SPESSARTINE on Smoky QUARTZ on Feldspar

Looking at this group of magnificent black Smoky Quartz crystals heavily dusted with bright tangerine orange Spessartine Garnet crystals, one can only beam with astonished delight. This is a museum-grade specimen of remarkable appearance from the modern classic locality at the Wushan Spessartine mine near the village of Tongbei in Fujian Province, China. The discovery was only made in the 1990's with specimens for sale first emerging in 1998. I can well remember first seeing this material at British shows in the early 2000's and all the superlative comments it evoked. This large cabinet specimen has an overall height of 28 cm while the three Smoky Quartz crystals measure 16, 9 and 6.5 cm tall. A Smoky Quartz which projects downwards is 5 cm long. The Quartz emerges from a cream-coloured matrix of granular crystallised Microcline Feldspar, not Orthoclase as first reported. Over both the matrix and the lower halves of the Quartz crystals, hundreds of glassy lustred, translucent tangerine Spessartine Garnets are densely scattered, each to between, say, 1 and 4 mm diameter. The very tips of the two largest Quartz crystals have small chips, but these are genuinely small yet require mention. An absolutely stunning Spessartine with Smoky Quartz on Feldspar from Wushan.

Origin: Wushan Spessartine Mine, Tongbei, Yunxiao Co., Zhangzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province, China

Crystal Classics

$9,000.00

SpeciesSmoky quartz, Tin, Quartz, Feldspar, Garnet, Microcline, Orthoclase, Spessartine

SizeExtra large