Hardness: 7.00
Refractive Index: 1.69-1.73
Specific Gravity: 3.49
Birthstone: May
Astral Stone: Leo
Anniversary Stone: 2nd, 18th
Origination: Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the former Russia, Africa and others.
Care & Cleaning: Clean with a soft polishing cloth, plain water rinse, mild solution of soap & water or commercial jewelry cleaner. Do not soak.
Fiction, Facts & Folklore:
The grossular is considered the most colorful family of garnets. They can be found in a wide variety of colors including pink, yellow, brown and various shades of green In addition, the grossular garnet can be found in a colorless form.
The pink variety is commonly known as �rosolite�.
The yellow-green variety is known as �grossularite�. This gem is often mistaken for peridot by inexperienced consumers.
It has always been said that the garnet comes "in every shade but blue". Well, in 1996, some blue garnets attributed to the grossular garnets family surfaced in Africa. To my knowledge, these gems have never been clearly documented. The deposit was reported to be quite small, and these rare gems are not expected to make it to retail.
A semi-transparent variety of grossular garnet that comes from Africa is commonly known as �Transvaal jade� or �African jade.� It is generally seen in jewelry as a flat cut or en cabochon. In its finest state it does resemble jadeite jade.
When it is found in massive form, transvaal jade is also often fashioned into works of art.
For additional information, see �hessonite� and �tsavorite�.