Spessartite
SpessartineJewelryWiki Editorial·2 sources·Reviewed 2026-08-04
The orange garnet, sold as "mandarin garnet" when the colour is vivid enough. It is the hardest of the common garnets at 7–7½ and, like the rest of the group, is almost always untreated — which makes it one of the better value propositions in orange stones.
Properties
| Property | Value | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Mohs hardness | 7–7½ [1] | — |
| Specific gravity | 4.190 [1] | — |
| Chemical formula | Not published, for the same reason as demantoid: the manganese charge superscript and its subscript sit at the same position in the source and cannot be told apart mechanically. [2] | — |
| Crystal system | Cubic [1] | — |
| Common treatments | Garnet is one of the few gem groups routinely sold untreated. [2] | — |
| Suitability for daily wear | Good to very good. At 7–7½ with no cleavage it is genuinely suited to a ring. [2] | — |
Sources
- Handbook of Mineralogy — Mineral Data Publishing / Mineralogical Society of America (Handbook of Mineralogy, Mineral Data Publishing)
- International Gem Society — gemstone articles — International Gem Society (IGS, gemstone information articles (gemsociety.org))