Spessartine, Muscovite - image 1
Spessartine, Muscovite - image 2

Spessartine, Muscovite

Unknown Owner
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You are probably familiar with the spessartines that have been coming from Tongbei in China. But this is one from an unusual batch with ISOLATED crystals (rather than massed together), which gives them a particular appeal. They are quite bright and gemmy, with a glassy luster. Accenting the spessartines are books of muscovite. The contrasting matrix is feldspar.

Product details

SizeCabinet
Dimensions11.4 x 9.1 x 2.6 cm
Added on10/23/2024

Known provenance

DateCollectorAcquisition price
08/2024Unknown OwnerNot disclosed
The ArkenstoneNot disclosed

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Mineral guide
Learn about Muscovite
classic white mica with perfect basal cleavage and pearly luster; elegant rosettes and sheets, with rare, high‑quality pieces for collectors.
Muscovite
Regional guide
Muscovite from Wushan Spessartine Mine, China
from the Wushan Spessartine Mine is not the headline mineral of the locality; that role belongs to the vivid orange spessartine. Yet the mica is one of the accents that gives the best Tongbei-area pieces their mineralogical poise. It appears as pearly, thin, hexagonal books and stacked plates on pale microcline, commonly in the same miarolitic-cavity assemblage as smoky quartz and spessartine. On strong specimens the mica acts almost like a cool-toned architectural counterpoint: dove-grey, silvery, pale greenish, or chlorite-edged books set against glassy orange garnets and dark smoky quartz.