Spessartine Garnet on Albite

Item Description

This small miniature / toenail size piece is an aesthetic and fine quality association specimen from Shengus featuring a beautiful, large, rich wine red colored, crystal of Spessartine Garnet measuring 2.6 cm across sitting atop off-white Albite matrix. The Spessartine crystal has attractive surface etching / striations, which gives the piece an appearance rarely seen from this locality, and when it's rotated in the light, the directional luster that reflects off of each face creates a very pleasing effect. When backlit, the Spessartine does show some fiery red hues, but you need a strong light to see it. The Garnet crystal is pristine, all around. The habit is largely trapezohedral, but some small dodecahedral faces can be seen. If you collect Garnets or gem pegmatite minerals, this one is a wonderful three-dimensional display piece of this a classic material from this important locale in Pakistan to add to your collection. Keep in mind, it's not terribly common to find such large and attractive Garnet crystals like this on matrix from any world locality, as most Garnet crystals average in the 1 - 2 cm range. This piece had a price of $1,250 in our inventory.