Pyrope is a magnesium-rich member of the garnet group, prized for its vivid red color. It is typically found in peridotites and kimberlites, often forming as a breakdown product from high-pressure metamorphic environments.
Is this pyrope?
5-step field checkRun through these checks against the specimen in your hand. The more boxes tick, the more confident the ID.
- 1Test the hardnessTry to scratch pyrope with a known reference. Pyrope sits at Mohs 7-7.5, softer than the next harder reference, harder than the previous one.
- 2Check the streakDrag the specimen across an unglazed porcelain plate. Streak: white.
- 3Read the lusterHold the specimen under a strong light. Luster: vitreous.
- 4Match the color rangeCompare against the expected color range: red, purplish-red, orangey-red, blood red, orange red, purple red, pink, black red.
- 5Look at form & habitCrystal system: cubic. Typical habit: crystalline, granular, lamellar.
Often confused with
Pyrope vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Often found alongside pyrope
Minerals reported to co-occur with pyrope. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Mg₃Al₂(SiO₄)₃
- Mohs hardness
- 7-7.5
- Density
- 3.582 g/cm³
- Colors
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Transparent to translucent
- Crystal system
- Cubic
- Crystal habit
- Crystalline, granular, lamellar
- Cleavage
- None
- Rarity
- Common
- Uses
- Gemstone, Collector, Abrasive
- Host rock
- In ultramafic rocks, as peridotites, kimberlites, eclogites, serpentinites, and in "hornblende" -garnet-plagioclase rocks and anorthosites
Where rockhounds find pyrope
2 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Masons' Mountain, near Cowee Creek, USA
- Macon Co., North Carolina, and from Buell Park, near Fort Defiance, Apache Co., Arizona, USA
- Mĕrunice (Meronitz), Czech Republic
- Dora-Maira massif, Parigi, near Martiniana Po, Piedmont, Italy
- Zöblitz and Greifendorf Saxony, Germany
- Diamond mines around Kimberley, Cape Province, South Africa
Field-hunting tip
Where it forms: In ultramafic rocks, as peridotites, kimberlites, eclogites, serpentinites, and in "hornblende" -garnet-plagioclase rocks and anorthosites. If you start seeing ilmenite, phlogopite, olivine in float, you are in the right ground. Typical habit: crystalline, granular, lamellar. Train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in Alabama, Utah. Start trip planning there.
Common questions
How do you identify pyrope?+
Where is pyrope found?+
Can I find pyrope in the United States?+
What rocks look like pyrope?+
What minerals are found with pyrope?+
What kind of rock does pyrope form in?+
What is pyrope used for?+
Find pyrope on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
