Almandine\nis a stone from the group of pomegranates. Due to the wide distribution in the\nworld, almandine has long been known to man, and the name is ancient. As soon\nas a gem is used in jewelry! For several millennia, people have learned how to\ncut this solid mineral, and polish cabochons, and cut relief miniatures on\nstone, and even choose cavities in jewelry inserts to weaken the color density\nof the product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Almandine\nis a well-studied mineral. Five hundred years ago, when the dark garnet was\ncalled the Alabandian carbuncle, George Agricola decided to simplify the name\nof the stone as almandine. One and a half thousand years before Agricola, Pliny\nwas eyeing the same mineral, and even attempted to describe the precious gem.\nHowever, the almandine stone kept its properties secret, and did not reveal\nsecrets to the ancient scientist…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mineralogy of Almandine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Like any\ngarnet, almandine is a metal silicate. The formula for crimson crystals is\nFe3Al2 (SiO4) 3. Depending on the concentration of iron, the stone changes\ncolor and transparency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A noble\npomegranate is called almandine of bright red color with a pronounced purple\ntint. Natural crystals of noble pomegranate are very decorative: a complex\ntwenty-four-sided shape reminds of chiseled beads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However,\nthe size of almandine crystals often exceeds the standard sizes of beads. Raw\njewelery stones can be up to five centimeters in diameter. Unsuitable crystals\nfor processing (fractured, opaque) are even larger. The black almandine was\nmined by the Norwegians. In America, at the Smithsonian Institution, gems of\nexcellent quality, each tens of carats in weight, are stored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gem deposits<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Like Siriam\ngarnet, almandine is mined in Myanmar. Nearby, in Sri Lanka, hand-scattered\nplacers give the most beautiful almandines in a deep red tone. Good gems come\nfrom Karelia and Siberia. In Sweden, brown almandines are found. Finnish stones\nare saturated with rutile fibers and are famous for asterism. The mineral is\nmined in Africa, and in Greenland, and in Alaska – and found even in\nAntarctica!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Terrestrial reserves of almandine stone are extremely large. And although high aesthetic properties of samples are not inherent in every field, the price of gem products has always been extremely democratic. The situation has not changed today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Due to the\nrelative cheapness, this semiprecious stone is practically not faked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But a few centuries earlier…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the\npast, they simply did not know how to distinguish an inexpensive almandine from\na precious ruby \u200b\u200b(although a law discovered by Archimedes could help buyers).\nCenturies passed before artisans guessed to conduct a study of the relative\nhardness of minerals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However,\nfew people were interested in the accuracy of the examination at that time. The\neternal problem – to buy almandine cheaper, sell more expensive – has overcome\nboth jewelers and resellers. Then a fraudulent scheme came into play, when a\nthin almandine cabochon was glued onto a turned glass and the doublet was set\nin solid gold so that the traces of the fake were not striking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today,\nalmandine stone is barely more expensive than pyrope. Therefore, the craftsmen,\nin order to take a decent pay, try to give the stones the most perfect shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Almandine jewelry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In most\ncases, commodity almandines (already faceted) do not exceed a mass of three\ncarats. Therefore, jewelers of some countries, offering customers almandine\ncabochons, often offer to decorate them with carvings. The tradition of cutting\ncameo grenades for several hundred years, she is alive today. Usually carved\nalmandines are custom made and, as a result, settle in private collections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In jewelry,\nalmandines are often combined with mother of pearl and river pearls, carnelian\nand dark amber… Almadins look great in a group. Bunches of grapes and broken\npomegranate fruits made of red-brown cabochons do not lose their relevance for\nthe fifth century in a row. Experts are sure: the combination of homogeneous\nstones in groups dramatically enhances the effect of the stone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The magical properties of almandine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Aquarians\nand almandines are literally made for each other. The entire positive that this\ngrenade is capable of initiating is accepted, absorbed, amplified and splashed\nby those around it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nremaining signs of the zodiac are also not deprived of the\n“attention” of the almandine. The stone, behind which in ancient\ntimes was noticed the ability to revive fun at any ball, feast, celebration,\nhas not lost its abilities today. Any almandine – especially bright,\ndefect-free, and large – amuses society, stimulates sexual initiative, and adds\ndecisiveness and courage to the owner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the\nliterary chronicles of balls of the century before last, cases of almandine\n“busting” are also described. Men, inflamed by the beauty and\nimaginary accessibility of a coquettish lady, had a duel right in front of the\nfront porch of the ballroom. What is characteristic, before what happened, they\ndid not belong to inveterate duelists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Needless to\nsay, the ladies who caused the fuss fired were, as a rule, adorned with garnet\ndiadems, necklaces, bracelets and belts. And among the multi-colored stones,\nthe lion’s share fell on the almadins…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Serious\nesotericists believe that the natural magical properties of almadine are\ndistorted by the centuries-old use of the gem as the causative agent of\npassion. With proper professionalism of the magician, the gem is able to\nprovide communication with people who died a violent death many years ago. This\nis the innermost property of this mineral…<\/p>\n\n\n\n The healing properties of almadine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Crystals similar\nin color to freshly baked blood help heal recent injuries. Relieves – or\nrather, isolates, isolating – almandine and wound pain. However, such a radical\neffect of the stone does not last long, weakening day by day as the event\nrecedes into the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nanalgesic healing properties of almandine do not extend to old wounds, although\nthe stone saves from phantom pains (variously uncomfortable sensations in the\namputated limbs), weakening them to the level of tolerance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The heart muscle,\ndamaged as a result of overstrains and recent (again) heart attack, recovers\nfaster if the patient wears an almandine talisman on his chest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Daily visual contact with almandine helps to replace the melancholy mood with a positive worldview. However, overly long sessions should not be arranged. Enough fifteen minutes of admiring the jewelry or interior decoration of beautiful stone, so that the inexplicable sadness gradually disappeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n