Home » Articles » List of Gemstones by Name » Rhodolite Value, Price, and Jewelry Information

Rhodolite Value, Price, and Jewelry Information

Fancy Brilliant Octagon Cut Rhodolite Garnet by Daniel Stair

Rhodolite Value

The International Gem Society (IGS) has a list of businesses offering gemstone appraisal services.

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 (Merlani)	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

See the entire Gem Price Guide.

Start an IGS Membership today for full access to our price guide (updated monthly).

See Plans and Pricing

Show more price info

Show less price info

Rhodolite Information

Data	Value
Name	Rhodolite
Is a Variety of	Almandine-Pyrope
Density	3.79-3.80 (Tanzania); 3.83-3.89 (Zimbabwe); 3.84-3.89 (North Carolina).
Dispersion	0.026

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.

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.