Vesuvianite (deep purple variant)
Jeffrey Mine, Asbestos (now Val-des-Sources, Estrie,
Quebec, Canada
2 x 1.4 x 1.4 CM (thumbnail)
price: $300
Winter 2016-17

Small but intense rich purple Vesuvianite with magenta and dark green areas. The color is deeper and more intense than the computer monitor can render well. The luster is glass-like and the specimen clearly has two generations of growth. Some of the smaller crystals show hoppered terminations. The "matrix" is a blocky crystal of Vesuvianite that shows signs of being recrystallized as well. This is the most uncommon color found at Jeffrey and essentially unknown from any other locale.