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| Translucent Spessartite Garnet. Photo : © Unique Minerals |
Translucent Spessartite Garnet
Spessartite is an orange to orange-red form of the gemstone Garnet. The term Garnet describes a group name for several closely related minerals that form important gemstones, and Spessartite is an individual member mineral of the Garnet group.
Spessartite garnet is ideochromatic, meaning that it is colored by a fundamental element in its composition. That element is manganese, which produces an orange color. Take away the manganese, and it would no longer be spessartite. Thus spessartite has only one basic color – orange.
Formula: Mn2+3Al2(SiO4)3
Crystal habit: Rhombic dodecahedron or cubic
Mohs scale hardness: 6.5–7.5
Luster: vitreous to resinous
Streak: White
Crystal system: isometric
The specimen in the photo From Navegador, Brazil
Spessartite is an orange to orange-red form of the gemstone Garnet. The term Garnet describes a group name for several closely related minerals that form important gemstones, and Spessartite is an individual member mineral of the Garnet group.
Spessartite garnet is ideochromatic, meaning that it is colored by a fundamental element in its composition. That element is manganese, which produces an orange color. Take away the manganese, and it would no longer be spessartite. Thus spessartite has only one basic color – orange.
Crystal habit: Rhombic dodecahedron or cubic
Mohs scale hardness: 6.5–7.5
Luster: vitreous to resinous
Streak: White
Crystal system: isometric
The specimen in the photo From Navegador, Brazil
