Vesuvianite Var. Chromian

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Shockingly vivid, deep green vesuvianite crystals to 3.2 cm cover the front display face of massive grossular (garnet) matrix from the Jeffrey Mine (now closed). The intense green color, due to an excess of chromium, makes these "chrome vesuvianites" from Asbestos unique in all the world. I would say that the Jeffrey Mine is deservedly the world's most famous locality for the best of this species. Many pockets were found over the years, but few stand out as "ikonic" among them. Only a few pockets were ever found, despite the thousands of tons of material mined here, of this incredible green variety of vesuvianite. I have never seen such a large and richly covered specimen of this rare material - it is extremely rare in any case and usually all you can get is a thumbnail with 1 cm crystal in a jumbly cluster IF you are lucky. This is a monster, both for size of crystals and for size of the piece. The color saturation is extreme - off the charts. The luster is like glass, the highest possible in a Canadian vesuvianite I would say. The color is so incredible in person that frankly, you will not believe its a vesuvianite. Lastly, the terminations are unusually pointed and sharp, as a bonus. This was in the Martin Zinn collection, sold off in 2003. I sold it in 2006 and recently was able to re-acquire it by exchange. It is a unique specimen of shocking color.