Grossular var: Chromium-bearing (rich color)

Jeffrey Mine, Val-des-Sources, Les Sources RCM, Estrie, Québec, Canada
Ex. Jack Halpern
Thumbnail, 2.7 x 2.0 x 1.2 cm
Start Time: 01/11/2025 8:00:00 pm (CST)
End Time: 01/18/2025 6:33:00 pm (CST)
Auction Closed
Winning Bid: $550

Item Description

The Grossular Garnets from the famed Jeffrey Mine are some of the most vivid and eye-catching examples of the species from any locality. This now closed open-pit mine produced Grossular that range from orange / golden to pink / peach and even colorless, but some of the strongest colored examples are the chromium-bearing crystals with intense green hues. Typically, these crystals are small, it seems that the chromium inhibits crystal growth, but they are still intensely colored for their size. This piece hosts dozens of small (in the 1-2 mm range), lustrous, sharp, dodecahedral crystals of strong green chromium-bearing Grossular measuring to about 1 mm, associated with a few prismatic crystals of light grey-green Diopside. No major damage, and the crystals look beautiful under magnification, as they are gemmy and electric in terms of color.
ATTENTION: We are happy to announce our new book featuring the Jack Halpern collection entitled "Addicted to Beauty", which will be available in March from the Mineralogical Record. The following is an excerpt from Rob Lavinsky from the foreword of the book. "I am honored to have been entrusted with the deaccessioning of Jack Halpern’s famed collection. This book is not only designed to commemorate Jack's minerals, but also the man himself and how he inspired so many of us who are in the hobby today. Regarding the sale of his collection, Jack’s one comment and wish to me and to his family and friends was that we would carry forward his 'Legacy of Beauty' out into the broad world."
From the collection of Jack Halpern No. 3691. Jack was born May 18, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York, but has been a long-time resident of San Francisco. He assembled one of the great mineral collections in the world encompassing over 3,200 specimens with a specific emphasis on color, quality, and style/aesthetics, which is evident in every piece. He admired specimens of all sizes from thumbnails to large cabinets and the vast majority of them rank from fine to world-class in their quality.
Above all else, Jack is considered to be the greatest gentleman in the modern era of mineral collecting. He is beloved by all those who have met him, and he truly is one of the most iconic figures in the mineral world. We recently acquired Jack's collection, and the VAST majority of these pieces will be offered here in the auctions, as we feel that everyone deserves and equal opportunity at acquiring these important, well-documented and fine quality pieces for their collections. We are honored to have the opportunity to offer Jack's treasures to everyone on a regular basis in the auctions.
We encourage you to read our blog post at https://www.irocks.com/the-jack-halpern-collection or his profile on the Mineralogical Record website https://mineralogicalrecord.com/biographies_labels/halpernjack/ for more information

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Bidding History

Bid Amount Bid Time
$550 01/18/2025 6:29:22 pm (CST)
$525 01/18/2025 6:29:22 pm (CST)
$435 01/18/2025 6:28:59 pm (CST)
$425 01/18/2025 6:28:59 pm (CST)
$318 01/18/2025 5:17:14 pm (CST)
$308 01/18/2025 5:17:13 pm (CST)
$280 01/18/2025 4:18:22 pm (CST)
$270 01/18/2025 4:18:22 pm (CST)
$260 01/18/2025 1:35:39 pm (CST)
$250 * 01/16/2025 11:21:41 pm (CST)
$250 * 01/16/2025 11:21:41 pm (CST)
$220 01/16/2025 10:46:20 pm (CST)
$210 01/16/2025 5:55:58 pm (CST)
$200 01/16/2025 5:55:58 pm (CST)
$198 01/15/2025 10:05:52 pm (CST)
$188 01/15/2025 10:05:52 pm (CST)
$160 01/15/2025 9:24:48 pm (CST)
$150 01/15/2025 9:24:48 pm (CST)
$141 01/15/2025 3:33:58 pm (CST)
$131 01/15/2025 3:33:58 pm (CST)
$121 01/12/2025 8:44:17 pm (CST)
$111 01/12/2025 8:44:17 pm (CST)
$110 01/11/2025 10:58:13 pm (CST)
$100 01/11/2025 10:58:13 pm (CST)
$65 01/11/2025 10:58:03 pm (CST)
$55 01/11/2025 10:58:03 pm (CST)
$10 01/11/2025 8:12:18 pm (CST)
* Proxy Bid Battle: In the event of two customers inputting matching proxy bids, the leading bid goes to the earliest of the two proxy bids. Tie winners are shown in bold.