Grossular
Species
Uncommon · Ca₃Al₂(SiO₄)₃
Calcium aluminium garnet occurring in a wide range of colours. The tsavorite and hessonite varieties are the most gem-significant. Forms in metamorphic skarns and marbles where calcium-rich and aluminium-rich rocks interact.
Identity
- Formula
- Ca₃Al₂(SiO₄)₃
- Chemical class
- Silicate
- Varieties
- Tsavorite
- Part of
- Garnet
- Mineral group
- Demantoid, Garnet, Spessartine, Uvarovite
- Also known as
- Hessonite (orange-brown), Tsavorite (green), Leuco garnet (colorless)
Crystallography
- Crystal system
- Cubic
- Habits
- Dodecahedral, Massive
- Fracture
- Conchoidal
Physical properties
- Mohs hardness
- 7
- Density
- 3.59 g/cm³
- Luster
- Vitreous, Resinous
- Colors
- orange, yellow, green, colorless, brown, pink
- Streak
- white
- Transparency
- Transparent, Translucent
Geology
- Origins
- Metamorphic
- Host rocks
- Schist and gneiss, Marble
- Associated minerals
- Diopside, Wollastonite, Vesuvianite, Calcite
- Found in
- Skarn
- Geography
- Canada, Kenya, Tanzania, Russia, Mexico
Classification
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Gem quality
- Yes
Arcane properties
- Affinity
- Earth, Life
- Effects
- Healing, Warding
- Planar origin
- Material Plane
Sources
- M. Pasero and others, IMA Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification, The New IMA List of Minerals, updated September 2026. International Mineralogical Association (CNMNC), 2026.
- J. W. Anthony, R. A. Bideaux, K. W. Bladh, M. C. Nichols, Grossular. Mineral Data Publishing, Handbook of Mineralogy, 2001.
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