but not your usual red variety!  Garnets are a large and interesting family…

 
This variety is from the side of the family that includes hessonite, tsavorite, hydrogrossular and demantoid garnets.

The other side of the family includes spessartine and the more familiar red pyrope and almandine garnets but… (it’s never that simple, is it…) some garnets may be a mix of two different varieties…