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

Item Description

We recently purchased through a good friend a small parcel of these new, attractive, unusual and interesting Andradite Garnets specimens from Peru. We were given Pampa Blanca as the original locality, but we're still waiting on confirmation of this. Additionally, this discovery was incredibly limited, and our friend tells us that it's already mined out, so we may never seen these pieces again. The locals who mined these pieces called them "coconuts" as they formed in hollow geode-like "balls", which were cracked open to reveal several layers / generations of crystallized Garnet growth with a range of colors from green to yellow to gold to brown. Here we have a partial coconut specimen featuring a dark reddish-brown exterior that hosts some of the largest trapezohedral crystals (with small dodecahedral modifications) we've seen from the locality. The main Andradite measures 4.7 cm across (nearly 2 inches), which is not only large for the locality but any species of Garnet in general. If you look on the broken edges you can see multi-layered banding with various hues of green, golden and brown. The piece is contacted around the lower edge of the periphery where it was removed from the pocket wall, but there are still several undamaged trapezohedral crystals on the top. There is a bit of associated dark green along the lower edge / matrix of the specimen for a nice touch. Without a doubt these are some of the most interesting and unique Garnets we've seen from any locality, and this particular piece would make a nice addition to any worldwide Garnet collection, a Peruvian suite or a collection of odd / unusual minerals. Valued at $850.