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Ch. 15: Silicates

Ch. 15: Silicates Page of 118 Ch. 15: Silicates Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
THE SILICATES
101
(A) The iron-alumina garnet, having the formula 6FeO, This is the " precious " garnet, or almandine, sometimes called the " Oriental " garnet; these stones are found in Great Britain, India, and South America, and are deep red and transparent, of vitreous lustre. They get up well, but certain varieties are so subject to defects in their substance, brought about by pressure, volcanic action, and other causes, some of which are not yet known, that their quality often becomes much depreciated in consequence. This inferior variety of the iron-alumina garnet is called the " common " garnet, and has little lustre, being sometimes opaque. The perfect qualities, or almandine, as described above, are favourite stones with jewellers, who mount great quantities of them.
The second variety is the (B) lime-iron garnet, formula,
The chief of this class is the melanite, sometimes dull, yet often vitreous ; it is mostly found in volcanic rocks, such as tuff ; this variety is very popular with jewellers for mourning ornaments, for as it is a beautiful velvet-black in colour and quite opaque, it is pre-eminent for this purpose, being consider­ably less brittle than jet, though heavier. Another variety is the " topazolite," both yellow and green. The " aplome " is greenish-yellow, yellowish-green, brown, and usually opaque. A further form of lime-iron garnet is the ' pyreneite," first found in the Pyrenees Mountains, hence its name.
The (C) lime-chrome gurnets 3SiOL,—the chief of which is " uwarowite." This is of a magnificent emerald green colour, translucent at edges
Ch. 15: Silicates Page of 118 Ch. 15: Silicates
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