Andradite Garnet with Magnetite and Calcite - image 1

Andradite Garnet with Magnetite and Calcite

Unknown Owner

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A beautiful, translucent green Andradite Garnet is perched on a nearly black and white matrix of Magnetite and Calcite from the Vasbanya Valley, Hungary. This Andradite has incredible luster and the color of green is reminiscent of some of the Garnets from Madagascar but with a bit more yellow. It may be topazolite (a rarer variety of andradite), in fact. The entire rim of the Garnet is transparent with a translucent core that has a golden sheen to it resulting in a striking crystal. Its placement right along the demarcation between the black Magnetite and the ivory Calcite is dramatic. The Magnetite is coarse granular and glimmers in any incident light and the Calcite has a faint pearlescent luster. What a great combination of texture and color on this piece! Unusually fine, and aesthetic, this was in the long-ago competitive miniatures collection of Irv Brown of San Diego.