Almandine (good sized crystal) on schist (ex Chet Lemanski Collection)

Item Description

The Granatenkogel locality in the Tyrol of Austria is one of the great old European (and worldwide) localities, which has produced some of the most impressive Garnet crystals from anywhere. Typically, Garnet crystals don't exceed 1-2 cm, but the Almandines from this locale often are well over that threshold. It's incredibly rare to find sharp, well-formed, euhedral Garnet crystals of this size from anywhere, and the Granatenkogel locality has produced them consistently for years. This piece is a classic example of the material featuring a textbook dodecahedral crystal with smooth faces and a dark reddish hue measuring 3.8 cm, aesthetically perched on grey schist matrix. One edge of the crystal is contacted, so the piece is not pristine, but it's still a showy and good overall example of these well-known Garnets. From the collection of Chester ("Chet") S. Lemanski Jr. of Browns Mills, New Jersey (https://www.mindat.org/user-461.html). Collection #2215CL. Chet was born 1947 in started collecting minerals circa 1957. He worked briefly as a drill runner at the famous Sterling Mine, in Ogdensburg, New Jersey and from 1987 to 1990 he helped convert the mine into a public access mining museum. He has held the role of treasurer, vice president and president of the Franklin-Ogdensburg Mineralogical Society (FOMS), and has been a board member and vice president of the Franklin Mineral Museum. The rare copper arsenate, Lemanskiite was named in his honor in 1999.