This is the finest garnet I have seen collected from the pegmatites of Connecticut. I discovered the small pegmatite where this garnet was found, Joel Sweet, my digging partner at the time, found this specimen.
Joel and I dug together MANY times over 20+ years. He passed away this fall and his son sold me Joel\'s collection. Thank you both.<BR><BR>
If you have collected pegmatites, you know it is VERY difficult to extract garnets like these without damage. All of the beautiful faces you see were originally covered in quartz. Most of the time, you damage the garnet before you ever see it. Only a lucky blow will reveal a crystal like this without destroying it. And this one is perfect.<BR><BR>
But even more than just being damage-free, this is a BEAUTIFUL garnet. It is a nice size at 2 x 1.8 x 0.8 cm. , and it has a WONDERFUL shape. It\'s somewhat tabular nature means it has a single large face, perfectly displayed, parallel to the contrasting feldspar matrix. Also, while there is very little red color to this almandine, the faces are VERY glassy, with nice luster.<BR><BR>
It\'s hard to film black minerals on white matrix. I have done my best. It is still, as they say, \"much better in person.\" If you have a collection of miniatures or New England minerals, you will be forever happy with this one.