Spessartine

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Spessartine garnet; image credit Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com

Description

Spessartine

A Garnet composed of manganese aluminum silicate. The color of spessartine may range from an orange-yellow to brownish-red. Gem quality stones are mined in Germany, Malagasy Republic, India, and the United States (Colorado and Maine). Historically, spessartine gemstones are rare but a few have been found dating to the 2nd and 3rd century BCE (Odgen 1982).

Synonyms and Related Terms

garnet; spessartite; espesartina (Esp;); Spessartin (Deut.); spessartien (Ned.)

IR-ATR (RRUFF)

Spessartine IR-ATR RRUFF R050063.png

Raman (RRUFF)

Spessartine Raman RRUFF R050063.png

Raman (RASMIN)

SpessartineRS.jpg

Physical and Chemical Properties

  • Isometric crystal system with massive to crystalline habit
  • Cleavage = none
  • Fracture = conchoidal
  • Luster = vitreous to resinous
  • Streak = colorless to white
  • Fluorescence = inert
  • Birefringence = none
Composition 3MnO-Al2O3-3SiO2
Mohs Hardness 6.5 - 7.5
Density 4.15 g/ml
Refractive Index 1.800-1.810
Dispersion 0.027 (weak fire)

Comparisons

Properties of Common Gemstones

Resources and Citations

  • Gem Identification Lab Manual, Gemological Institute of America, 2016.
  • Wikipedia: Spessartine (Accessed Dec 2022)
  • Jack Ogden, Jewelry of the Ancient World, Rizzoli International Publications, New York, 1982.
  • Mineralogy Database: Spessartine
  • G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 354
  • Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "spessartine." 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
  • 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