Helvine with Fluorite, Spessartine et al.

Item Description

The famous Wushan Spessartine Mine starting in the early 2000s produced some of the most iconic specimens from any locality in China. Outside of the Garnets, there are a handful of additional species from this mine that are sought after by collectors, including Helvine. Some of the most robust and eye-catching crystals of this rare beryllium manganese silicate come from the Wushan Mine. This piece features a few sharp, well-formed, rich orange colored modified tetrahedral crystal of Helvine measuring up to 1.2 cm across associated with a couple of pale green octahedral Fluorite measuring 6 mm across, along with dozens of tiny bright orange GEM Spessartine crystals (showing a combination of dodecahedral or trapezohedral faces) and rather gemmy, prismatic Smoky Quartz crystals measuring up to 1.5 cm plus blocky beige Microcline crystals that measure about 1.6 cm long and finally some dark brown hexagonal groups of Muscovite on matrix. It's incredibly rare to find SIX different species on the same specimen from this locality, especially where the main focus of the piece is not the Garnets, nor the Smoky Quartz crystals, but rather Helvine and Fluorites. A fantastic association specimen of this hard to find material. Very little comes out of this locality these days, so don't pass up the chance to get your hands on one of these excellent Helvine specimens for a great price. Valued $3,000.
From the Dr. Stephen Smale Collection. Along with amassing one of the finest private mineral collections in the world, Steve is a renowned mathematician. His accomplishments include being awarded the Fields Medal in 1966 along with being the awarded the Wolf Prize in mathematics in 2007. You can read Steve's bio on the Mineralogical Record website ( https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/smalestephen/ ) or on Wikipedia.