{"product_id":"grossular-garnet-cluster-b-natural-mexico","title":"Grossular garnet cluster (B) — natural, Mexico","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThese crystals grew where magma met limestone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eA body of diorite pushed up into limestone in the eastern Sierra de Cruces and cooked the rock it touched. Hot fluids carrying silica moved out of the intrusion and into the carbonate, and the two chemistries reacted along the contact to build an entirely new rock. Geologists call that rock a skarn, and it is where a large share of the world's best garnet crystals come from.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe garnets grew inside that reaction zone alongside quartz, calcite, phlogopite mica and vesuvianite. They are rarely much larger than a centimetre here, which is part of why sharp ones are collected rather than cut.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eNothing about the colour is added. The red comes from trace manganese sitting in the crystal structure where calcium would normally be.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMineral:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eGrossular garnet (Ca₃Al₂(SiO₄)₃), a calcium aluminium silicate\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCrystal system:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eCubic\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOrigin:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eSierra de Cruces, Sierra Mojada Municipality, Coahuila, Mexico\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHardness:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale; hard, but the crystals are brittle at the edges and chip rather than scratch\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTreatment:\u003c\/strong\u003e None\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2.3 x 3.03 x 2.64 cm\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWeight:\u003c\/strong\u003e 17.17 g\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eYou will receive the exact piece photographed.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Crystal Showroom","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58334731239768,"sku":null,"price":27.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0778\/4880\/5720\/files\/rgg-b-1.jpg?v=1788096829","url":"https:\/\/thecrystalshowroom.com\/products\/grossular-garnet-cluster-b-natural-mexico","provider":"The Crystal Showroom","version":"1.0","type":"link"}