unusual Spessartine Garnet on Microcline ex Halpern Collection

Item Description

Spessartines from Tongbei are some of the most attractive and highly displayable specimens to come out of China, or anywhere else, for that matter. The styles changed over time from the late 1990s through the early 2000s and although this particular piece is highly representative for the locality in a general sense, it is also really unique in its aesthetics. The gemmy, mandarin-orange Spessartines covering the Microcline crystals, yet still allowing you to appreciate the form of the crystals below, provide a translucent orange-red carpet on top of the sharp shapes below for a highly unusual look. These Garnets are gemmy, bright, and attractive, and they are complemeted by two larger and darker Spessartines, that are up to 7 mm. The habits for these Spessartines are classic and sharp, as is the color and presentation. Such material is becoming less and less available on the market, and keep in mind that there are only a few worldwide localities that produce this color of Spessartine in fine specimens in any case. Bright orange Spessartine specimens are NOT easy to find these days from any locality and this old location is essentially closed (too difficult to mine), while they work a similar deposit a few kilometers to the north that has not yielded specimens with this particular look and style. There are numerous references to Jack and his collection in print, but perhaps a good tour of the collection and its history will help give perspective on just how good, and important, this collection is: https://www.irocks.com/the-jack-halpern-collection