Grossular

Monviso, Torino - 6x6x2.5 cm

On a plate on chlinochlore a rather tubby and isolated crystal of red grossular, up to 1.3 cm. The garnet is opaque and exhibits a quite dark color on one side; nevertheless, the deep red color is rather brilliant and the crystal is well centered on the matrix. Moreover, the specimen is free of any damage. Note that the alpine locality (Monviso is the head of the river Po, the longest in Italy) is rather unusual for the species. I shopped this intriguing and large miniature at Jordi Fabre in 2008.