rhodolite

Rhodolite is a varietal name for rose-pink to red mineral pyrope, a species in the garnet group. It was first described from Cowee Valley, Macon County, North Carolina. The name is derived from the Greek "rhodon" for "rose-like", in common with other pink mineral types (such as rhodochrosite, rhodonite). This coloration, and the commonly inclusion-free nature of garnet from this locality, has led to rhodolite being used as a gemstone. Rhodolite like other varietal names is not officially recognized as a mineralogical term, but rather used as an accepted trade name.

In the Vinony graph

Vinony's link graph records 61 inbound references to rhodolite, and connects out to beryl, elbaite and United States.

It is catalogued under the topic Garnet gemstones.

Vinony links it to 10 Wikipedia language editions.

Key facts

Mineral.name: Rhodolite
Mineral.category: Pyrope variety, nesosilicate
Mineral.image: Rhodolite in Matrix-Garnet Group Magnesium iron aluminum silicate Macon County North Carolina 2904.jpg
Mineral.imagesize: 200px
Mineral.formula: (Mg,Fe)3Al2(SiO4)3
Mineral.system: Cubic
Mineral.color: light to dark purplish red through reddish purple
Mineral.cleavage: none, may show indistinct parting
Mineral.fracture: conchoidal
Mineral.mohs: 7.0–7.5
Mineral.luster: greasy to vitreous
Mineral.polish: vitreous
Mineral.opticalprop: Single refractive, often anomalous double refractive
Mineral.birefringence: none
Mineral.dispersion: 0.026
Mineral.pleochroism: none
Mineral.fluorescence: inert
Mineral.absorption: usually at 504, 520, and 573 nm, may also have faint lines at 423, 460, 610, and 680–690 nm