Grossular Garnets

Grossular is a calcium-aluminum species of the Garnet group of minerals. The name Grossular is derived from the botanical name for the gooseberry, “grossularia”, in reference to the green Garnet of this composition that is found in Siberia. Other shades include cinnamon brown (cinnamon stone variety), red, and yellow. Grossular Garnet is a gemstone. Jewelers and some collectors tend to call these stones “Grossularite” which is a misnomer. Grossular should not be called grossularite; grossularite was once a type of rock. We will still use the term Grossularite because so many people still call them Grossularite as a type of Garnets.

Hessonite belongs to the Grossular Garnet group. While most Grossular Garnet is green, Hessonite typically has an orange-brown color and is often called the “cinnamon stone”. Hessonite Garnet ranges in color from honey- yellow to orange-brown and brown-red. When you view Hessonite under magnification waves and swirls of areas of varying transparency are visible. These subtle inclusions are useful in distinguishing hessonite from other gemstones of similar color, such as citrine, topaz and orange zircon.

Grossular Garnet is one of the six main members of the Garnet family, which also includes Pyrope, Almandine, Spessartite, Uvarovite and Andradite. All varieties of Garnet share a common crystal structure but have varying chemical compositions. Grossularite is the term commonly used for the calcium-aluminum form of Garnet. Grossularite can often be confused with Demantoid Garnet, but Demantoid is a variety of Andradite, a calcium- iron Garnet. Though the Grossular Garnet species includes a variety of gemstones, grossularite typically refers to the more common light to medium-green gem-quality form of Grossular Garnet. Other rarer varieties of Grossular Garnet tend to trade under their own variety names.