Arkansas, USA
Thumbnail




Mali (grossular-andradite)
Arroncissement Qussoumbibdiana, 7 km S of Madiawaya, Guiedefalie, Cercle de Bafoulabe, Kayes region, Mali, Africa
1.15" x 1" x .80"




Pyrope
Brazil
Thumbnail




Rhodolite
Tanzania
Thumbnail

"Originally a rose-red gem variety of Pyrope. Current usage has extended the name to any pink garnet in the almandine-pyrope series with most of the occurrences in the almandine compositional field.

True pyrope does occur at the "type" locality described by Hidden and Pratt (1898a) from mixed-environment detrital minerals from sands in Masons Branch Brook, Cowee Valley, Macon Co., North Carolina, USA"

Source: Mindat




Spessartine

Left side - may be almandine-spessartine
Elephant Mountain, Aquarius Mountains, Mohave County, Arizona, USA
Thumbnail

Right side - spessartine
Tanzania
Thumbnail




Spessartine on smoky quartz
Fujan, China
1.25" x 1.25" x 3/4"




close-up of above specimen




Spessartine on muscovite
Afghanistan
1 1/2" x 1 3/4" x 7/8'




close-up of spessartine on muscovite




close-up shot of the bottom of the spessartine on muscovite specimen




Spessartine on smoky quartz and orthoclase
Lechang, Dhongzhou, Tongbei, Yunxiao County, Fujian Province, China
1 1/2" x 2 1/2" x 1"





Spessartine thumbnail with microline feldspar and possibly calcite (on end)
Pakistan



Pakistani spessartine showing etching in crystals




Spessartine floater xtal
Minas Gerias, Brazil
12.5 mm x 16 mm x 8mm




close-up of spessartine floater xtal




Spessartine on smoky quartz xtal
Lechang, Dhongzhou, Tongbei, Yunxiao County, Fujian Province, China
1 1/2" x 1/2" x 1/2"




another shot of the spessartine on smoky quartz xtal




Spessartine "nucleus" with muscovite and doubly-terminated quartz




another view of spessartine nucleus with muscovite and doubly-terminated quartz




Spessartine
Unknown locality




Spessartine
China




cheater-shot of spessartine from China




Spessartine on zinnwaldite with quartz, plagioclase and beryl
Pakistan








In this pic, you can see the beryl crystal peeking out from behind the largest spessartine




cheater-shot of the beryl xtal



Here's the largest garnet in my very small garnet gemstone collection. It's a 24 carat red spessartite that has nice red flash in certain lighting. I purchased it from a good friend, Jason Brim, owner of Select Gem, several years ago.


red Spessartite
Namibia
24 carats


Here's another spessartite that I used to wear daily with my wedding rings until I scuffed it up pretty bad and it needs to be recut.

This one is an orange-red at 3.64 carats, and the photo of my ring was taken by the seller, Rodrigue & Sons of Awesome Gems.

orange-red Spessartite
Madagascar
3.64 carats




Uvarovite (green calcium chromium garnet end-member)
Ural Mountains, Russia
small cabinet specimens




another view of uvarovite specimens




Uvarovite




Uvarovite


Edited the post to add new specimens and garnet information.


A wonderful article written about garnets by Rick Martin ( gemfeller )

"Garnet: It Gets No Respect"
www.virtualfundy.com/Volumes/001/garnet.htm



From Mineral Miners' website:
www.mineralminers.com/html/garminfo.htm

GARNET PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

General garnet composition: A3B2(SiO4)3, where Ca, Mg, Fe2+, or Mn2+ occupy the A site, and the B site contains Al, Fe3+ or Cr3+. Hydrous garnets may contain up to 8.5% H2O.

Chemical Composition of Common End-member Garnet Species
Pyralspite Garnet Group
Almandine: Fe3Al2(SiO4)3
Pyrope: Mg3Al2(SiO4)3
Spessartine: Mn3Al2(SiO4)3

Ugrandite Garnet Group
Andradite: Ca3Fe2(SiO4)3
Grossular: Ca3Al2(SiO4)3
Uvarovite: Ca3Cr2(SiO4)3

Less Common End-member Garnet Species
Calderite: Mn3Fe3+2(SiO4)3
Goldmanite: Ca3V2(SiO4)3
Hydrogrossular: Ca3Al2(SiO4)3-x(OH)4x
Hibschite: Ca3Al2(SiO4)3-x(OH)4x (where x is between 0.2 and 1.5)
Katoite: Ca3Al2(SiO4)3-x(OH)4x (where x is greater than 1.5)
Kimzeyite: Ca3(Zr,Ti)2[(Si,Al,Fe3+)O4]3
Knorringite: Mg3Cr2(SiO4)3
Majorite: Mg3(Fe,Al,Si)2(SiO4)3, discovered in a meteorite!
Morimotoite: Ca3Ti4+Fe2+(SiO4)3
Schorlomite: Ca3(Ti4+,Fe3+)2[(Si,Ti)O4]3

Class: nesosilicates

Crystal system: isometric; 4/m bar3 2/m

Crystal habit: commonly forms as rhombic dodecahedrons, trapezohedrons, or a mixture of these two forms. Rarely as hexoctahedrons. Also as coarse or fine massive granular.

Specific gravity: 3.4 - 4.3 (almandine 3.95-4.32, pyrope 3.53-3.87, spessartine 3.80-4.25, andradite 3.70-4.18, grossular 3.56-3.71 and uvarovite 3.40-3.90)

Index of refraction: 1.72-1.94 (almandine 1.75-1.83, pyrope 1.73-1.77, spessartine 1.79-1.81, andradite 1.86-1.94, grossular 1.72-1.80 and uvarovite 1.74-1.87)

Birefringence: 0.000-0.005 (almandine 0.000, pyrope 0.000, spessartine 0.000-0.004, andradite 0.000-0.005, grossular 0.000-0.005 and uvarovite 0.000-0.005)

Pleochroism: none

Hardness: 6.5 - 7.5

Color: Garnets occur in all colors except blue, and some rare color change garnets do have blue-ish hues under cetain kinds of light. Almandine is typically a deep red-violet, also can be red, brownish-red and brownish-black. Pyrope usually a blood-red, also dark red, purplish-red, orangish-red and pinkish-red. Spessartine can be orange, reddish-orange, red, reddish-brown, yellowish-brown and brown. Andradite occurs in yellowish-green, green, greenish-brown, gray and black. Grossular can be colorless, gray, many shades of yellow and green, also pink, red, brown and black. Uvarovite is a dark green.

Luster: vitreous to resinous, can occur with chatoyancy due to minute asbestiform inclusions of pyroxene or amphibole, yielding a four-ray star when fashioned into a cabochon gem.

Transparency: transparent to opaque

Cleavage: none

Fracture: conchoidal, somewhat brittle

Streak: white



Alan Guisewite's mineral collection is a must-see, especially his garnets! His garnet collection is listed at the bottom of his home page. He has excellent information to read, too.

www.cs.cmu.edu/~adg/adg-piimages.html



From the Gemology Project on (gem) garnet and their classification:
gemologyproject.com/wiki/index.php?title=Garnet