Uvarovite

Uvarovite pendant
credit: Adrian Pingstone

Description

Uvarovite

A rare, bright green Garnet composed of a calcium chromium silicate. Uvarovite was discovered in 1832 and named after Count Sergei Uvarov, a Russian mineral collector. Gemstone quality uvarovite is mined in the Ural Mountains, Norway, Finland, Poland (Silesia), Spain, South Africa, Canada, (Quebec), and in the United States (California, Pennsylvania).

Synonyms and Related Terms

garnet; uvarovita (Esp.); uvarovite (Port.); Uvarovit (Deut.); uvaroviet (Ned.)

Raman (RASMIN)

Physical and Chemical Properties

• Cubic system with irregular closely packed crystals
• Fracture = conchoidal or uneven
• Luster = vitreous to resinous
• Streak = white
• Fluorescence = not diagnostic

Composition	Ca3Cr2(SiO4)3
Mohs Hardness	6.5 - 7.5
Density	3.77 - 3.81 g/ml
Refractive Index	1.798 - 1.864

Resources and Citations

• Mineralogy Database: Uvarovite
• Gem Identification Lab Manual, Gemological Institute of America, 2016.
• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 354
• Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "uvarovite" [Accessed 20 Sept. 2005].
• C.W.Chesterman, K.E.Lowe, Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Rocks and Minerals, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1979
• Wikipedia: Uvarovite (Accessed Sept. 20, 2005 and Dec 2022)
• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997
• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998