Hessonite, also called as the Cinnamon Stone, is a variety of grossular. It is a calcium aluminium mineral of the group of garnets with their general chemical formula as Ca3Al2Si3O12.

The name is from the Greek word hēssōn, meaning ‘inferior’ referring to its lower hardness and lower density when compared to most other garnets.

It has a characteristic orange – red color similar to zircon. The difference between them is detected easily by comparing their specific gravity. Hessonite has a specific gravity of ~ 3.65 and zircon ~ 4.6

Hessonite has a hardness of 7 on the Moh’s scale. But the hardness of most garnets can reach 7.5. Hessonite occurs chiefly in Sri Lanka, Brazil and California. Hessonite is also called Gomedhaka in Tamil and Sinhalese.