From the collection of Bill Dameron, an absolutely immense crystal of vesuvianite, out of Mali. When they begin to get up into this range, vesuvianites tend to get rough and inrregular pockmarked surfaces, but this one actually has a lot of lustrous and sharp areas of its faces, particularly for its prodigious size. The big crystal itself measures 8.5 cm in length and over 5.5 across; a cluster of smaller crystals is attached. The color is a deep olive to bottle-green. Bill was the US Ambassador to Mali for 1993-1995 and was, as a side role then, instrumental in exporting and bringing these to market after he found some examples for sale by a street vendor one day.