Grossular#Hessonite
{{Short description|Garnet, nesosilicate mineral}}
{{Infobox mineral
| name = Grossular
| category = Nesosilicate
| boxwidth =
| boxbgcolor =
| image = Grossular-ww51a.jpg
| imagesize = 260px
| caption = Grossular dodecahedron, 7 mm across, from Coahuila, Mexico
| formula = Ca3Al2(SiO4)3
| molweight =
| strunz = 9.AD.25
| system = Cubic
| class = Hexoctahedral (m{{overline|3}}m)
H-M Symbol: (4/m {{overline|3}} 2/m)
| symmetry = Ia{{overline|3}}d
| streak = Brown
| color = light to dark green, light to dark yellow to reddish brown, brown, orange, red, yellow, green, white, occasionally translucent to opaque pink. It is also but rarely
found in colorless formGIA Gem Reference Guide; Gemological Institute of America; 1995; {{ISBN|0-87311-019-6}}
| habit =
| twinning =
| cleavage = none
| fracture = conchoidal to uneven
| refractive = 1.740 (+.12/−.04)
| opticalprop = Single refractive, often anomalous double refractive
| birefringence = none
| dispersion = .028
| pleochroism = none
| fluorescence= near colorless to light green – inert to weak orange in longwave and weak yellow-orange in shortwave; yellow – inert to weak orange in longwave and shortwave
| absorption = Hessonite sometimes shows bands at 407 and 430{{nbsp}}nm
| gravity = 3.61 (+.15/−.04)
| density =
| melt =
| fusibility =
| diagnostic =
| solubility =
| diaphaneity =
| other =
| var1 = Hessonite | var1text = yellow-red to reddish-orange
| var2 = Tsavorite | var2text = intense green to yellowish green
| var3 = Leuco-garnet | var3text = transparent and colorless
| var4 = Rosolite | var4text = translucent to opaque pink grossularite crystals in marble from Mexico
}}
Grossular is a calcium-aluminium species of the garnet group of minerals. It has the chemical formula of Ca3Al2(SiO4)3 but the calcium may, in part, be replaced by ferrous iron and the aluminium by ferric iron. 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 is a gemstone.
In geological literature, grossular has often been called grossularite. Since 1971, however, use of the term grossularite for the mineral has been discouraged by the International Mineralogical Association.{{Cite journal |author=International Mineralogical Association |year=1971 |title=International Mineralogical Association: Commission on new minerals and mineral names |journal=Mineralogical Magazine |volume=38 |issue=293 |pages=102–105 |url=http://rruff.info/rruff_1.0/uploads/MM38_102.pdf |doi=10.1180/minmag.1971.038.293.14|bibcode=1971MinM...38..102. }}
Hessonite
File:Hessonite striated crytals.jpg
Hessonite or "cinnamon stone" is a common variety of grossular with the general formula: Ca3Al2Si3O12. The name comes from the {{langx|grc|ἣσσων}} (hēssōn), meaning inferior;{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Cinnamon-stone|volume=6|page=376}} an allusion to its lower hardness and lower density than most other garnet species varieties.
It has a characteristic red color, inclining to orange or yellow, much like that of zircon. It was shown many years ago, by Sir Arthur Herbert Church, that many gemstones, especially engraved gems (commonly regarded as zircon), were actually hessonite. The difference is readily detected by the specific gravity, that of hessonite being 3.64 to 3.69, while that of zircon is about 4.6. Hessonite has a similar hardness to that of quartz (being about 7 on the mohs scale), while the hardness of most garnet species is nearer 7.5.
Hessonite comes chiefly from Sri Lanka and India, where it is found generally in placer deposits, though its occurrence in its native matrix is not unknown. It is also found in Brazil and California.
Deposits
Grossular is found in contact metamorphosed limestones with vesuvianite, diopside, wollastonite and wernerite.
A highly sought after variety of gem garnet is the fine green Grossular garnet from Kenya and Tanzania called tsavorite. This garnet was discovered in the 1960s in the Tsavo area of Kenya, from which the gem takes its name.
Viluite is a variety name of grossular; that is not a recognized mineral species.[http://www.mindat.org/min-5508.html Viluite] Mindat database It is usually olive green though sometimes brownish or reddish, brought about by impurities in the crystal. Viluite is found associated with and is similar in appearance to vesuvianite, and there is confusion in terminology as viluite has long been used as a synonym for wiluite, a sorosilicate of the vesuvianite group. This confusion in nomenclature dates back to James Dwight Dana.The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana. Descriptive Mineralogy By James Dwight Dana, Edward Salisbury Dana, 1892, p. 479-80 It comes from the Vilyuy river area in Siberia. A similar green grossular garnet can be found in the Wah Wah mountain range in Utah.[https://www.mindat.org/locentry-35036.html] Mindat database, accessed 15 October 2023
Grossular is known by many other names, and also some misnomers;[http://www.mindat.org/min-1755.html Grossular] Mindat mineral database, accessed January 25, 2007 colophonite – coarse granules of garnet[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Colophonite Colophonite] The Free Dictionary, accessed online January 25, 2007 (was later identified as a variety of andradite), ernite, gooseberry-garnet – light green colored and translucent,[http://www.wordwebonline.com/en/GOOSEBERRYGARNET Gooseberry Garnet] WordWeb Online olyntholite/olytholite, romanzovite, and tellemarkite. Misnomers include[http://www.minerals.net/gemstone/gemstone/garnet/garnet.htm#Grossular Grossular] The Mineral and Gemstone Kingdom, accessed online January 25, 2007 South African jade, garnet jade, Transvaal jade, and African jade.
Cultural significance
In 1991, Vermont named grossular garnet its state gemstone.{{cite web |url=http://libraries.vermont.gov/general/emblems |title=Vermont Emblems |access-date=2009-11-12 |publisher=State of Vermont |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029073002/http://libraries.vermont.gov/general/emblems |archive-date=2009-10-29 }}
File:GrossularShades.jpg|Color range of grossular graphically displayed at the National Museum of Natural History Washington, D.C.
File:Grossular-195706.jpg|Group of Grossular crystals, largest 1.1 cm, from Val-des-Sources, Quebec
See also
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- [http://webmineral.com/data/Grossular.shtml Webmineral data]
- [http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/grossular.pdf Mineral Data Publishing]
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