This is a beautiful combination of rich reddish, extremely large crystals of Vesuvianites sprinkled with many tiny gemmy garnets (hessonite) that form a glittering background to the upright Vesuvianite crystal. The Vesuvianites have excellent luster and classic vertical striations, as well as very fine and full terminations. The aesthetics of this piece are truly amazing and it is a world class example of this Italian classic. It really should be a miniature, if smallish perhaps. BUT, if put in a box diagonally, it can fit in a TN box. This is one of the finest such crystals I have seen for sale and is surely old.