Pyrope

Pyrope

Description

A transparent, ruby-red Garnet composed of magnesium aluminum silicate where the magnesium is partially replaced with calcium and iron. The color of pyrope ranges from a deep red to almost black. Gemstone quality pyropes are mined in the Czech Republic, South Africa, and Australia.

Synonyms and Related Terms

garnet; Cape ruby; Bohemian garnet; rhodolite (violet); piropo (Esp., Port.); Pyrop (Deut.); pyroop (Ned.)

Physical and Chemical Properties

Raman

• Fracture = conchoidal
• Luster = vitreous to resinous
• Streak = colorless to white
• Birefringence = isotropic
• Pleochroism = none
• UV fluorescence = inert.
• Composition = 3MgO-Al2O3-3SiO2
• Mohs Hardness = 7.0 - 7.5
• Density = 3.78 g/ml
• Refractive Index = 1.714-1.742

Comparisons

Properties of Common Gemstones

Resources and Citations

• Mineralogy Database: Pyrope
• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 354

• Jack Odgen, Jewellery of the Ancient World, Rizzoli International Publications Inc., New York City, 1982

• Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "pyrope." Accessed 14 Sept. 2001 .

• C.W.Chesterman, K.E.Lowe, Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1979

• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrope (Accessed Sept. 14, 2005)

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998