5" Large, Red Spessartine Garnets on Albite - Skardu, Pakistan

Garnets are nesosilicates having the general formula X3Y2(SiO4)3. There are many species of garnet which include pyrope, almandine, spessartine, uvarovite, andradite and grossular (varieties of which are hessonite, cinnamon-stone and tsavorite). Garnets are found in a wide variety of colors including red, orange, yellow, green, purple, brown, blue, black, pink, and colorless, with reddish shades being the most common.

Albite is a plagioclase feldspar mineral with the chemical composition Na(AlSi3O8) when in its pure form. It is a major component of granite and granitic pegmatites, and is often found to form in association with quartz, orthoclase, muscovite, hornblende and biotite. In most cases the crystals will be white to colorless, although it has been known to display red, green and blue hues depending on impurities present during formation. Albite earned its name from the Latin word "albus", meaning white (most commonly found color).