Schorl With Spessartine on Albite - image 1

Schorl With Spessartine on Albite

Unknown Owner

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A CLASSIC San Diego combo specimen, most likely dating to the Louis Spalding Sr. era of mining when the best all came out of this small mine in remote San Diego County. This is a really showy combination specimen for the price, as it features a 1.2 cm partially etched crystal which is not only very colorful but also still retains some of the original crystal faces (though not all). Nearly all garnets of any size recovered from this mine show etching to some degree, asthe solutions started to resorb them sometime after formation. Here, at least, the crystal has color and visual appeal especially as it sits nicely in contrasting white albite between two schorl rabbit-ears. Large, intact spessartines of this size are very scarce on the market and even in the major collections in San Diego where they are considered one of the top collectibles from the area. This one came through noted California dealer Al Ordway, who always has great San Diego stuff from the old days!