Andradite (classic locality)

Item Description

Most people don't think about Garnet when it comes to minerals of Arizona, but the pieces from Stanley Butte are some of the most easily recognizable examples of any Garnet species from anywhere in the United States, or the world for that matter. Their characteristic and alluring brownish-green to olive-green color and semi metallic luster are a dead giveaway for the locality. This is a remarkable and showy display piece of this famous material. It features a rich coverage of fine, sharp, well-formed, olive-green dodecahedra of Andradite with very little damage on the display side. The largest crystal measures 1.7 cm, which is quite impressive for the locality. A great quality specimen of these well known Garnets from Arizona. It's rare to find big showy cabinet sized pieces of this material, especially with larger crystals like this piece. I would put this one in the $3,500-$4,500 range retail. From the collection of Colorado mining legend, Dave Bergman. Dave is now retired, but among other things, he was the foreman and primary person in charge of recovering specimens at the famous Sweet Home Mine near Alma, Colorado during the late 1970s. He is also the maternal grandfather of Brian Kosnar. See Dave's photo mining at the Sweet Home on page 58 of Peter Bancroft's book "Gem and Crystal Treasures".