Home > Rock Forming Minerals – June 20 > MS1361 Almandine
Almandine - Sold
- Stikine River
- Wrangell Island
- Alaska
- U.S.A.
- 4.4 by 3.1 by 2.3 cm – Miniature specimen (fits into a 5 cm cube)
Almandine is an iron aluminum silicate, specifically a member of the garnet group (Grew et al. 2013). Almandine derives its name from Alabanda in Turkey, an ancient gem cutting center.
Almandine has been known from Wrangell since the nineteenth century, possibly as early as 1862 (Bressler, 1950). Bressler observed a maximal crystal size of 44 mm. This specimen consists of 16 mm almandine crystal in biotite schist. The crystal shows a dominant dodecahedron with modifications of the trapezohedron. While once widely available at mineral shows before 2000, these crystals have become much less available.
This specimen was part of the personal collection of Ralph Merrill, proprietor of the prolific mail order business Minerals Unlimited. Merrill's collection card and label ship with the specimen.
