Andradite (var: Melanite) (ex Franceso Bedogne Collection)

Item Description

A classic specimen of the beautiful and rarely seen black "Melanite" Garnets from San Benito County, California. At one time, Melanite was considered a separate species, but it is now defined as a black variety of Andradite that contains titanium. This attractive display specimen features very sharp, highly lustrous, well-formed, dodecahedral crystals intergrown on matrix. The largest crystal measures 6 mm across. Garnet is is one of those minerals that occurs in wide array of colors, but black crystals are honestly fairly hard to find. From the worldwide collection of famed Italian mineral collector, field collector and author, Francesco Bedogne of Sondrio, Italy (Collection #243). Bedogne wrote dozens of articles and several books about the mineralogy of Italian Alpine localities such as Val Bregaglia, Val Masino, Val Codera, Val Spluga, Valtellina and the famous Val Malenco. He was also the founder of the Valtellinese Mineralogical Institute.