Spessartine with Smoky Quartz and Microcline

Item Description

The various pegmatites in San Diego County, California are best known for producing excellent Tourmaline crystals, but deposits near Ramona are probably most famous for their amazingly fiery orange colored Spessartine Garnet crystals. These specimens for many years were labeled as coming from the Little Three (Little 3) Mine, but they are in fact from the Hercules Mine, which borders up against the Little Three property, and according to the entry on mindat.org, "The pegmatite has been primarily developed where it dips down onto the Little Three Mine property". This piece dates back to the 1960s, and is a wonderful example of the material coming out at the time. It features a predominant, glowing rich orange colored, very gemmy, modified trapezohedral/dodecahedral crystal of Spessartine measuring 8 mm, along with a few smaller spots of Spessartine sitting on medium colored Smoky Quartz crystals, and a bit of tan-pink Microcline matrix. The main Spessartine crystal has been repaired, which is not terribly uncommon for this material as many of the Garnets were separated from the matrix when they were found. The crystal itself has excellent internal clarity, and would have probably been cut into a gemstone had it not been repaired back on the matrix. A very attractive and classic example of these wonderful, distinctive Garnets from this renowned locale. From the collection of Bill Larson of Fallbrook, California. Bill is a well-known gem and mineral dealer as well as a miner and collector. Bill is synonymous with minerals of San Diego County, and owned and operated famous mines such as the Stewart Lithia, the Tourmaline Queen, the Pala Chief and the Himalaya, producing some of the most iconic mineral specimens to come out of the area during the 1970s-1980s. You can read his biography at https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/larsonwilliam-f/