Spessartine Garnet (floater) Ex. Britt Coll.

Item Description

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The appearance of these garnets from Navegador are totally distinct amongst worldwide garnet finds and mesmerizing in their detail. This gemmy floater crystallized spessartine garnet is from the famous older finds at this locale. The crystal has very dense etched-looking stepped-growth faces on all sides (technically the faces are due to dissolution effects and not etching, but they do look etched, as we normally use the word). Every turn and tilt highlights another densely stepped-growth area of the crystals. The crystal glows a deep red when backlit. An excellent article in a 2016 issue of Rocks & Minerals by John White, former Curator of Gems and Minerals at the Smithsonian, provides an in-depth examination of this fantastic etched spessartine crystal phenomenon at the Navegadora Mine. valued $500.