Pyrope is the most well-known red garnet variety, though its shade varies. Is pyrope a gemstone? Absolutely! It’s most popular in faceted, blood-red or pomegranate-hued gems. It’s the only garnet to consistently show red coloring.

Is pyrope garnet rare? Not exactly. Though it’s less abundant than other garnets, it’s among the most popular for jewelry.

If you’re ready to learn the ropes on pyrope, join us as we break down all of pyrope’s meanings, prices, history, and morePyrope garnet is a semi-precious gemstone with many monikers. Some popular ones are “Bohemian garnet” or “Cape ruby.” However, pyrope is not a ruby, so selling pyrope under any of these names is forbidden by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

For the new year babies, pyrope garnet is your January birthstone! It’s also a zodiac stone for Aries, Capricorn, and Aquarius. Garnet is also the traditional gift for commemorating the second wedding anniversary!

The garnet family has two overarching species: ugrandite and pyralspite. Pyrope falls under the pyralspite series with spessartite and almandine.

Pyrope is a magnesium aluminum silicate. Common impurities in pyrope are calcium, iron, manganese, and chromium.

The pure pyrope formula is Mg3Al2Si3O12 or Mg3Al2(SiO4)3, but natural pyrope is never pure. The highest pyrope content found in gem-quality stones reached 83 percent.

Almandine and pyrope can be difficult to distinguish. Chemically, pyrope contains more magnesium while almandine contains more iron. The best test to distinguish the two is density — almandine’s typical 4.3 density is higher than pyrope’s typical 3.6 density.

The remaining pyrope mineral data is listed below:

• Mohs hardness: 7-7.5

• Color: Red, pink, brownish-red, purple-red, orange-red, blackish-red, purple

• Crystal structure: Isometric/Cubic

• Luster: Vitreous (glassy) or greasy

• Transparency: Transparent to opaque

• Refractive index: 1.73-1.76

• Density: 3.65-3.87

• Cleavage: None

• Fracture: Conchoidal

• Streak: White

• Luminescence: None

• Optical effects: Rarely color-changing