Grossular var. Hessonite Garnet - image 1

Grossular var. Hessonite Garnet - image 2

Grossular var. Hessonite Garnet

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Dozens of very gemmy and incredibly lustrous, cinnamon-orange grossular garnets to 1 cm richly cover the matrix on this outstanding specimen from Vesper Peak in Washington state. We would say it is an old classic, normally - because it sure looks like the old stuff I saw from the 70s and 80s! However, it is a new find from 2022, from workings by intrepid miners for James Zigras's mineral recovery company, who helicoptered in to collect on this old claim (under his lease at the time). These grossulars rival those from the Jeffrey Mine in Quebec, Canada for their color and luster! The majority of th garnets on this small cabinet piece are completely transparent and just glow with a rich cinnamon-orange hue that contrasts nicely with the medium greenish orange, granular, garnet-bearing skarn matrix. The sparkling crystals are all dodecahedrons that display very subtle striations on their diamond-shaped faces. This skarn area at this remote alpine peak in Washington has been a noted locality for fine grossulars since the 1970s. Minor contacting along the edges of the garnets but otherwise in excellent condition and a truly rare "old style" specimen from the classic location. It is very difficult to collect. He has not offered us any more of comparable quality in the years since, and we have heard the site is just almost impossible to get to anymore.