Manganoan Vesuvianite ex Flynn TN Coll.

Item Description

The now-closed Jeffrey Mine in Canada, once one of the largest asbestos producers in North America, is world-famous for its superb Grossular Garnets and Vesuvianites. The rarest of the Vesuvianites are the few pockets of good purple crystals that show idiomorphic textbook form such as this one. The color saturation and luster of this competition-level thumbnail are outstanding, the best possible. The purple color is simply riveting and not like any other purple color you will ever see in minerals otherwise...hard to convey by words. While many Vesuvianites from the Jeffrey Mine are green, these are the rarer and more desired purple, manganese-bearing variety. They only came out of a few pockets in the 1980s. These prismatic crystals are in parallel growth with the largest crystal 1.6 cm in length and they are a rich, deep purple, but not so dark that you cannot appreciate how gemmy and translucent the crystals are. Superb and better in person, these are unique in the world! Ex. Shields Flynn thumbnail collection, and one of the finest jewels among 1800 pieces in our opinion. Valued $2000-2500.