Smoky Quartz and Spessartine

Two samples; Largest samples has prominent Smokey Quartz prismatic crystals with vitreous lustre. Subhedral Spessartine (~3 cm) around the base of the euhedral Smokey Quartz crystals with a vitreous lustre and reddish-brown crystals. Smaller samples shows more Spessartine and disseminated Quartz. Sample comes from a pegmatite and shows the characteristic large crystals associated with pegmatite. Smokey Quartz (SiO2) is the brown or black variety of Quartz due to iron impurities that give it the smokey colour. Quartz can be vitreous or greasy in lustre with a white streak. Hardness is 7. Quartz usually occurs as long or short prismatic crystals that are terminated with double rhombohedrons. Quartz can also be granular, massive or disseminated. Spessartine (Mn3Al2Si3O12) is part of the aluminium silicates within the Garnet Group. Spessartine can be brownish red to hyacinth-red with a vitreous lustre and a colourless streak. Hardness is 6 1/2 to 7 1/2. Garnet usually occurs as dodecahedrons and trapezohedrons. Spessartine usually occurs with Albite and Muscovite in granite pegmatites.