Rhodolite Value, Price, and Jewelry Information

Fancy Brilliant Octagon Cut Rhodolite Garnet. © Dan Stair Custom Gemstones. Used with permission.

Rhodolite Value

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Top Color: oR, R, PR, rP 6/4

Almandine	All sizes
	to /ct

Fine Color Andradite: G 5/4

Andradite	All sizes
	to /ct

Chrome Pyrope	All sizes
	to /ct

Color Change	.5 to 1 carat	1 to 6 carats
Africa	to /ct	to /ct
US	to /ct	to /ct

Demantoid	to 1 carat	1 to 3 carats
	to /ct	to ,000/ct

Grossular Garnet	.5 to 1 carat	1 to 5 carats	5 carats plus
Mint Green (Merelani)	to /ct	to /ct	to /ct
Yellow/Orange	to /ct	to /ct	to /ct
Yellow/Green	to /ct	to /ct	to /ct
Other colors	/ct	/ct to /ct

Fine Color Hessonite: yO 4/5

Hessonite Garnet	All sizes
	to /ct

Malaya Garnet	.5 to 1 carat	1 to 5 carats	5 carats plus
	to /ct	to /ct	to /ct

Mozambique	All sizes
	to /ct

Mali Garnet	All sizes
	to /ct

Fine Color Spessartite: O 4/5

Mandarin Orange	All sizes
	to /ct

Fine Color Pyrope: R 6/5

Pyrope	1 carat plus
	/ct

Fine Color Rhodolite: rP, PR 6/5

Rhodolite	.5 to 1 carat	1 to 10 carats	10 carats plus
Faceted	to /ct	to /ct	to /ct
Cabochons	to /ct	to /ct	to /ct

Spessartite Reds See Mandarin above	.5 to 3 carats	3 to 6 carats
Little 3 Mine	to /ct	to /ct
African	to /ct	to /ct
Darker reds	to /ct

Star Garnet	All sizes
6 ray star	to /ct
4 ray star	to /ct

Fine Color Tsavorite: G 6/5

Tsavorite	.5 to 1 carat	1 to 2 carats	2 carats plus
Faceted	to /ct	to /ct	to ,000/ct

Uvarovite	10 carats plus
Druzy	to /ct

Cabochons	All Sizes
Common red to purple	to /ct

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Rhodolite Information

Data	Value
Name	Rhodolite
Is a Variety of	Almandine-Pyrope
Crystallography	Isometric.
Refractive Index	1.745-1.761
Colors	Purplish red, red-purple, reddish purple.
Luster	Vitreous.
Fracture	Conchoidal
Hardness	7-7.5
Specific Gravity	3.79-3.80 (Tanzania); 3.83-3.89 (Zimbabwe); 3.84-3.89 (North Carolina).
Birefringence	None.
Cleavage	None
Dispersion	0.026
Luminescence	None.
Transparency	Transparent.
Absorption Spectrum	Rhodolites show an almandine spectrum. Almandines have a distinctive, diagnostic absorption spectrum: A band 200 Å wide at 5760 (strong) and also strong bands at 5260 and 5050. Lines may appear at 6170 and 4260. With a spectroscope, you’ll see this pattern of 3 (or sometimes 5) bands in all almandines as well as most garnets with a significant almandine component.
Phenomena	Color change (rare).
Birthstone	January (garnet).
Pleochroism	None.
Optics	N = 1.750-1.760 (Zimbabwe); 1.760-1.761 (North Carolina); 1.745-1.760 (Tanzania).

Rhodolite is intermediate in composition between almandine and pyrope, with a ratio of Al to Fe of 2 to 1 (that is, 2 pyrope + 1 almandine). The distinctiveness of rhodolite is in its color, which is nearly always a purplish red.

The absorption spectrum always shows almandine lines. Inclusions include apatite crystals (North Carolina) and any of the other inclusions found in almandine. The color of a garnet is misleading, and a chemical analysis is required to show whether a garnet is an almandine or pyrope, or a mixed crystal.

Optics:

N= 1.750-1.760 (Zimbabwe);

1.760-1.761 (North Carolina);

1.745-1.760 (Tanzania).

Occurrence:

North Carolina: rhododendron red. lilac, pinkish.

Sri Lanka; Madagascar; India; Tanzania; Zimbabwe; Brazil.

Stone Sizes:

Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C): 74.3, 22.1 (Tanzania); 16.5 (North Carolina).

Comments:

The original locality for rhodolite was Cowee Creek, Macon County, North Carolina. Stones from this locality are usually very small (under 1-2 carats), but new finds in Africa have yielded gems over 75 carats. Material from the North Pare Mountains, Tanzania, may show a color change, blue in daylight to purplish red in incandescent light, similar to alexandrite (N= 1.765, S.G. = 3.88).

Some say the name rhodolite comes from the Greek word, rhodon, meaning rose. Other scholars compare the name to rhododendron. In either case, the name is comparing the color to a flower.

by International Gem Society