Andradite Garnet (Geode / "Coconut") (2018 find)

Item Description

In 2018, we acquired a very small parcel of these new an interesting Andradite Garnets from a good friend in Peru. The given locality is the Pampa Blanca District, but we don't have 100% confirmation on that information. We've also been informed that the locality is has been mined out, and no more of them have been found in over 6 months. The unique Garnets are referred to by the locals as "coconuts" as they form in hollow geode-shaped "spheres", which are cracked open to reveal multiple generations / layers of different colored Garnet. The exterior of the piece features a coverage of sharp, reddish-brown trapezohedral crystals, but when you flip it over, you can see that the underside has many small golden to greenish-yellow colored Garnets. The broken edge on the side of the piece shows multi-layered banding which range from reddish-brown to green to golden. The largest crystal on the exterior measures 6 mm across. PLEASE NOTE that the broken edge on the specimen has been crudely polished which was done in Peru before we purchased the piece. A very cool and unusual Garnet specimen that would make a great addition a Garnet suite, a Peruvian collection or a collection of mineral oddities.