Almandine Garnet

Fine stone almandine garnet

Almandine Garnet named after “Alabandus”, a city in Asia Minor.
Pliny the Elder referred to almandine garnet as “carbunculus” meaning “burning coal”.
The color of almandine garnet is quite similar to that of pyrope, it is distinguished by purplish or brownish nuances, but it remains clearer than pyrope.
The nuances of fine stone almandine garnet are caused by inclusions, generally it contains a little pyrope and spessartite.
Its purple coloring is due to a greater amount of iron and chromium.

Almandine garnet jewel

The main deposits are located in Austria (Tyrol), Brazil, United States, India, Madagascar, Sri Lanka.
In France, the making of jewelry mounted in garnet is a specialty of the city of Perpignan for pyrope and especially almandine garnets, these garnets come from the nearby Mount Canigou.