Garnet var.Spessartine

This unique Garnet was first mined in 2003. I was in Brazil at the time and got to see most of the entire find. Not often seen were associations with Apatite, and boytroidal opal. The garnets formed in large domes of Clevelandite. They were typially loose inside their pockets. Often refferred to as "etched," I favor the articles that instead reveal the parrallel growth crystallization as a unique phenomenon and that they are not etched by natural exposure to acids in the pocket. This peice comes from the Hawthorneden inventory. It has good red color (not brownish), and an interesting shape that resembles a scepter. It comes mounted on an acryllic base.