GARNET – GREAT BALLS OF FIRE. Mint condition. One of my favorite books from the monograph series from Lithographie, Inc. Some 100 pages with 22 chapters written by experts around the world. Chapters on mineralogy, geology, varieties such as almandine, andradite, star, grossular, pyrope, spessartine and uvarovite. Famous locations in New England, Idaho, Canada, Mali, China, Pakistan and Bohemia. My favorite chapter is on the garnets from the Jeffrey and Lac d’Amiante mines of Canada.

HESSONITE is a variety of GROSSULAR GARNET. This specimen is orange in color, gemmy and translucent. Luster is adamantine and size is thumbnail (1.0 inch). From the famous Jeffrey Mine in Quebec, Canada. This piece is from the collection of Roger Maynard. He is a friend and long-time geologist with the US Geological Survey in New Mexico.

HESSONITE is a variety of GROSSULAR GARNET. This specimen is orange in color, gemmy and translucent. Luster is adamantine and size is thumbnail (0.9 inches). From the famous Jeffrey Mine in Quebec, Canada. This piece is from the collection of Roger Maynard. He is a friend and long-time geologist with the US Geological Survey in New Mexico.

Reddish-Orange ball of SPESSARTINE, a member of the GARNET Group. The ball lies on a terminated QUARTZ crystal with minor Muscovite and Albite.

Beautiful cluster of green TSAVORITE which is a variety of GROSSULAR (Garnet). The translucent Tsavorite crystals are on a matrix of silvery Graphite. The largest Tsavorite crystal is 0.4 inches. Green color is from traces of chromium. Luster is vitreous.  This specimen is from the type locality of Merelani Hills, Tanzania.

Large Hessonite crystals with adamantine luster. Color is reddish-orange to brown. Largest Hessonite crystal is 4-cm long. Another is 2.7-cm. Minor Vesuvianite (green) in matrix.