Spessartine

Spessartine is the orange variety of the garnet family. It is rare to find a clean gem-quality specimen. The color of the gemstone is bright orange when pure. However, it increases in saturation due to the iron content to darker orange or red. It has lace- or feather-like inclusions.

Spessartine is named after the Spessart district of Bavaria, Germany. It can be confused with hessonite garnet or yellow topaz. Still, on closer inspection of inclusions, it is distinguishable.

Occurrence

Spessartine garnet occurs in granitic pegmatites and alluvial deposits. It is found in Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Brazil, Sweden, Australia, Myanmar (Burma), the USA, Germany, and Italy. However, The crystals in the latter two localities are too small to facet.

Spessartine Properties

• Specific Gravity: 4.16
• Refractive Index: 1.79-1.81
• Birefringence (DR): None
• Luster: Vitreous
• Crystal Structure: Cubic
• Composition: Magnesium aluminum silicate
• Hardness: 7

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Birthstone

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