Name: Hematite ps. Almandine Garnet with Bixbyite
Brand: The Arkenstone
Price: 1800 USD
Availability: InStock

Hematite ps. Almandine Garnet with Bixbyite

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A very unusual and rather rare pseudomorph of hematite after almandine garnet from the Thomas Range in Utah, and also notable as it is a large cluster when these mostly simply occur as small individual crystals loose or with matrix. This is a floater, complete all around. This area is best known for its world-class red beryl crystals, along with bixbyite and topaz, but these pseudomorphs are found occasionally, and to the best of my knowledge, they are unique. This piece was a group of several garnets originally, that were, at some point, replaced by gray, somewhat sparkly hematite, preserving the garnet form fairly well. The hematite replacing the almandine garnet (an iron-rich garnet) is very fine-grained with some areas showing fine, sparkling metallic gray flakes of hematite. There is also a later generation of bixbyite with distinct, 1 to 2.5 mm crystals scattered about on the surface of the hematite pseudomorph group. These are notably hard to find and this is one of the best clusters we've seen. It would make a great addition to any pseudomorph suite or a collection of minerals from the Thomas Range; and in fact it comes from the most notable pseudo collection assembled in Europe, that we know of.