almandite

Two varieties of garnet, almandite and pyrope, may exhibit the dark blood-red color especially ascribed to garnet.

Almandite usually occurs in metamorphic rocks, such as gneisses or mica schists; also in granite.

Pyrope, the magnesian variety of garnet, does not differ much in color from almandite.

Both are dark red, but while almandite tends toward a violet tone, pyrope shades toward yellow.

The so-called almandine garnets of the jeweler are frequently of the almandite class and tend to purplish red.