Spessartine is a nesosilicate, manganese aluminium garnet species, Mn<sup>2+</sup><sub>3</sub>Al<sub>2</sub>(SiO<sub>4</sub>)<sub>3</sub>.
Spessartine's name is a derivative of Spessart in Bavaria, Germany, the type locality of the mineral.
Spessartine forms a solid solution series with the garnet species almandine. Spessartine, like the other garnets, always occurs as a blend with other species. Gems with high spessartine content tend toward a light orange hue, while almandine prevalence induces red or brownish hues.
Images
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File:Garnet - Spessartine crystal detail.jpg|Spessartine crystal - Pakistan
File:Granat spessartyn - Nani, Loliondo, Arusha Region, Tanzania.jpg|Garnet spessartine - Nani, Loliondo, Ngorongoro, Tanzania
File:Spessartine sur quartz fumé.jpg|Spessartine on smoky quartz - Wushan Spessartine Mine, Tongbei, Fujian, China
File:Spessartine-t08-49a.jpg|Reddish-orange spessartine - Navegadora Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil
File:Spessartine-spess-23b.jpg|Two "frog-eyes" of 1.8 cm each perched atop a matrix
File:Granat spessartyn na skaleniu - Tongbei Yun-xiao, Fujian, Chiny.jpg|Spessartine garnet on feldspar - Tongbei Yun-xiao, Fujian, China.
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See also
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- Andradite
- Gemstone
- Grossular
- Mineral collecting
- Pyrope
- Tsavorite
- Uvarovite