Almandite Garnet: The Star of India and Idaho

Almandite garnet is a natural gemstone that requires no enhancements to achieve its ultimate beauty. While many people commonly call it almandite garnet, the proper name for this gemstone is actually almandine. Nevertheless, whatever you want to call it (and I’ll call it almandite garnet), this gemstone has been around for a long time and continues to be popular.

 

Garnets are gemstones that are found in many different colors. Orange, yellow, red, purple, green, and brown are some of the more widely known colors of garnets. Almandite garnet is one of the more commonly available varieties of garnet. Almandite garnet is typically found as reddish purple, with shades of brown or black. It is composed of iron aluminum silicate.

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Almandite garnet from India and from the United States’ Idaho sometimes exhibits four or six rays (resembling a star) when it is cabochon cut. These are the only two places in the world where almandite garnet displaying the rays of a star (star garnet) have been produced. Almandite garnet displaying six rays is very rare.

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In addition to India and Idaho, almandite garnet has been found in Brazil, Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), Australia, Greenland, Africa, Mexico, and other areas of the United States. Almandite garnet is fairly strong. On the Mohs scale, it is around 7.0 to 7.5 in hardness. It is a great gemstone for use in jewelry due to its beauty and strength. Almandite garnet has been used in Egyptian, Anglo-Saxon, and Celtic jewelry through the ages.

 

Metaphysically speaking, some people feel that almandite garnet provides them with a sense of peace, enduring love, compassion, and balance. Garnet is the birthstone for the month of January and is also a suggested gemstone for the second wedding anniversary.

 

Almandite garnet, in addition to being correctly referred to as almandine, has been called almandine ruby, Ceylon garnet, Oriental garnet, carbuncle (little spark), and Syrian garnet. Yes, even gemstones fall victim to name-calling.

  

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