Pyrope Garnet (Anthill Garnet) (rough and cut and gravel set)

Item Description

Here we have wonderful rough and cut (and gravel) set of the famous vivid red "Anthill Garnets" from northern Arizona. These classic Garnets get their unique name due to the fact that they are found on and around the debris piles surrounding ant hills. Essentially, the ants will remove the little Garnet crystals from underground while building their passages for the colony. On a sunny day, you can find hundreds of glowing red treasures on the surface near an anthill if you're in the right spot. These stones have been analyzed and confirmed as Pyrope Garnet (with chromium content which enhances the color), but they have a dynamic fiery red hue that's as fine as any Garnet species you'll find. This beautiful "Round Brilliant" gem has very slight inclusions, and is a wonderful example of these eye-catching stones. It is accompanied by a 10.52 carat piece of rough with the same intense red fiery hue, along with a little bag of the actual gravel from the anthill on which is was found. Garnet is the birthstone for January, so this could make a great gift for anybody with a January birthday.
From the collection of Jim Houran, with a letter form John Rhoads of D&J Rare Gems (who personally cut the gem), stating that the material is in fact chromium-bearing, and came from a locality just south of Mexican Hat, Utah. There's even a Far Side comic that fits in perfectly with the them "anthill" theme.