Solid 14K Yellow Gold Pear Cut Natural Raspberry Rhodolite Garnet Stud Earrings

Solid 14K yellow gold stud earrings set with pear cut natural rhodolite garnets. Each stone is held in a three prong setting with a V prong closing over the point, which is the correct way to mount a pear since the tip is the most vulnerable part of the cut and a plain round prong leaves it exposed. The color is the raspberry rhodolite is named for, a purple that runs toward red rather than toward blue, and the stones throw distinct magenta and orange flashes as they move rather than sitting at one flat tone.

That liveliness is a property of the mineral, not of the cutting. Garnet carries a refractive index around 1.75, far above the purple stones it most often gets confused with, and it is singly refractive, so light passes through without the softening that doubling produces. The practical result is that a rhodolite of this size returns noticeably more light than an amethyst of the same dimensions, which is why the stones read bright rather than dark despite a fairly deep body color.

Posts with butterfly backs. Free brand new silicone backs are available on request, just send a message.

Verifications:
Solid 14K gold has been verified using an Auracle Gold Analyzer.
Rhodolite garnet has been verified using a Presidium Gem Tester II.

Details:
Metal: Solid 14K Yellow Gold
Stones: Natural Rhodolite Garnet
Stone Cut: Pear
Setting: Three Prong with V Prong at the point
Earring Style: Stud
Closure: Post with butterfly backs
Backs: Gold filled, mismatched pair
Condition: Excellent estate condition

Fun Facts:
Rhodolite is named for roses and comes from a mountain valley in North Carolina. The name derives from the Greek rhodon, rose-like, the same root behind rhodochrosite and rhodonite, and the type locality where the variety was first described is Cowee Valley in Macon County, North Carolina. A gem most buyers associate with exotic sources was defined for science from an American creek bed.
Rhodolite is not a mineral species, it is a ratio. Garnet is a family rather than a single mineral, and its members blend continuously into one another along what mineralogists call a solid solution series. Rhodolite sits at roughly seventy percent pyrope and thirty percent almandine, and that specific proportion is what produces the raspberry color. Shift the balance toward pyrope and the stone runs redder, shift it toward almandine and it goes darker and browner. The color is a recipe rather than an accident.