The mineral pyrope is a member of the

garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. Garnet minerals, while sharing similar physical and crystallographic properties, exhibit a wide range of chemical compositions, de ...

group. Pyrope is the only member of the garnet family to always display red colouration in natural samples, and it is from this characteristic that it gets its name: from the Greek words for ''fire'' and ''eye''. Despite being less common than most garnets, it is a widely used

gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, semiprecious stone, or simply gem) is a piece of mineral crystal which, when cut or polished, is used to make jewellery, jewelry or other adornments. Certain Rock (geology), rocks (such ...

with numerous alternative names, some of which are

misnomer A misnomer is a name that is incorrectly or unsuitably applied. Misnomers often arise because something was named long before its correct nature was known, or because an earlier form of something has been replaced by a later form to which the nam ...

s. ''Chrome pyrope'', and ''Bohemian garnet'' are two alternative names, the usage of the latter being discouraged by the

Gemological Institute of America The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is a nonprofit institute based in Carlsbad, California. It is dedicated to research and education in the field of gemology and the jewelry arts. Founded in 1931, GIA's mission is to protect buyers and s ...

.(Gia), Gemological. Gem Reference Guide. City: Gemological Institute of America (GIA), 1988. Misnomers include ''Colorado ruby'', ''Arizona ruby'', ''California ruby'', ''Rocky Mountain ruby'', ''Elie Ruby'', ''Bohemian carbuncle'', and ''Cape ruby''.

Composition

The composition of pure pyrope is Mg₃Al₂(SiO₄)₃, although typically other elements are present in at least minor proportions—these other elements include Ca, Cr, Fe and Mn. Pyrope forms a

solid solution A solid solution, a term popularly used for metals, is a homogeneous mixture of two compounds in solid state and having a single crystal structure. Many examples can be found in metallurgy, geology, and solid-state chemistry. The word "solutio ...

series with

almandine Almandine (), also known as almandite, is a mineral belonging to the garnet group. The name is a corruption of alabandicus, which is the name applied by Pliny the Elder to a stone found or worked at Alabanda, a town in Caria in Asia Minor. Alma ...

and spessartine, which are collectively known as the '' pyralspite'' garnets (pyrope, almandine, spessartine). Iron and manganese substitute for the magnesium in the pyrope structure. The resultant, mixed composition garnets are defined according to their pyrope-almandine ratio. The semi-precious stone

rhodolite Rhodolite is a varietal name for rose-pink to red mineral pyrope, a species in the garnet group. It was first described from Cowee Valley, Macon County, North Carolina. The name is derived from the Greek "rhodon" for "rose-like", in common wi ...

is a garnet of ~70% pyrope composition.

Distribution

The origin of most pyrope is in

ultramafic Ultramafic rocks (also referred to as ultrabasic rocks, although the terms are not wholly equivalent) are igneous and meta-igneous rocks with a very low silica content (less than 45%), generally >18% MgO, high FeO, low potassium, and are usua ...

rocks, typically

peridotite Peridotite ( ) is a dense, coarse-grained igneous rock consisting mostly of the silicate minerals olivine and pyroxene. Peridotite is ultramafic, as the rock contains less than 45% silica. It is high in magnesium (Mg2+), reflecting the high pr ...

from the

Earth's mantle Earth's mantle is a layer of silicate mineral, silicate rock between the Earth's crust, crust and the Earth's outer core, outer core. It has a mass of and makes up 67% of the mass of Earth. It has a thickness of making up about 46% of Earth's ...

: these mantle-derived peridotites can be attributed both to

igneous Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial ...

and

metamorphic Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...

processes. Pyrope also occurs in ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks, as in the Dora-Maira massif in the western Alps. In that massif, nearly pure pyrope occurs in crystals to almost in diameter; some of that pyrope has inclusions of

coesite Coesite () is a form (polymorphism (materials science), polymorph) of silicon dioxide (silicon, Sioxide, O2) that is formed when very high pressure (2–3 gigapascals), and moderately high temperature (), are applied to quartz. Coesite was first ...

, and some has inclusions of enstatite and sapphirine. Pyrope is common in

xenoliths from

kimberlite Kimberlite is an igneous rock and a rare variant of peridotite. It is most commonly known as the main host matrix for diamonds. It is named after the town of Kimberley, Northern Cape, Kimberley in South Africa, where the discovery of an 83.5-Car ...

pipes, some of which are

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

-bearing. Pyrope found in association with diamond commonly has a Cr₂O₃ content of 3–8%, which imparts a distinctive violet to deep purple coloration (often with a greenish tinge) and because of this is often used as a kimberlite indicator mineral in areas where erosive activity makes pinpointing the origin of the pipe difficult. These varieties are known as ''chrome-pyrope'', or ''G9''/''G10'' garnets.

Mineral identification

In hand specimens, pyrope is very tricky to distinguish from almandine; however, it is likely to display fewer flaws and inclusions. Other distinguishing criteria are listed in the adjacent table. Care should be taken when using these properties as many of those listed have been determined from synthetically grown, pure-composition pyrope. Others, such as pyrope's high specific gravity, may be of little use when studying a small crystal embedded in a matrix of other silicate minerals. In these cases, mineral association with other

mafic A mafic mineral or rock is a silicate mineral or igneous rock rich in magnesium and iron. Most mafic minerals are dark in color, and common rock-forming mafic minerals include olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite. Common mafic rocks include ...

and

minerals may be the best indication that the garnet you are studying is pyrope. In petrographic

thin section In optical mineralogy and petrography, a thin section (or petrographic thin section) is a thin slice of a rock or mineral sample, prepared in a laboratory, for use with a polarizing petrographic microscope, electron microscope and electron ...

, the most distinguishing features of pyrope are those shared with the other common garnets: high relief and isotropy. Garnets tend to be less strongly coloured than other silicate minerals in thin section, although pyrope may show a pale pinkish purple hue in plane-polarized light. The lack of cleavage, commonly euhedral crystal morphology, and mineral associations should also be used in identification of pyrope under the microscope.

References

{{Gemstones Magnesium minerals Aluminium minerals Garnet gemstones Cubic minerals Minerals in space group 230