Description

Detailed Description

A sharp, lustrous, complex crystal with bright dodecahedral faces, this spessartine has great transparency for its size. It has a small clear quartz crystal perched on the front. This crystal shows its internal red colour so nicely under the lights, because it is relatively thinner/flatter in the one dimension, and this allows the light through. In excellent condition, an incomplete face on the underside as displayed. A beautiful deep red gem.

This Navegadora spessartine can look different in different lighting conditions. The photographs here are meant to convey the lustre, the incredible detail, the superb internal colour when well lit from behind, and also the dark appearance in lower light conditions. When looking at this specimen under modest light, it is dark red, with glints of transparent red (as shown in the third photo). Under display lights, the lustre is superb. As noted above, because this one is thinner, with strong light from behind, this crystal is intense red throughout.

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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.