Spessartine

specimen number:
2262027

location:
Wushan Mine, Fujian, China

description:
Attractive orange red translucent lustrous crystals of spessartine measuring to 0.8 cm in size across the top of matrix. In good condition and quite attractive.

The Wushan Mine, located in the Tongbei area of Fujian Province, China, is world-famous for producing some of the most aesthetic spessartine garnet specimens ever discovered. Geologically, the deposit is unique because the garnets formed within cavities of a highly evolved, miarolitic alkali granite. These cavities, or pockets, allowed the crystals to grow undisturbed, resulting in sharp, dodecahedral spessartine crystals that are typically a brilliant mandarin orange to deep reddish-orange color. These garnets are almost always found in striking contrast against a matrix of smoky quartz and white microcline feldspar. Historically, the locality rose to international prominence in the late 1990s when local farmers began systematic recovery of the specimens from the rugged mountain slopes. The peak of production occurred between 1998 and the mid-2000s, during which time thousands of world-class specimens entered the global mineral market. While the intensity of mining has decreased significantly as the easily accessible pockets were depleted, the Wushan Mine remains the definitive type locality for this specific and iconic association of orange garnet on smoky quartz.

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