#almandine

Essen Crown,

The Essen Crown is the oldest surviving example of a fleur-de-lys crown in Europe.

Modern historical analysis has rejected this romantic origin story. Research suggests the crown was actually crafted later, between 1050 and 1100.

Instead of being used by a mortal king, it was created specifically as a votive crown to adorn the famous Golden Madonna of Essen, the oldest fully sculptural figure of Mary north of the Alps. The statue was ritually crowned during important liturgical feasts.

The base consists of a heavily silver-alloyed gold band, with a second outer layer soldered on made from pure gold wire filigree.

It is lavishly decorated with regular rows of natural pearls and cabochon-cut gemstones, including a prominent triangular-set sapphire on the front.

Among its embedded jewels is a late Roman gem carved from red almandine garnet featuring the head of Medusa.

Diameter: 12.5 cm (approx. 4.9 inches).

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Good Ending Almandine

This week's Member Box spotlight: Almandine Garnet -- the deep-red garnet most people picture when they hear "garnet.Fe3Al2(SiO4)3, a magnesium-free iron end-member of the pyralspite garnet series.This raw cluster comes from a schist host rock in Fujian Province, China. The crystals form classic rhombic dodecahedra (12- Chemical formula faced), sometimes modified by trapezohedra (24 faces) -- the most recognizable geometry in the mineral kingdom.

Member Box notes:

Formed under high pressure and temperature in metamorphic rock

- Mohs hardness 7.5 -- tough enough for industrial abrasive (sandpaper garnet!)

- Red color comes from ferrous iron substituting into the octahedral sites

- Distinguishes between almandine vs pyrope vs spessartine by exact iron/aluminum balance

- A classic starter stone for crystal system studies -- isometric, perfect symmetry

Fun geology fact: garnet-bearing schist is a pressure-temperature indicator. If you find crystals like these in the field, you know you're standing on rocks that were once buried 10 to 30 km deep. That's how old, dense collisional mountain belts become accessible at the surface.