Description

Detailed Description

This is a sharp, highly lustrous, deep red crystal of spessartine. In addition to these attributes, this crystal really stands out for its overall form. Most Navegadora spessartine crystals are complex, with stepped faces and unusual overall form. Which is great, but most no longer resemble a classic dodecahedron thanks to their complexity, whilefrom the display angles, this crystal really does retain the overall form of a dodecahedral garnet.

This crystal is large enough that the light does not pass through it as readily, but this particular piece has crystal complexity on the backside which means that some of the edges are thin enough to still show the beautiful interior red colour well, under the lights. In excellent condition, no damage. This is a gorgeous spessartine.

This crystal can look different in different lighting conditions. The photographs here are meant to convey the lustre, the incredible detail, the internal colour when well lit, and also the dark appearance in lower light conditions. When looking at this specimen under modest light, it is very dark red, with glints of transparent red (as shown in the second photo). Under display lights, the lustre is truly superb.

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About these Spessartines

These spessartines are from the famous March 2003 pocket at the Navegadora Mine. The Navegadora Mine exploits a pegmatite and produces feldspar for commercial purposes – It is not mined for specimens, and this pocket was unique. In an article in Rocks and Minerals (“Spessartine from the Navegadora Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil” Vol. 84, Jan-Feb 2009) author John White discusses how these spessrtines formed. While etching was involved, the specific mechanism that resulted in the final forms of these etched crystals remains a mystery.