Almandine is the most beautiful stone from a large family of garnets. For a long time, terminological confusion lasted with garnets, until professional mineralogists took up research seriously. Thus, among the pomegranates were carbuncles, which were admired even in Biblical times (now this stone is called pyrope), demantoid is an amazingly beautiful green garnet found in the Urals, almandine is a dark cherry crystal ...



However, most of us, even among big fans of minerals, perceive garnets as red stones, although the color of these minerals ranges from orange, yellow to green and even black. In ancient times, almandine was also called a ruby. Without such laboratory capabilities as mineralogy has today, this is, of course, forgivable. By the way, it is not easy to visually distinguish a high-quality almandine crystal from a ruby.




Almandine - Fe3Al2 (SiO4) 3. Almandine is the most common form of pomegranate and has a reddish color. Shades of this stone can be from raspberry and cherry color to purple and brownish red. Rarely, but almost black almandines are found. The color intensity of almandines is determined by the amount of iron ions in the crystals of the mineral. Almandine is the hardest stone among garnets. Jewelers prefer transparent almandines.

Deposits of garnet-almandine

Almandine garnet deposits are located in India, Mongolia, Finland, Karelia, USA, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, China and other Asian countries. Almandines are found in various sizes. Almandines of 4 cm are considered the largest, stones of 5 mm or more are inserted into jewelry. The sizes of almandine crystals are known to be much larger, however, the larger the gem, the less quality it is.




Due to their red color, almandines are called "stones of fire". Since ancient times, people have attributed to the stone the ability to have a beneficial effect on emotions - to divert sorrow and bring joy. In Europe since the time of the crusaders loved the almandines, and the crusaders themselves wore rings with almandines as charms, hoping to get healing from diseases and wounds.

Indian yogis believe that almandine has a very strong energy, so it helps heal wounds, provides energy for the heart and lungs, supports immunity, helps with inflammatory processes, promotes the regeneration of organs and tissues, and increases potency.




Almandine stone has been known for a long time. In ancient Greece and Rome, its deep red crystals adorned massive gold jewelry. The Scythians loved to insert red gems into their hats. This is confirmed by finds in the Scythian burial mounds.

Almandines became popular in Europe during the era of romanticism. Among the jewelry, pendants, rings, brooches, crosses were often found. Pendants in the form of connected hearts or in the form of four clover leaves acquired special love at that time. The famous jeweler was very fond of working with almandines Carl Faberge.

Almandine for the price is not made of expensive stones, which is probably why it is practically not forged. In jewelry, almandines are beautifully combined with mother-of-pearl, pearls, carnelian, amber and, of course, diamonds.Jewelers often use almandines to make natural-themed jewelry, especially in the form of leaves, stars, and flowers.



Decorations made in the form of grape bunches or broken pomegranate fruits are very beautiful. Jewelry with almandines is framed in both yellow and white gold. In silver, almandine does not lose its beauty at all. Silver jewelry with red almandines looks luxurious and bright.

Caring for Almandine Garnet Jewelry

Almandine does not like heating, and in general, temperature changes, so it is better to clean it in a soapy solution at room temperature. Then you should rinse well, completely removing the soap residue, as it can spoil the appearance of the gem. When cleaning the stone, it is permissible to use a soft brush, after which the stone is wiped off with a soft cloth. Any gem from the pomegranate family cannot be cleaned with steam or chemicals.