FREE: BEAUTIFUL Sz 7 STERLING SILVER HALLMARKED VINTAGE FACETED HEXAGON GENUINE MELONITE RING

The listing, BEAUTIFUL Sz 7 STERLING SILVER HALLMARKED VINTAGE FACETED HEXAGON GENUINE MELONITE RING has ended.

Stunning Vintage ring! Signed STERLING with a copyright symbol and a P which would be the makers sign. Size 7 and would be resizable by a jeweler. HUGE 8x10 faceted gemstone, prong set in a lovely raised basket setting.


Black Melanite

Six common species of garnet are recognized based on their chemical composition. These species are pyrope, almandine, spessartite, grossular, uvarovite and andradite.

One of the rarest of all the garnet varieties is andradite, the calcium iron garnet. It has the highest refractive index of all the garnets (1.89-1.94). The most famous of the andradite garnets is the very rare demantoid, whose name means "diamond-like luster." In fact demantoid is among the rarest and most expensive of all colored gemstones.


Melanite Crystals


Andradite was named after the Portuguese mineralogist José Bonifácio de Andrade e Silva (1763-1838). He discovered and described four minerals during his life, including spodumene and petalite. A geology professor in Portugal, he spent many years in the Portuguese colony of Brazil. When the independence of Brazil was declared, Andrade was made minister of the interior and of foreign affairs.


Click to Enlarge Photo
Melanite - Round Facet

The andradite species includes two other rarely-seen varieties: the yellow topazolite and the black melanite. Melanite is an opaque black stone with excellent luster. At one time it was rarely faceted as a gemstone. However, with the interest in black diamond, and the general scarcity of black gemstones, melanite has become popular for jewelry.

The black color of melanite is the result of titanium replacing some of the iron in its composition, and melanite is sometimes known as titanian andradite. Because garnet has excellent gemstone characteristics -- good hardness and luster, and no cleavage - melanite is used in rings, pendants, earrings and bracelets.