Grossular Garnet Var. Hessonite

Unknown Owner

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Grossular from Eden Mills is the standard to which other US localities must be compared. They have a richer, more red color saturation than material from Canada, and are quite distinct. Vesper Peak garnets have too dark a color in comparison - these are "just right" and not too dark, not too light. The brilliance and sharpness of these garnets is such that the piece looks carved...you can see, the photograph makes them look a little bit airbrushed, but this is not the case. They really are THAT sharp and symmetric.This specimen is unusual in the consistent color quality across the whole piece, the size of the crystals (to 1.8 cm), and in the fact that it is nearly a complete floater with no damage and only a small point of attachment on the lower backside. Tiny druses of quartz accent the 3-dimensionality of this piece, as well. It is, overall, a fullsized and competition quality miniature. This specimen was collected by Ken Hollman in 1969. For those who did not know him, Ken assembled one of the largest and most important collections of classic Eastern US material, and had excellent taste. He also was a consummate field collector and a particular expert on this locality. This was his favorite garnet specimen, out of the many he collected in his lifetime, as related to me by his friend Phil Scalisi (who owned the specimen until recently). Scalisi's label accompanies the specimen and relates that Hollman considered this "his very favorite Eden Mills piece. I exchanged it from Ken for several of my best Chessy Azurites."...and those were valuable pieces, I can say, having seen Hollman's extensive and important Chessy suite at one time. The specimen remained in Scalisi's collection for several decades, until its recent sale. Photo by Joe Budd