Helvine on Microcline with Muscovite
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The ArkenstoneFeatured
While not everybody dreams of gorgeous helvine crystals, those of us who do think of them strongly prefer these sharp, orange-amber colored crystals from very early 2000s finds at the famous garnet mine located over a terraced farming slope in China's hot southern province of Fujian. They are sharp, colorful, and display beautifully on matrix! This specimen features a LARGE example, with a dramatic 2.25 cm crystal (an inch!) perched on contrasting feldspar matrix with muscovite and quartz. These come out of very erratic pegmatites, miarolitic pegmatites: this means you cannot predict where to dig and you just try to move a mountain of granite looking for a needle in the haystack. We know this well, as the biggest miner of the time was a good friend in China. It was difficult work, in hard granite, atop a blisteringly hot mountain with little shade! The locality is now exhausted. Some similar garnets may come out - but that is a different mine and a different mountain a few dozen kilometers away. The original Wushan mine "area" which produced these, is dead and gone. This aesthetic, important example has long been in the collection of Dr. Rob Woodside of Vancouver.
Product details
SpeciesMuscovite, Microcline
SizeSmall Cabinet
Dimensions9.3 x 8.2 x 2.9 cm
Listed on10/23/2024
LocalityChina, Fujian, Wushan Spessartine Mine
SKUSM24-100
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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.
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