Grossular - \'raspberry\' Garnet (Ref: 10.1-272)

A large and colorful raspberry Garnet from the specimen mining project of Dennis Beals about 12 years ago. This has a dense cluster of Grossular crystals up to 1.4 CM, ranging in color from bright raspberry to a darker red-purple hue. Excellent luster on most crystals. There is some crystals on the outer edges that are broken and show that the core is quite dark to black inside with the outer skin being the red-purple color. This piece has the Garnets very well-exposed and it is a choice example of the find. The area here in Coahuila was a source of pink and greenish garnets as well as brown Vesuvianites known since the 1950 era. For decades the location was incorrectly given as Lago Jaco, which was deliberate misleading to keep the source private. The early finds were usually rather pale but these later Garnets are far more vibrant.