Epidote with Andradite Garnet

Item Description

You might see a good number of pegmatite minerals (Tourmaline, Spodumene, etc.) on the market from the Nangarhar Province in Afghanistan but the specimens from Marki Khel are actually from a metamorphic skarn. The most common minerals you'll see from this locality are Epidote, Diopside, Magnetite and Andradite Garnet. Unlike their cousins from Pakistan, these pieces feature a different style of Epidote. This piece hosts dozens of sharp, lustrous, golden (more green in different lighting), gemmy, well-formed compressed crystals of Epidote with minor dodecahedral crystals of Andradite on a layer of massive uncrystallized pistachio green Epidote on host rock matrix. The largest Epidote measures 6 mm across, and most of them are damage free. An attractive large cabinet specimen from this interesting occurrence in Afghanistan, best viewed up close under magnification.