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Click on a
letter above to view the list of gems. |
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| Pyrope
is named from the Greek word pyropos, meaning
fire-like in allusion to the red color.
| Discovered
in 1803;
IMA
status: Valid (pre-IMA; Grandfathered) |
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Chemistry
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Chemical
Formula: |
Mg3Al2(SiO4)3
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Magnesium
Aluminum Silicate |
Molecular
Weight: |
403.13 gm
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Composition: |
Magnesium |
18.09 % |
Mg |
29.99 % |
MgO |
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Aluminum |
13.39 % |
Al |
25.29 % |
Al2O3 |
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Silicon |
20.90 % |
Si |
44.71 % |
SiO2 |
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Oxygen |
47.63 % |
O |
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100.00 % |
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100.00 % |
= TOTAL OXIDE |
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Classification
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Mineral
Classification: |
Silicates
(Germanates)
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Strunz 8th
Ed. ID:
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8/A.08-10
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Nickel-Strunz 10th
Ed. ID:
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9.AD.25
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9 : SILICATES (Germanates)
A : Nesosilicates D : Nesosilicates without additional anions; cations in [6] and/or greater coordination
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Related
to: |
Garnet Group.
Almandine-Pyrope Series. Knorringite-Pyrope Series. Pyrope-Grossular Series.
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Members
of Group: |
Garnet
Group: Almandine, Andradite, Grossular, Pyrope, Spessartine, Uvarovite
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Varieties: |
Chromian Pyrope,
Rhodolite, Titanian Pyrope
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Synonyms: |
Arizona Ruby,
Bohemian Garnet, Böhmischer Granat, Cape Ruby, Colorado Ruby,
Elie Ruby, Greenlandite (of Klaproth), Pyrope Garnet,
Vogesite
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Crystal
Data
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Crystallography:
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Isometric
- Hexoctahedral
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Crystal
Habit:
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Subhedral
to euhedral crystals, showing the dodecahedron or trapezohedral
forms, to 20 cm; also granular, massive.
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Twinning:
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None
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Physical
Properties
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Cleavage: |
None
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Fracture: |
Conchoidal
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Tenacity:
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Brittle
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Moh's
Hardness: |
7.0
- 7.5
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Density:
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3.582 (g/cm3)
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Luminescence:
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None
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Radioactivity:
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Not
Radioactive
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Optical
Properties
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Color: |
Purple-red,
pinkish red, red-orange, deep red to almost black; colorless
to pink in thin section.
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Transparency: |
Transparent
to Translucent |
Luster: |
Vitreous
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Refractive
Index: |
1.714
Isotropic
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Birefringence: |
0.000
(Isotropic)
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Dispersion: |
0.022 |
Pleochroism: |
None
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Occurances
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Geological
Setting: |
In
ultramafic rocks, as peridotites, kimberlites, eclogites,
serpentinites, and in "hornblende"-garnet-plagioclase
rocks and anorthosites. Also in amphibole and biotite
schists, and as a detrital mineral. |
Common
Associations: |
Ilmenite,
Phlogopite, Olivine, Hornblende, Plagioclase, Diamond,
Kyanite, Rutile, Chlorite, Titanite, Glaucophane, Omphacite
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Common
Impurities: |
Fe,
Mn, Ca |
Type
Locality: |
Czech
Republic
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Year
Discovered: |
1803
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View
mineral photos: |
Pyrope
Mineral Photos and Locations |
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More
Information
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Mindat.org
Webmineral.com
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Pyrope
is a member of the Garnet Group of minerals that includes
Almandine, Andradite, Grossular, Pyrope, Spessartine
and Uvarovite.
Pyrope is the only variety of Garnet that is always
a shade of red. Pyrope is also the only variety of Garnet
whose common source is igneous rather than metamorphic
rocks. Pyrope is difficult to distinguish from Almandine
but is usually clearer and contains fewer internal flaws.
Pyrope and Almandine form a mineral series in which
iron in Almandine substitutes for the magnesium in Pyrope.
In fact, pure Pyrope is unknown in nature and always
contains some Almandine and Spessartine components.
Rhodolite is the result of the mixture of Pyrope and
Almandine of about two to one (Pyrope to Almandine).
Malaya is a mixture of Pyrope and Spessartine. Umbalite
from the Umba Valley, Tanzania is also a mixture of
Pyrope and Spessartine. Pyrope gems are usually fairly
small and larger gems sold as Pyrope are most likely
Almandines with a Pyrope component.
Some
Pyropes show an interesting color change. Material from
one location in Norway is wine red in incandescent light
and violet in daylight. Some Pyrope from the Umba Valley
in East Africa are Pyrope-Spessartines that are greenish
blue in daylight and magenta in tungsten light.
Distribution:
Widespread. The following localities have all produced
substantial amounts of gem material. Around Merunice
(Meronitz), Czech Republic. Immense crystals in the
Dora-Maira massif, Parigi, near Martiniana Po, Piedmont,
Italy. In Germany, from Zöblitz and Greifendorf, Saxony.
From South Africa, especially at the diamond mines around
Kimberley, Cape Province. Along the Umba River and in
the Pare Mountains, Tanzania. In the USA, at Masons'
Mountain, near Cowee Creek, Macon County, North Carolina,
and from Buell Park, near Fort Defiance, Apache County,
Arizona. In Australia, 20 km from Bingara, New South
Wales, and at Proston, Anakie, and Ruby Vale, Queensland.
From San Martin and Quines, San Luis, Argentina. At
Gravata, Pernambuco, Brazil.
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Pyrope
Garnet
gems for sale:
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gem:
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Pyrope
Garnet |
stock
#:
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PYRGAR-001 |
weight:
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0.7290
ct |
size: |
5.51
x 3.84 mm |
shape: |
Custom:
Siebenstern cut |
color: |
Red |
clarity: |
Eye
clean |
origin: |
Vestrev,
Bohemia, Czech Republic |
treatment: |
None
(natural) |
price: |
SOLD
(but we have others) |
Pictures
are of the actual gem offered for
sale. Gem images are magnified to
show detail. |
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This beautiful
little gem is from Vestrev, Nová Paka, Hradec Králové Region, Bohemia, Czech Republic.
Pyropes from this locality are the purest
red of all Garnets with no shades of
other colors. The average size of rough
crystals from Vestrev are typically
very small, usually around 3-4 mm, so
this is a relatively big gem for the
locality. This gem was precission faceted
in Germany in a seven sided (heptagon)
design called a "Siebenstern"
cut.
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