This is a very unusual garnet because it is a combination of three different garnets in chemical composition and each adds it's own "slant" to the appearance. The term pyralspite comes from the three root garnets- pyrope, almandite, and spessartite. If you have ever see the cherry-red ant hill garnets you know how beautiful those can be. The most popular garnet of all time, almandite, is generally sold as rhodolite in the trade. Spessartite you may know from the tangerine or "fanta" colored gemstones that you have noticed for sale. You may even have one or two of these types of garnets in your collection or in a piece of jewelry.
The garnet group is called a "group" because it is extremely broad in chemical composition, color, and appearance. You could easily collect only garnet and spend a lifetime acquiring examples of different garnets. This color is very hard to describe but let me try. In daylight the pyrope component pulls it toward red, but the slight orange keeps it a more "touch of copper" pink. This stone has very good brilliance and the tone is medium to medium-dark. Under incandescent (light-bulb light) it is bright cherry red.
For a little bit better understanding of gem garnets, please take a look at the following charts. There is tons to learn in the garnet group!
http://gemstonemagnetism.com/garnet_magnetism_3.htmlhttp://s17.postimage.org/m7y0dbfan/Hanneman_Garnet_Chart.jpgIt should be noted that if you are to learn about garnets you have to understand those two charts and you must first and foremost realize that the second chart- the one that Dr. Bill Hanneman gave the world (bless his heart) uses refractive index along the X-axis- going from left to right. On the left are garnets that have a lower refractive index. On the right they are higher RI, or refractive index.
But Dave! I have no idea about refractive index! Well, it's like clothes on a clothes line. The harder the wind blows, the more that clothes line bends. The higher a stone's refractive index, the further it bends the light that passes through it. Too easy. Here is an example of what I see when I take a refractive index:
Anyone can buy a refractometer and learn to use it. It's easy (once you get the hang of it- like riding a bike) and it makes you a much, much more knowledgeable gemstone consumer. To me, it is the holy grail of gemstone instruments. It was once said that "Junior Kimbrough is the beginning and end of all music." This is what the refractometer is to me. Once you have bounced the stone on you palm to get an idea of how dense it is- its specific gravity or SG (done by weighing in air and water) might tell you it is a heavy or light stone relative to its size. But the very next procedure, after looking at the color and feeling the "heft" or weight of the stone is to take an RI. When light passes through a stone it bends the light to a certain degree. Some bend it more, and some less. Some turn a single ray of light into two, some let a single line pass through without "splitting" the light. But they all have an RI. They have a refractive index. They bend light- some a ton (natural zircond) and some not so much (opal).
If you look at th x-axis of Bill Hanneman's chart, that's the one along the bottom remember, you see the readout you will get with different garnets. Follow the line up, and everything on that line will be that RI. Look at the 1.80 line and move your eyes up. You should land on 8 different possibilities of garnet that could be 1.80. Always remember that garnet can be in many different colors, and the refractive index can vary. I bought several of these stones- some will stay in my personal collection and some will be sold- and they varied from 1.748 to 1.749 to 1.750. This "three in one" hybrid garnet is extraordinarily rare, and even more rare in such a fine color. Under a cloudy sky or under candle light or incandescent light it will dazzle you!
The starting bid is 1BTC and the increment is .5 bitcoins. This auction will expire at GMT 8:00 AM on Tuesday the 20th of November.
This stone was mined in Tanzania's Umba River Valley and is a great example of one of the most exotic stones to come from East Africa. It is 100% UNTREATED. No heat, no chemicals, no diffusion, no dye, no quench-crackling, no treatment at all. It was mined from the earth and it was cut and polished
ONLY. This is an untreated stone.
Please bid with confidence. I am a Graduate Gemologist (GIA) and I understand my obligations to describe stones accurately and to disclose any treatments. I always offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Bid now!
