Muscovite pseudo. after Spessartine garnet (rare!)

Item Description

This specimen is part of the 2021 Dallas Mineral Collecting Symposium benefit auction, with proceeds benefiting Mineralogical Record, Rocks & Minerals, Tucson Gem and Mineral Society, and mindat.org. Thanks to all of our participants!

Billing for this auction will occur on Monday, August 23, for payment using PayPal or a credit card. Shipping will be billed at cost.

Of all the unusual things to come out of Brazil, over many years I have seen just 2 comparable examples of this bizarre replacement of a giant Spessartine Garnet crystal, by sparkling golden mica! Quartz and albite form the matrix for this superb example of muscovite replacing spessartine in a complete pseudomorph of one after the other. This is incredibly unusual, and I am not aware of this replacement from any other locality. Not only is it unusual, but it is big and sparkly and geometric, as well...The sparkly, greenish tan crystal measures 6 cm across and still exhibits the classic garnet textbook-crystallography. Complete all around, and a true "aesthetic oddity" it makes an impact because it is something so weird it is at first hard to identify what you are looking at and is sparkling as a bonus. I have had only two of these, in 30 years. Valued $4500. Donated by Rob Lavinsky/Arkenstone to the Symposium Auction